After intermittent service in the Mediteranean and South Atlantic, the USS Ozark was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1974, and used as a target for pilots flying out of Eglin Air Force Base near Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. She was sunk on 1 September 1975. The pilots were instructed to fire only above the waterline, however, it seems someone "mucked it up" and launched a missle and mortally wounded her below the waterline. The bulkheads had not been closed off, and she sank rather quickly. She now lies, even keel on a sandy bottom in 330' of seawater off of Destin, Florida.

The Ozark is 458' long, and has a 60' beam. Because of the depth of the dive site, only a handful of divers have visited her. It is highly recommended that you have deep trimix experience for this dive, "deep-air" divers need not apply. Portions of the ship rise to within 250' of the surface.

Pictures, Loran coordinates, and GPS numbers are forth coming.

A special thank you to John Justin for the background information found on this particular ship.