The USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was originally named the USS General Harry Taylor. It saw service ferrying American troops to the Pacific in 1944. After the war it brought troops and holocaust survivors out of Europe. In the 1960′s it spent some time monitoring missile launches in the Cold War.
It has now been sunk in 140 ft (43 metres) 7 miles off the Florida Keys. The City of Key West is hoping that it will attract divers who will help stimulate the local economy by USD 8 million.
The Vandenberg displaced 17,250 tons and was 523 ft. long. It was decomissioned in 1986, and has been sitting on a river in Virginia since then.
It is the second largest ship in the world to have been deliberately sunk as an artificial reef. Experts are hoping that it will be colonised by invertebrates within six months and will provide a new habitat for fish.
There is more detail in the Times Online.
