The wreckage of the Titanic was found nearly 39 years ago during a secret US Navy mission to recover nuclear submarines [Video]

Almost immediately after the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, there were attempts to recover the wreckage and the bodies of those who had gone down with the ship. However, the limited diving technology of the time prevented this from becoming a reality for more than seven decades.

On September 1, 1985 — almost 39 years ago — the wreckage was found during a joint exploration by an American oceanographer, Robert Ballard, who was also a Navy officer, and a French oceanographer, Jean-Louis Michel, as The New York Times reported at the time.

But the dive initially had nothing to do with the Titanic at all — it was a secret mission to find the wrecks of two nuclear submarines, the USS Scorpion and the USS Thresher.

However, this information was not made public until 2008, when Ballard revealed the true nature of the mission to National Geographic.

“The Navy is finally discussing it,” Ballard told National Geographic in 2008.