Wreck of USS/USNS Butte (T-AE-27)

 military, shipwreck, United States Navy

USS Butte was the 2nd member of the Kilauea Class of Ammunition Ships and served with the US Navy as a member of the Atlantic Fleet from her 1968 commissioning to her 1996 decommissioning, earning a campaign star for her 1973 service in Vietnam. She was decommissioned by the US Navy and realigned to the Military Sealift Command in 1996 and served for another 8 years based out of Naval Weapons Station Earle before being deactivated in 2004 and placed into reserve at NIMSF Philadelphia.

Remaining in reserve for 2 years as she was stripped of parts and electronics to support her active sisterships, the Butte was finally declared surplus to the needs of the US Navy in 2006 and selected as a target ship for Fleet Excercises. The Butte was towed from Philadelphia to this location where she took a 3 day beating involving sea launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and finally a single MK-48 torpedo from the USS San Juan (SSN-751). The torpedo spelled the end for the Butte, breaking her back and causing her to break in two before sinking at this location in 2,020 fathoms.

www.navsource.org/archives/09/05/0527.htm