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USS Cyclops Disappearance

The largest Navy vessel to vanish without a trace. 309 souls lost. No distress signal. No wreckage. No bodies. The Bermuda Triangle's most significant military loss. Still missing after 100+ years.

March 1918
Bermuda Triangle
0

The USS Cyclops is America’s greatest naval mystery.

The Ship

Navy collier:

  • 542 feet long
  • Carrying manganese ore
  • 309 crew and passengers
  • Returning from Brazil
  • March 1918

The Disappearance

What happened:

  • Left Barbados March 4
  • Expected March 13
  • Never arrived
  • No distress call
  • No trace found

Navy response:

  • Extensive search
  • Ships and planes
  • Nothing found
  • No wreckage
  • No bodies

The Theories

Explanations proposed:

  • German submarine (none claimed)
  • Structural failure
  • Cargo shifted
  • Storm
  • Bermuda Triangle

The Record

Still stands:

  • Largest Navy ship lost without combat
  • Largest US Navy loss of life (peacetime)
  • No explanation
  • Over 100 years
  • Still listed missing

Sister Ships

More vanished:

  • USS Proteus (1941)
  • USS Nereus (1941)
  • Same route
  • Same disappearance
  • Pattern?

Sources

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