Dorado Search Fund Raising

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War bond poster in memory of Dorado by Georges Schreiber, 1944. Courtesy of Navsource.net

The prime goal of this project is to find Dorado's final resting place and provide photographic and video documentation of the wreck site to the greatest extent possible. This is by no means an easy task. Dorado's suspected final resting place is in the central Caribbean, hundreds of miles from the nearest land. Most importantly, hydrographic data indicates that the water depth in that area is nearly 3,000 meters (almost 10,000 feet). A search for Dorado will require a specially equipped organization with the latest in deep sea search technology. Because of these factors a search for Dorado will be an expensive one.

Project team members are in an early phase of working out a search plan with two different organizations, companies with proven experience in deep ocean work who have agreed to perform searches on an opportunistic basis while in the vicinity of the area we have developed for Dorado. This approach may involve multiple searches of subsets of the defined search area, each of which will be documented to avoid any duplicity, continuing until a discovery is made. It is possible that a search could be conducted by mid 2026. These two organizations utilize state-of-the-art AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) equipped with a variety of sensors to potentially include side scan sonar, video and still cameras, and other bathymetry equipment. These organizations may be able to divert from their operating areas to conduct a search for Dorado. Understandably they can't do this on their own dime so the project is looking for ways to raise money to fund a search.

You can play a role in the potential discovery of Dorado. We have partnered with the United States Submarine Veterans Charitable Foundation Inc. (USSVCF), who will act as a repository for monies donated and as a dispersing agent. USSVCF is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) charitable foundation run by submarine veterans whose purpose is to focus on the support, health, and welfare of our Submarine Veterans and their families, while preserving the legacy of the Submarine Service and the "Greatest Generation". Donations made to the Dorado Fund are potentially tax-deductable under IRS regulations. The USSVCF website has all the documentation that you need to help understand how the money is collected, acccounted for, and dispersed. Please visit their site if you have any questions.

If you are interested in helping us close this chapter of naval history and provide closure to the families of our lost sailors on Dorado, please make a donation at this link. We are looking for both individual and corporate/group donors. Anything that you can do will be of help in this effort.

SPECIAL NOTE: The USS Dorado Project is an entirely private and self-funded organization whose team members are volunteers. We are not compensated in any way, and this site does not sell anything or accept any advertisements. Any money donated through these means will be used solely to offset the cost of conducting a search for the Dorado. The team members will not receive any compensation in any form from the money that you donate. The project team has experience working with the U.S. Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), assisting them with the identification of discovered wrecks. If a wreck is discovered, we will work with NHHC to get its identity officially confirmed so that the families of the Dorado crew will have the comfort of knowing the final resting place of their ancestors and possibly even the cause of their loss.

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Thaddeus Weaver & David Johnston
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West Warwick, RI, Norfolk, VA

ussdoradoproject@gmail.com