Wrecks: Great Diving from Mayhem

Warships of the American, German and Japanese navies were nuclear blast
test subjects during Operation Crossroads
Photo: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Fred Stratton
Instructor and Technician
fred@bubblesornot.com

This is part two of our series on underwater playgrounds. July's article Artificial Reefs: Reborn by Nature took us diving on manmade structures. This month we look at the mayhem Mother Nature, human error and war have visited upon mariners since ancient times. These disasters fascinate divers seeking adventure and a connection to the seafaring souls whose final voyage ended in tragedy.  

Successful companies have strong brand recognition. So too do world class wreck diving destinations. Whisper the words Scapa Flow, Bikini or Chuuk and wreck diving afficianados will tell animated first-hand stories or nod that they are on their bucket list. A story about one wreck often spills into tales of another. 

There's irony in ships that cost lives when sinking support so much life underwater. Wrecks rapidly become refuge for creatures great and small, from wide-angle sharks to macro lens nudibranchs.

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

USS SARATOGA (CV-3)
Photo: U.S. Navy

At the dawn of the Cold War, in 1946 the U.S. moved the 157 inhabitants of Bikini to another atoll in order to test the effects nuclear blasts would have on warships. The most famous test subject was the USS SARATOGA (CV-3), one of only three diveable aircraft carriers in the world. (Can you name the other two?) 

The crew of the "Sara" earned eight battle stars during WWII. She rests in 200' (60m), requiring at least a Tec 50 certification to visit the hull. The tech diver's dream continues with two destroyers, two submarines, a light cruiser, two attack transports and two battleships including the Japanese behemoth Nagato resting at 180' (55m), her massive propellors rising to 110' (35m). 

The liveaboard dive boat M/V Truk Master serves Bikini Atoll.

Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, Scotland

WWI ended when the Allies defeated Germany in November 1918. Britain's Royal Navy interned the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow, a large anchorage in the northern reaches of Scotland. The fleet's commander, Admiral Ludwig Von Reuter, couldn't live with what he anticipated would be an order to turn over his fleet to the Allies. Thus, on 21 June 1919, he signaled crews of all 52 ships to scuttle them by opening their seacocks. All rested on the seafloor by sundown.

German light cruiser during fleet-wide scuttling 21 June 1919
Photo: Orkney Library and Archive

Salvors raised many of the ships in the 1920s and 1930s but seven important warships remain including the battleship SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm, the light cruiser SMS Karlsruhe and the fast minelayer SMS Brummer.

Scapa Flow is thought to be a technical dive location. True, some wrecks rest at 148' (45m) yet most are within recreational dive limits. The 480' (146m) Kronprinz Wilhem is at 125' (38m) and the Karlsruhe rests at 82' (25m). Day charters and liveaboards serve divers visiting the Orkneys.

St. Lawrence Seaway, US and Canada

The five Great Lakes hold thousands of wrecks, casualties of human error and ferocious storms. Their waters flow to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Due to the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), a small filter feeding mollusc, the Saint Lawrence has visibility approaching that of Florida caves on some days. 

We've dived numerous times out of Brockville, Ontario. Dozens of shipwrecks from 30' (9m) to 200' (61m) await you in 75-degree water during the summer. Standout wrecks include the America, John B. King, Henry Daryaw, Muscallonge and the Roy Jodrey, an enormous 600-foot wreck in Alexandria Bay, New York. It's a unique experience to dive in two countries in one day. Remember your passport!

Graveyard of the Atlantic, North Carolina, US

Tanker Byron D. Benson engulfed in flames following a
Nazi U-boat torpedo attack April 1942
Photo: National Archives and Records Administration

WWII victims of the Kriegsmarine's Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat), a concerted U-boat offensive of the Atlantic coast, stretch from New England to the Gulf of Mexico and down to Brazil. Drumbeat was wildly successful; Hitler's U-boats sank 1,983,000 tons of Allied shipping from January through June 1942. 

The Coast Guard Ship Icarus (WPC-110)  began turning the tide when it detected U-352, a Type VII-C U-boat on 9 may 1942. Five depth charges immobilized the Nazi submarine. Captain Rathke surfaced his crippled boat to evacuate his crew before scuttling his ship. Icarus fired on the Germans killing 17 crewmen before accepting Rathke's surrender. She rests in 115' (35m) of water, a nice dive on EANx32. 

Storms and hurricanes capsize ships and sweep them onto shoals. Near Morehead City, where the Outer Banks jut out into the Atlantic, is particularly hazardous making this port city a departure point for many good dive charters. Check out the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, NC. Admission is free.

Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

Carrier-based air attack on Japanese anchorage at
Chuuk Lagoon 17 February 1944
Photo: U.S. Navy

Operation Hailstone was an appropriate codename for the U.S. Navy's massive attack on the Japanese fleet anchorage in Chuuk Lagoon on 17 and 18 February 1944. (Check out this WWII newsreel.) Armed with good intelligence, the Navy employed more than 500 aircraft from nine aircraft carriers in a devastating assault that sank 15 Imperial Japanese warships and 32 freighters, and destroyed 270 aircraft. 

Rec or Tec?  Or both?  Chuuk's wrecks lie between 49' (15m) and 213' (65m), so there's plenty of diving for all certification and experience levels. Sea life?  Plenty! How about turtles, eagle and stingrays? How about the beautiful, elusive leopard shark? Bring high gigabyte memory cards for your camera. 

If this weren't enough, consider Chuuk's 40-100' (12-30M) of visibility and 83-85F (28-29C) water. Wreck diving in paradise awaits!

Coming in November

Fellow Divers, Our Other Family