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All Vanuatu Luganville SS President Coolidge
AO Edited

SS President Coolidge

This cruise ship-turned-warship sank during World War II, and is now a world-renowned dive site.

Luganville, Vanuatu

Added By
Teja on the Horizon
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A diver at the SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
A diver at the SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
Medical stores inside SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
Helmets and a typewriter inside the SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ a porcelain relief panel from the Coolidge’s first-class smoking lounge.   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
A Jeep in the cargo hold of the SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
A pre-war image of the SS President Coolidge   Roderick Elme / CC BY-SA 2.0
Soldiers evacuating the SS President Coolidge   Traveloscopy / CC BY 2.0
SS President Coolidge Exhibition at the South Pacific WWII Museum in Luganville   Santoman / CC BY-SA 4.0
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About

Just 250 meters off the southern coast of Espiritu Santo lies a World War II wreck at a convenient depth for recreational diving. Not only that, the wreck is large, and almost completely intact, making it regarded as one of the best wreck dives in the world.

This sunken ship is the SS President Coolidge, a cruise liner that was converted into a troop carrier during the war. But it didn't sink due to an enemy attack. In October 1942, the Coolidge carried troops to Espiritu Santo's bomber base to support Allied Forces in Guadalcanal. Unfortunately, the approaches to Santo were covered in mines to protect against Japanese submarines, the locations of which were not shared with the captain of the Coolidge. The ship struck one of the mines and began to sink. The captain steered the ship to shore, intending to ground it and save as many people as possible, which is why the wreck is so shallow.

Two people died in the sinking of the President Coolidge. One was a fireman in the engine room who died in the explosion. The other was Captain Elwood Joseph Euart, who was helping others get out from below decks. He was the last to leave but sank with the ship. His remains were only recovered in 2015. 

The wreck still contains the tanks it was transporting in its cargo hold, as well as rifles and other equipment, making it an interesting site for multiple dives for advanced divers.

Related Tags

Underwater Diving World War Ii Shipwrecks Wreck Ships

Know Before You Go

The South Pacific WWII Museum in Luganville has an exhibit about the SS President Coolidge.

There is a nearby memorial dedicated to Captain Euart along Canal Road, not far from Pacific Dive.

Community Contributors

Added By

Teja on the Horizon

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

November 13, 2024

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Sources
  • https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?150725
  • https://www.scubadiving.com/history-vanuatu-president-coolidge-shipwreck
  • https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1972/
  • https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-sinking-of-ss-president-coolidge/
  • https://southpacificwwiimuseum.com/ss-president-coolidge/
SS President Coolidge
Luganville
Vanuatu
-15.521111, 167.225556

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