Ocracoke Anti-submarine Loop Station

Another of the US Navy Loop Stations was operated on Ocracoke Island - located at the southernmost tip of North Carolina's Outer Banks, part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is a part of almost 16 miles of pristine, undeveloped beaches and is accessible only by ferry, private boat or plane. Today Ocracoke is popular destination for the family day-tripper, eco-tourist, nature lover, angler, or recreational boater.

World War 2 Anti-submarine defences.

During World War II, Ocracoke first served as a location for a Navy Section Base from 9th October 1942 to 1944; later as an Amphibious Training Station between 1944-1945 and as a Combat Information Center. Although the war was primarily focused on the European continent and the Pacific, Ocracoke and the rest of the Atlantic Seaboard became the prime hunting ground for the German U-Boats. Throughout both the first and second World Wars, the single most effective weapon targeting merchant shipping off the British and American coast was the U-Boat. At a conservative estimate, from January 1942 to the end of April 1942, over 200 ships totalling just over 1 million tons were destroyed on the Eastern seaboard (over 60 of these ships alone off the North Carolina coast).

About a mile to the northeast of Ocracoke Village was located the top secret "Loop Hut" (or loop ‘shack’) which employed new underwater magnetic indicator loops used to detect submarines by electromagnetic induction. As usual with all US Navy Harbor Defenses sound modulated radio sentinel buoys, listening equipment controlled from shore (HERALDs) and radio direction finding technology were also employed. Along with other stations along the coast, including Poyners Hill near Corolla, RDF receivers could intercept and triangulate the location of the U-boats when they transmitted their daily reports back to France.

Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the Loop Hut so if anyone has additional information please email me at the address below.

This photo of the Ocracoke Naval Base was taken from Silver Lake by LCDR Henning A. Rountree, Jr. USNR RET, in September 1947.

·  Return to our US Navy Loop Receiving Station web page

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