BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The USS Oriskany aircraft carrier on Wednesday became the first U.S. warship scuttled as the world's largest manmade reef after explosive charges sent it to the ocean floor off Florida's Gulf Coast.

USS Oriskany, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, is sunk 37 kilometers off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Wednesday, May 17, 2006. (Photo: Yahoo.com)

     The rusted hulk took 37 minutes to slip beneath the waves, about four and a half hours faster than predicted, after more than 500 pounds of plastic explosives went off with bright flashes of light and clouds of brown and gray smoke.

    "It's been successful," navy spokesman Pat Dolen said after the sinking of the ship 37 kilometers off Pensacola, in western Florida.

    U.S. navy divers will inspect the shipwreck on Thursday to determine whether it sits upright at a depth of 66 meters, as intended.

    "It's kind of sad," said retired U.S. navy pilot Stuart Reynolds, who had flown missions from the Oriskany during the Vietnam War and watched the imposing ship go to its watery grave.

    "But now she has a new life; she's better off than being cut up for razor blades," he said, speaking by cell phone from the Reel Easy, one of the hundreds of boats that sailed out into the Gulf of Mexico to watch the aircraft carrier's final moments afloat.

    The Oriskany is the first U.S. navy warship intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef to attract coral growth, scuba divers, fish and fishermen. It is also the largest ship ever sunk on purpose to create a reef.

    The whole operation costs 19 million dollars, but the new tourist attraction should bring in annual revenues of about 92 million dollars, according to a Florida State University study. Enditem