theunderwaterarchiver

Truk Lagoon (Chuuk) is a series of islands about 1800 km northeast of New Guinea in the middle of the Pacific.  It was the sight of Japan’s version of Pearl Harbor. On February 17, 1944, American forces launched an attack on Chuuk lagoon sinking 12 battleships, many more merchant ships, and destroying nearly 275 Japanese aircraft. It is a huge wreck-diver attraction as the largest naval graveyard in the world. In fact, many of the bodies were never removed from the wreckage.  Top: The Emily “flying boat” of the Japanese ship Kawanishi. Middle: Great photo of a sunken tractor aboard one of the freighters.  The suspended substance is said to be aviation fluids that still leak into the water nearly 70 years later. Bottom: A light tank aboard the Japanese ship San Francisco Maru.