
Richie Kohler is an Americantechnicalwreck diver andshipwreckhistorian who has been diving and exploring shipwrecks since 1980. Together withJohn Chatterton, Kohler was one of the co-hosts of thetelevision seriesDeep Sea Detectives on theHistory Channel and is also a consultant for the film and television industry on shipwreck and diving projects.[1]
Kohler has explored shipwrecks around the world, including theSSAndrea Doria and theRMSTitanic. Diving from the Russian research vessel Keldysh, Kohler made multiple dives to 3,786 meters (12,421 ft) in theMIRsubmersibles to explore theTitanic's wreck site.
Kohler's work identifying aWorld War IIGermansubmarine,U-869, off the coast of New Jersey has been the subject of several television documentaries and a book byRobert Kurson,Shadow Divers. This book is being developed as amotion picture by20th Century Fox, directed and produced byPeter Weir.[2]
Kohler was part of a team led by oceanographerRobert Ballard which explored and mapped the wreck of theU-166 in the summer of 2014 with remotely operated vehicles and determined that the bow of the submarine was destroyed, apparently by a depth charge which caused an internal explosion of the submarine's own torpedoes.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |