Travel

21 Images

The Solomon Islands is third largest archipelago in the South Pacific, comprising 992 islands ranging from large landmasses with rugged mountains and virgin forests, to low lying coral atolls. They are scattered in a double chain of islands covering 1.35 million sq km of sea and extend for 1.667k, in a south-easterly direction from Papua New Guinea. The country's capital, Honiara, is situated on the north-west coast on the island of Guadalcanal. The Japanese invaded the islands in World War II, and they were the scene of some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theatre, most famously the battle of Guadalcanal.

USS Aaron Ward

109 Images

On 7 April 1943 while covering LST -449 off Togoma Point, Guadalcanal, Aaron Ward was attacked by six Planes which scored one hit and four "near miss", sinking her after she had scored hits on three of the planes. Casualties were 27 men killed or missing and 59 wounded. Aaron Ward's wreck was discovered in some 240 feet (70m) of water during the middle 1990s. Extensively explored by divers since then, she is upright, with her bow and stern seriously distorted by impact with the sea floor. Otherwise, however, the old destroyer is in remarkably good condition, and still shows many signs of damage received in her last fight. Aaron Ward received three battle stars for her service in the Pacific.

Length: 348 ft. 106 m. Gross Tonnage: 2,060 tons. Depth: 70 m.

Azumasan Maru

10 Images

The huge Japanese transport Azumasan Maru sits upright on a steep slope to the west of Tasivarongo Point which is about 9 miles (14 km) west of Honiara, and is commonly referred to as the “Deep Ruaniu”. The bow is around 140 feet (40 m) down and the stern in very deep water (80m).

Length: 420 ft. 128 m. Gross Tonnage: 6,993 tons. Depth: 40-80 m.

Kawanishi Sea Planes

24 Images

At the opening moments of the war in the Pacific the Japanese Imperial Navy seaplane “Mavis” was one of the best pieces of aerial transport and reconnaissance equipment in their inventory. Soon however, it was found to suffer from inadequate armour, lack of self sealing fuel tanks and vulnerability to ground fire resulting in it being withdrawn from frontline service. An excellent, well built airplane that was arguably the most advanced flying boat in the world at the start of the war and the largest Japanese aircraft at the time it’s wingspan was nearly half again that of the fabled American B-17 bomber. These planes now lie in a depth of 30m.

USS Kanawha

53 Images

On 7 April a group of enemy "Vals" slipped through fighter defences and zeroed in on Kanawha as she awaited an escort in Tulagi Harbor. At 1502, shortly after clearing the harbor, the slow and vulnerable oiler came under bomb attack. The first five planes hit an oil tank under the bridge, causing fires to spread rapidly along the deck. Lt. Comdr. Bock ordered the ship abandoned to minimize danger to his crew from burning oil on the surface. After rescue operations were underway, volunteers returned on board and extinguished fires amidst exploding ammunition. The tug Rail towed Kanawha on the west side of Tulagi where she was beached shortly before midnight. However, she slid off into deep water (60m) and sank before daybreak 8 April. Nineteen of her crew were lost. Kanawha received one battle star for World War II service.

Length: 475 ft. 145 m. Gross Tonnage: 5,723 tons. Depth: 60 m.

Tama Maru

14 Images

Japanese Mine sweeper, lies in 68-75m water, visibility is normally awesome at this site, 40-50m average. There are many artefacts on this wreck, lanterns in the rear hold and hemi-spherical mines mid-ships, if you tire of this then the fish life will enthral. This is a site for the very advanced diver, but the size of the site does allow it to be covered in the dive.

Length: 190 ft. 58 m. Gross Tonnage: 275 tons. Depth: 75 m.

USS John Penn

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The big American attack transport APA-23 (commissioned as AP-51) USS John Penn lies on its starboard side off Lungga Point, east of Honiara, at about 200 feet (60 m). It was built in 1931, was 475 feet long, 62 feet wide and displaced 9360 tons. The ship was sunk in 1943 by a torpedo from a torpedo bomber which hit near No. 5 Hold and set off a secondary explosion. The severe damage caused the stern to separate and it is 400 yards away from the main part of the ship. At the time of sinking, the ship was armed with one 5 inch gun, four 3 inch guns and eight 20mm Oerlikon cannons. The ship is in two parts with most dives being conducted on the bow section.

Length: 475 ft. 145 m. Gross Tonnage: 9,360 tons. Depth: 60 m.

Tulagi

25 Images

The Nggela (or Florida) Islands are about 20 miles (35 km) north of Honiara across the famous Iron Bottom Sound. Tulagi was the original capital of the Solomon’s but was severely damaged during WWII and was replaced by the new capital of Honiara after the war. Divers stay at Vanita Lodge, comprises basic rooms with have power (when the island generator isn't broken!) and ceiling fans.

Team

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The dive team from the UK consisted of a number of Open Circuit and a mixture of Rebreather divers. Where possible the team dived trimix on the deep dives.

Guadalcanal Slideshow

Guadalcanal slideshow to view as a video with a musical background.