Lone Sentry Blog

Aircraft Carrier USS Bennington (CV-20) in Oct. 1944

Divers in New York have found over 1,500 live naval ammunition shells in the waters under the Verrazano Bridge in New York. The WWII-era copper shells are believed to have fallen overboard during an accident offloading ammunition from the aircraft carrier USS Bennington over 65 years ago. Some of the shells now lay only 20 feet below the water. If the ammunition is still live, the shells could be dangerous if disturbed by passing ships or construction activities.

More information on the USS Bennington from Wikipedia:

USS Bennington (CV-20) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the second US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington (Vermont). Bennington was commissioned in August 1944, and served in several of the later campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning three battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS). In her second career, she spent most of her time in the Pacific, earning five battle stars for action during the Vietnam War. She served as the recovery ship for the Apollo 4 space mission. She was decommissioned in 1970, and sold for scrap in 1994.