Story highlights German U-576 attacked convoy off Cape Hatteras in 1942

U-boat sank tanker Bluefields, but was sunk by Allied planes, ship

Wrecks rest 240 yards apart on bottom of Atlantic

(CNN) A World War II German U-boat, sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic more than 72 years ago, has been discovered off the coast of North Carolina, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday.

The German sub, the U-576, was found at the bottom of the Atlantic 30 miles off Cape Hatteras and just 240 yards from an American merchant ship, the merchant tanker Bluefields, which was part of a 24-ship U.S. convoy heading from Virginia to Key West, Florida, on July 14, 1942.

"This is not just the discovery of a single shipwreck," said Joe Hoyt, chief scientist of NOAA's Office of Marine Sanctuaries expedition, which found the vessels. "We have discovered an important battle site that is part of the Battle of the Atlantic. These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories."

The story of U-576 is the more tragic of the two wrecks.

Bluefields did not sustain any casualties during the sinking, but all 45 crew of the U-boat were lost.

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