USAMP Major General Wallace F. Randolph, sometimes also known as MG Wallace F. Randolph, was a 188.2 feet (57.4 m) mine planter built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company, and delivered to the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

Mine Planter Service

Mine Planter Service (U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army Mine Planter Service was an outgrowth of civilian crewed Army mine planter ships dating back to 1904. It was established in 1918 under the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps to install and maintain the mine fields that were part of the principal armament of U.S...

 in 1942. The ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1951 as auxiliary minelayer Nausett (ACM-15), but never saw any active service. After being stricken from the Navy Register the ship was transferred to different owners, and eventually was scuttled off the coast of Florida as an artificial reef

Artificial reef

An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....

 and fish aggregating device. The site is currently known as the Thunderbolt Wreck, and is considered to be an excellent and challenging dive site for advanced divers.

Army History

USAMP Major General Wallace F. Randolph was built by Marietta Manufacturing Company in Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...

, and launched on June 2, 1942. She was one of 16 Army mine planters built in 1942 and 1943 for the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, Mine Planter Service. This was the second Army Mine Planter to take the name, the first being of the 1919 mine planter construction. The first General W. P. Randolph became the U.S. Lighthouse Service vessel Lupine.

Navy and Civilian History

In 1949, the US Navy took over all coastal mine laying operations, and the Randolph was transferred to the Navy in March 1951. She was renamed Nausett (ACM-15) and classed as a ,

However, the U.S. Navy never commissioned the vessel and she remained in reserve in Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

. She was struck from the Navy List

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on July 1, 1960, and was subsequently stripped and sold to Caribbean Enterprises on May 17, 1961. She was subsequently renamed the Sea Searcher, and had a role in oilfield exploration. The vessel was later purchased by Florida Power & Light

Florida Power & Light

Florida Power & Light Company, the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. , commonly referred to by its initials, FPL, is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility which serves roughly 4.4 million customers in Florida. FPL Group holds power generation assets in more than 20 U.S...

 as a platform for lightning strike research. Researchers fired rockets trailing conductive wires into thunderclouds to trigger lightning strikes, which were then analyzed by instruments carried on the ship's deck. As many as 17 lightning strikes were captured on a single day in August 1966. During this period, she was re-christened Thunderbolt, because of the many hits she took.

Thunderbolt wreck

Eventually, Thunderbolt was donated to the Florida Keys Artificial Reef Association, and the vessel was scuttled 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south of Marathon, Florida

Marathon, Florida

Marathon is a city on Knight's Key, Boot Key, Key Vaca, Fat Deer Key, Long Point Key, Crawl Key and Grassy Key islands in the middle Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,255. As of 2005, the population estimated...

 and Key Colony Beach, Florida

Key Colony Beach, Florida

Key Colony Beach is a city in the middle Florida Keys, Monroe County, Florida, United States. The population was 788 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 852.-Geography:...

on March 6, 1986. The wreck sits on a flat sandy bottom 120 feet (36.6 m) below the surface of the water, nearly completely intact. The condition of the wreck and the abundance of marine life in and around the wreck make it an excellent dive site. The main superstructure was cleared of most entanglement hazard prior to sinking, so she provides ample opportunity for penetration. Her lower decks are largely clear of debris, although they can be very silty, and the many openings and exits in the deck provide easy entry and exit points.

Coral growth on the Thunderbolt is extensive, although less than similar wrecks like the and . Bait fish, barracuda, mackerel, snapper, permit, pompano, jacks, and resident goliath grouper, are often seen on the wreck, as well as the occasional black grouper and reef sharks. The area around the ship is mostly barren sand with occasional conch and hogfish. The anchor chain extends westerly, on the port side, outward on the sandy bottom, towards several rubble piles made up of concrete pilings and steel plates. The wreck has no surface markers. Instead, two floats are attached by steel cables to the bow and stern of wreck, respectively, and extend to within 25 feets of the surface. Local dive shops periodically service these underwater makers which are visible from the surface.

Current can become considerable on the Thunderbolt, which coupled with its depth, makes it an advanced dive. Most divers on the Thunderbolt opt to use a Enriched Air (32% O₂) mixture because of the significant increase in bottom time and shorter surface intervals, especially for repetitive dives.