Wreck of the Dionysus (AR-160)

Name: DIONYSUS		Type: Liberty Ship-dry cargo
Date Sunk: 1978		Cause: Artificial Reef Program
Size (ft.): Length = 441 x 57 x 37.3 ft.		Gross Tonnage: 7191
Propulsion: Triple Expansion, oil-fired steam		Location

CONSTRUCTION & MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

The ship was built by largest of the wartime emergency shipyards, the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. The Dionysus was originally intended to be transferred to the British as the HMS Faithful, but was retained by the US Navy and renamed. She served in the Pacific during World War II and was put in the reserve fleet in 1947. In 1952, the Dionysus was recommissioned and provided service during the Korean War before being reserved again in 1955. In 1978, her main engine was donated to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia, where it is on display. The propeller from the Dionysus is displayed at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, located on the north side of Oregon Inlet, on the right, as you approach the Bonner Bridge.
Source: L.A. Sawyer and W.H. Mitchell, The Liberty Ships, 2nd Edition, Lloyd's of London Press, Ltd., 1985

The propeller of the Dionysus as it sits at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, just north of Oregon Inlet.

DIVING NOTES:

Diving Depths: 65+ ft.

Visibility: n/a

Current: n/a

Summer Temperature: n/a

Points of Interest: n/a

Fish/Animal Life: n/a

Description: I have never dived this wreck. When sunk as artificial reefs, most, if not all of the liberty ships were cut down to at least to the upper deck level, thus removing all of the superstructure and other "in teresting" parts. Others were cut down to only 15 feet above the keel! The Dionysus shares the same resting site as another liberty ship in the artificial reef program, the Zane Gray, whic h was sunk in 1974.

Bottom Navigation Bar

CONSTRUCTION & MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
The ship was built by largest of the wartime emergency shipyards, the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. The Dionysus was originally intended to be transferred to the British as the HMS Faithful, but was retained by the US Navy and renamed. She served in the Pacific during World War II and was put in the reserve fleet in 1947. In 1952, the Dionysus was recommissioned and provided service during the Korean War before being reserved again in 1955. In 1978, her main engine was donated to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia, where it is on display. The propeller from the Dionysus is displayed at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, located on the north side of Oregon Inlet, on the right, as you approach the Bonner Bridge. Source: L.A. Sawyer and W.H. Mitchell, The Liberty Ships, 2nd Edition, Lloyd's of London Press, Ltd., 1985

		The propeller of the Dionysus as it sits at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, just north of Oregon Inlet.

DIVING NOTES:
Diving Depths: 65+ ft.
Visibility: n/a
Current: n/a
Summer Temperature: n/a
Points of Interest: n/a
Fish/Animal Life: n/a
Description: I have never dived this wreck. When sunk as artificial reefs, most, if not all of the liberty ships were cut down to at least to the upper deck level, thus removing all of the superstructure and other "in teresting" parts. Others were cut down to only 15 feet above the keel! The Dionysus shares the same resting site as another liberty ship in the artificial reef program, the Zane Gray, whic h was sunk in 1974.