An underwater research mission in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico produced unique footage of the Nazi submarine U-166 sunk near the embouchure of the Mississippi River.
The position of this submarine shows how close World War II actually got to the Texas coast. The wreck of U-166 lies 5000 feet deep at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico along with the remains of 52 crew members, and the German government has declared the site as a war grave.
The US Navy sank the Nazi submarine in July 1942, shortly after U-166 torpedoed the US freighter SS Robert E. Lee, whose wreck lies nearby. Although the wreck was discovered back in 2001, clear images of the remains of U-166 are now available. The footage was recorded by the research ship Nautilus, which investigated the wreck with the help of the Hercules unmanned submersible. The expedition was led by Dr. Robert Ballard, an underwater explorer best known for discovering the Titanic.
See the video of exploring a German U-Boat Sunk off the U.S. Coast (1940-1942)
