Apart from the big wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon that we will come back to later, there are a number of airplane wrecks that you can dive to.
I do really enjoy diving aircraft, they are nice and compact so you can spend a bit of time exploring every inch. The estimate is that the Americans shot down or destroyed on the ground over 200 hundred Japanese aircraft in the two days of operation Hailstone so there are bound to be a few.
A little bit of history first. The Japanese had a few airfields defending Chuuk Lagoon, probably the most famous was Etten Island. This small Island was bulldozed and leveled by the Japanese using Chuukese slave labor into an unsinkable aircraft carrier. Even today from this Googal maps image you can see the basic shape of the airfield that was once there.
The first aircraft we will visit are Zeros, there are a few of these fighters crashed in the sea close to Etten. The Mitsubishi A6M better known as the Zero was one of the iconic Japanese fighters of WWII. With a wingspan of less than 12m and 1020 horsepower radial engine. It was light, fast, and maneuverable but offered little armored protection for the pilot. The ones we dived were all around Etten Island and very shallow so easily snorkeled at low tide. Possibly some of those shot down by the American fighters. There are stories of the Japanese being so surprised by the early morning attack that pilots were taking to the skies in their pajamas.
Betty Bomber
The Mitsubishi G4M or Betty Bomber was a twin-engine attack bomber used by the Japanese. With a crew of 7 and 25m wingspan, it could carry 4x 250kg bombs with a loaded range of 2300miles at 250mph. To keep it light and increase the range it was not armored and did not use self-sealing fuel tanks so earned the nickname the lighter with American pilots as they would burst into flames when you hit them.
The Betty in Truk is a few 100m off Etten Island and must have gone in quite hard as the engines are about 100m in front of the plane, having a guide really helps to find them.
The plane is quite shallow only 18m so you can see it below you as soon as you drop in off the boat.
It is also still in good condition and it's easy to spend an hour looking around the main body and also at some of the parts that have been set out by the guides over the years.
Emily flying boat
The Kawanishi H8K or Emily flying boat is a big aircraft with a crew of 10, 38m wingspan, 4 Mitsubishi 1850hp radial engines, and heavily armed with 5 20mm cannon and 5 machine guns in various locations so the American pilots called it the Flying Porcupine treated these with some respect.
The story with the Emily in Chuuk is that she was flying from Palau to Chuuk with a number of high-ranking Japanese officers when she was ambushed by American fighters killing many on board. The pilot managed to lose the fighters in the clouds and limped back to Chuuk where he landed heavily near Tonoas Island and the flying boat sank.
The Emily is upside down at about 15m near Tonoas, unlike the Betty the engines and props are still attached.
The nose is quite badly damaged.
One of the side floats broken off the wing
Myrt Reccaissance aircraft
The Nakajima C6N or Myrt is a fast 3 seater reconnaissance aircraft with a 12.5m wingspan 1850hp Nakajima radial engine and a top speed of 380mph not much could catch her.
The one in Chuuk is located on a shallow reef only 15m deep a few 100 meters off the seaplane base on Dublon, where the Blue Lagoon Resort now stands, and there is a bit of debate on what she is doing there. Most theories revolve around it being dumped at the end of the war with other rubbish, there are truck parts and an aerial torpedo close by so it is possible.
Many people have her classified as a Nakajima B6N or Jill torpedo bomber as they are very similar aircraft.
The long 3 man cockpit.
Aerial torpedo close by on the reef.
US MIAs from Operation Hailstone
As a little aside story, since about 2018 the University of Delaware and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, have been working with Project Recover to locate the downed US fighters and bombers from Operation Hailstone, with some success. Mapping the lagoon with side-scan sonar and then using remotely operated vehicles to check the targets. It's an interesting project and important for closure for some families. Here is the link if your interested in that sort of thing its worth a read. https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2020/february/project-recover-finds-three-wwII-aircraft-truk-lagoon-pacific/
That's all for now Hivers I hope you enjoyed this visit to some of the aircraft wrecks in Chuuk.