Truk Lagoon

Some pictures from Callums recent trip to Truk Lagoon in the South Pacific. Truk was used as a key staging posted in the Pacific by the Japanese throughout the 2nd World War.

After early reconnaissance by the Americans who saw the Japanese Navy and support ships at anchor they decided to launch and attack. However forewarned by the reconnaissance the Japanese decided to relocated the aircraft carriers, battleships, and heavy cruisers of the Combined Fleet to Palau a week earlier. However, numerous smaller warships and merchant ships remained in and around the anchorage and several hundred aircraft were stationed at the atoll’s airfield.

On February 17 they launch Operation Hailstone which involved a combination of airstrikes, surface ship actions, and submarine attacks over two days and appeared to take the Japanese completely by surprise.

In total the attack sank three Japanese light cruisers (Agano, Katori, and Naka), four destroyers (Oite, Fumizuki, Maikaze, and Tachikaze), three auxiliary cruisers (Akagi Maru, Aikoku Maru, Kiyosumi Maru), two submarine tenders (Heian Maru, Rio de Janeiro Maru), three other smaller warships (including submarine chasers Ch-24 and Shonan Maru 15), aircraft transport Fujikawa Maru, and 32 merchant ships. Some of the ships were destroyed in the anchorage and some in the area surrounding Truk lagoon.

These wrecks are all diveable offering some of the best wreck diving in the world!!!

Photos courtesy of my dive buddy Soren