That  depends.  Being the ships were small (400 feet long or a little
over and narrow) and hollow (except for fuel), they sank very quickly
most of the time when broken in half.  For example, the tanker Halo sunk
within 3-minutes with its propellers still turning.  Some of these
wrecks can be seen today by recreational divers in shallow waters.

Eric


-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill Crews
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 3:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Oil spills on Virginia Shore during WWII

other considerations

All of the ships sunk carried large quantities of oil as fuel. So while
there were 25 tankers lost, each merchantman created a significant
localized spill.

On the other hand, the sinking of tankers -- and other ships -- was
nearly invariably accompanied by fire. So a significant amount of oil
would have burned off before being dispersed by wind/wave action or
washing ashore. 
 
* * *
 
This E-mail, along with any attachments, is considered confidential and may well be legally privileged. If you have received it in error, you are on notice of its status. Please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your cooperation.
* * *
To ensure compliance with Treasury Department regulations, we inform you that, unless otherwise indicated in writing, any U.S. Federal tax advice contained in this communication  (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state and local provisions or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matters addressed herein.
Disclaimer Version RS.US.1.01.03
pdc1

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html