Two World War II shipwrecks lie two miles apart in the Gulf of Mexico . One is a German U - boat that sank an American steamer . Nazis sank about 50 American ships in the area during the war . By the time the team was finished , it had conducted high-resolution mapping of the area and created 3-D images of the wrecks . Research ship Nautilus conducted dives in 2006 to learn more about the incident .
Two World War II shipwrecks lie two miles apart in the Gulf of Mexico . One is a German U - boat that sank an American steamer . Nazis sank about 50 American ships in the area during the war . Research ship Nautilus conducted dives in 2006 to learn more about the incident .