To protect Charleston from German
U-Boats during World War II, submarine nets were placed across the
Jetties, Elliott Cut, Wappoo Creek, Ben Sawyer Bridge and behind the
Isle of Palms. The Wappoo Creek submarine net still exists, but is
beginning to deteriorate. One of the 12 remaining pilings collapsed
during the summer of 2016, and the other pilings are not far behind.
This video is created to preserve imagery of this artifact and encourage
boaters to treat it with respect when navigating past.
Though charts refer to it as Wappoo Creek, locals call it Coburg Creek
because of the old Coburg Dairy site at the East end near South
Windermere. This dairy was West Ashley’s primary industry through much
of the 1900s.
During World War II, Coburg Creek was
much larger than it is today. Before the creation of Elliott Cut, it was
the inshore route from the Stono River to Charleston Harbor. The
submarine net was a necessary barrier to prevent small boats, or even
U-boats from sneaking into Charleston Harbor and towards the Navy base.
Former Charleston Mayor Palmer Gaillard wrote in the News & Courier
that he helped build the nets in the rigging yard at the Naval Base in
North Charleston. Per his account, at the end of the war they simply cut
the nets down and left the pilings in the creek.
There are incredible stories of German U-Boats off the coast of the
Carolinas during World War II. One legend claims theater ticket stubs
and a loaf of bread from a local Charleston bakery were found in
wreckage of a German U-Boat. Unarchived war logs tell of U-boats off
Charleston harbor, and the North Carolina Outer Banks became known as
“Torpedo Junction” because of all the U-Boat activity.
Our World War II history in the Charleston area is rapidly disappearing,
but the Coburg Creek Submarine Net pilings remain to be appreciated, at
least for the time being.