Deep-sea explorers and historians have stumbled upon wrecks in Midway's famous Battle of the Pacific during World War II on the Pacific Rim northwest of Hawaii. Sonar images allowed the scientists to accurately measure the remains. Now they are sure: One of the wrecks must be the Japanese aircraft carrier "Akagi".
The naval battle is considered a turning point in World War II. In June 1942, the Japanese naval forces attacked the tiny Midway Islands in the northern Pacific, which belong to the United States. The islands are halfway between California and Japan, hence the name.
photo gallery
6 pictures
Japanese Aircraft Carrier: The Red CastleThe Japanese wanted to lure the US Navy with the surprise attack from the reserve and possibly sink. But US defense specialists had cracked the Japanese code system. The Japanese ran into a trap.
- Read more about the course of the Japanese attack here: "Battle of the Bird Islands".
The wreckage of the aircraft carrier "Akagi", which translates into red lock, lies at a good 5490 meters, about 2000 kilometers northwest of Pearl Harbor in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Reserve. The ship had been hit hard by US aircraft. When it became clear that it could not be saved, it was evacuated and sunk by a Japanese destroyer.
"The wreck is upright"
The researchers deployed an autonomous-driving unmanned underwater vehicle that used sonar to study the wreck. Saturday night, the vehicle had carried out measurements that together on Sunday gave the image of a warship.
Because the first scans were made with a low resolution, the researchers sent the vehicle down again to take even better shots. After that, there was no doubt for the scientists. "I'm sure, in everything we see and what we can deduce from the picture: It can not be anything but the 'Akagi'," said Rob Kraft of the company Vulcan Inc., which also operates deep-sea research.
The ship is in the middle of a pile of rubble. The seabed was clearly agitated by the impact. "The wreck is upright," says Kraft. The bow and the stern are clearly visible. Part of the flight deck is torn.
The cast of the research vessel "Petrel" had worked with the US Navy and other agencies around the world for years to track down sunken ships. Last week, the researchers had identified another wreck of the Battle of Midway. It was also a Japanese aircraft carrier called "Kaga".
"We've read about the battle, we know what happened," says historian Frank Thompson of the Naval History and Heritage Command, which is to preserve the history of the US Navy. "But seeing those wrecks at the bottom of the ocean gives you a sense of what the real price of war is," Thompson continues. More than 3,300 people died in the battle. The researchers hope to find all the wrecks.
The billionaire and co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, had initiated the search for the wrecks. He died last year.
