The team, put together by Tech Diving of North Lake Havasu City in Arizona, were flabberghasted when they came across the large bell while diving the wreck off the Nantucket coast.
Two team members, Carl Bayer and Ernest Rookey, both from New Jersey, spotted the bell sticking partially out of the sandy seabed at a depth of about 70m.
The find was made amongst wreckage of what is believed to be the ship’s bridge area.
The bell, carrying the ship's name and commissioning date of 1952, stands more than a metre high and weighs about 35kg. Its size is further indication that it is the ship’s main bell.
“All we hoped for was to get a little trinket to take home to remember our dive,” Rookey told US media. “I’m still stunned, the bell was totally unexpected.”
Bayer and Rookey, who now hold the bell, reportedly hope to display it at diving exhibitions.
Another bell was raised from the wreck’s stern area in 1985, by a team led by Bill Nagle. The ship's compass was brought up in 1967 by John Dudas.
The 212m-long, Italian-registered Andrea Doria sank in 1956 after colliding with another ship, the Swedish American Line’s Stockholm. Forty-six out of 1660 passengers and crew died.
The wreck lies on its starboard side in 70m to 77m of water, divers touching down on its uppermost extremities at about 50m.
The hull is fairly collapsed and upper decks have slid off on to the seabed, forming an extended debris field.
The wreck is regarded as a highly challenging deep dive, lying 55 miles offshore in an area of strong currents, which vary in direction according to depth.
It is entangled in nets and cordage. Within hull areas that remain standing, silt is often kicked up by the currents.
Over the years, some 15 divers have lost their lives attempting to explore the vessel.
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