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25 Images A team of 7 divers travelled from the UK to spend 2 weeks diving the fantastic wrecks of Bikini Atoll mainly using the KISS closed circuit Rebreather These are a few of the above water photos of the team, the facilities at Bikini as well as a selection of original black & white photos taken during the tests and some amazing original film footage. |
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67 Images Commissioned in 1927, an American aircraft carrier 880 feet in length and weighs 39,000 tons, it rests in Bikini's lagoon at a depth of 55m. Her bridge is easily accessible at 12m, her deck at 30m, and the hanger for the Helldivers at 40m. These Helldivers and bombs are still on display complete with all dials and controls. Fuel and ammunition loads during test BAKER were 10% of capacity and 67% capacity respectively. She was reported sunk by the Japanese seven times during World War II. She received seven battle stars. The USS Saratoga is the largest diveable vessel in the world, and until recently the only aircraft carrier available for diving. Length: 880 ft. 268 m. Gross Tonnage: 39,000 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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20 Images The Japanese Flagship to the Japanese Navy, she was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's floating fortress during Japan's World War II attack on Pearl Harbor and was a treasure to the Japanese forces. The 32,720 ton battleship is at rest upside down in 55m of water; her bridge is accessible at 50m, the hull and monstrous props at 36m. Her dimensions were 725' long, 113' beam, 32' draught. Her full load displacement was 43,581 tons at full load and her maximum speed was 24.98 knots. She carried a crew of 1,368. Her main armament consisted of 8 x 16", 18 x 5.5" & 8 x 5".Fuel and ammo loads during both ABLE and BAKER tests were, respectively, 15% and 10% of capacity. She is upside down in the water and an incredible dive with her four massive screws appearing like an underwater Stonehenge. Length: 725 ft. 221 m. Gross Tonnage: 32,720 tons. Depth: 50 m. |
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12 Images An American destroyer, 348 feet long, that received ten battle stars during World War II. She served as a carrier screen in the Coral Sea, Midway, the Solomon’s, Guadalcanal, and Tarawa. Always on the frontlines, she was with the Lexington CV-2 and the Yorktown CV-5 aircraft carriers when they were sunk in battle by the Japanese. She was also with the USS Wasp and the USS Hornet when they were sunk in WWII. In 1943, in Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands, she got hit with a 155mm shell that killed the captain and five officers and wounded another 18 men. She was at 95% of capacity of both fuel and ordnance when she was sunk by ABLE and is now at rest on her side in Bikini's lagoon at a depth of 55m. Length: 348 ft. 106 m. Gross Tonnage: 1,570 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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9 Images An American submarine 312 feet long. She made eight war patrols sinking three Japanese vessels totalling 7,575 tons. Her first patrol was out of Pearl Harbor in November of 1943. She later patrolled from Majuro to Midway and was part of Operation Galvanic during the invasions of Tarawa and the Gilbert Islands. Working off Formosa, she ran in a wolf-pack known as the "Mickey Finns" that sunk 41,000 tons worth of Japanese vessels toward the end of the war. She received five battle stars and was sunk by BAKER. She now appears perfectly upright in 55m as if ready to drive away on the bottom of Bikini's lagoon. Length: 312 ft. 95 m. Gross Tonnage: 1,526 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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9 Images With the wrecks in the Atoll resting on the seabed at 55m this is advanced diving. Furthermore the schedule plans for 2 dives a day, so a lot of the time underwater is spent on deco. On average we spent approximately 60mins deco per dive. |
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13 Images A 29,000 ton American battleship 562' long, that survived two world wars. The Arkansas took part in the Presidential Naval Review in the Hudson River and then carried President William H. Taft to the Panama Canal Zone for an inspection of the unfinished canal. On April 22, 1914, she assisted in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. In December of 1918 she formed part of the escort carrying President Woodrow Wilson to France. In World War II, the Arkansas escorted convoys across the Atlantic. She remained in European waters for the invasion of Normandy where she performed yeoman service at Omaha Beach, the bombardment of Cherbourg and the invasion of southern France. She then moved to the Pacific to participate in action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Arkansas, at rest almost completely upside down in Bikini's lagoon in 55m of water, received four battle stars for her service in World War II and was sunk by BAKER. Length: 562 ft. 171 m. Gross Tonnage: 29,000 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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9 Images A merchant craft named after a county in Kentucky, 426 feet long. She made three voyages to the west coast from Hawaii and Japan and shorter passages among South Pacific islands. She sits upright on the bottom and is guarded by a magnificent school of skip jacks; and there is almost always a shark sitting on this ship. The ABLE blast split her open so she makes for a sensational penetration dive. Fuel and ammunition loads during test ABLE were 95% of capacity. The Carlisle was sunk by the ABLE blast and rests in 55m. Length: 426 ft. 130 m. Gross Tonnage: 4,247 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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25 Images The American destroyer Lamson, 341 feet long, received five battle stars for service during World War II. She was used to search for Amelia Earhart in 1937 in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. She was deployed from Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in the unsuccessful search for the Japanese Task Force that bombed Pearl Harbor and later served throughout the Pacific until the end of the war. She was at 50% capacity for both fuels and ordnance when she was sunk by ABLE. Her hull, lying in 55m, provides a great example of the power of a nuclear explosion as it is horribly twisted and damaged. Length: 341 ft. 104 m. Gross Tonnage: 1,500 tons. Depth: 55 m. |
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Bikini Atoll slideshow to view as a video with a musical background. |
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