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Originally posted by Mogami
Hi, Shinano was sank by a sub. I can't recall if it was Yamato or Musashi that took 40 bomb hits and over a dozen torpedos before sinking. (and they say the damage control parties were not that well trained. A USN crew might have kept the ship afloat even after all the damage)

Hi If remeber the book "decision at leyte" correctly the mushashi took an enourmous ammount of damage so much so her cpatain had her afloat with "water washing over the deck" no more counter flooding was possible, but was affraid to turn her toward the beach because he was affraid she would capsise,I have'nt read that book since high school many many years ago but that part stood out very vividly the captian seemed very capable indeed.

Originally posted by Nikademus
i would love to go to Bikini some day and scuba the wreck of the Saratoga....i've seen photos and descriptions. Heh....a little wary of all that live oridinace still sitting on her hanger deck. Its kind of amazing in this age of "safety first" memorial warships that such wrecks are so open.

Then again, there isn't the same liability issue if someone accidently pokes a fused bomb on an unmaintained sunken warship and blows himself to the surface a tad bit more quickly then the scuba manual instructions recommend

don't forget the prinz eugen hero of the battle with the hood her hull still breathes air! talk about unsinkable!

It is my honor to take care of 2 Houston survivors at our VA hosp
and one of them is the heart of the Houston Survivors group.

He tells me the Houston is in fairly shallow water. The outline of the hull can be seen from the surface in calm seas. The ship is the subject of souvenir hunters from Indonesia because of it is so easy to dive to. Items being removed and sold off include items up to and including the 5" deck guns in size.

Obviously the remaining Houston survivors are outraged, but unable to stop this practice.

Genda

I am sorry to hear that about Houston. If it is any consolation, the looters can rip her to shreds but they'll never get near her heart.

People focus on the wrong things. Musashi and Yamato did not weather an unusual amount of damage for a BB, especially considering their displacement, and much of the damage that they sustained was substantial overkill. Like the Titanic, anything with sufficient displacement will float for a while even if the vessel is doomed from the first hit.

Originally posted by mdiehl
I am sorry to hear that about Houston. If it is any consolation, the looters can rip her to shreds but they'll never get near her heart.

I was born and raised in Houston, TX. I visited the (BB) USS Texas many times. The bell of the USS Houston was retrieved by divers many years ago (60s or 70s, I think) and is on display aboard the Texas.

They say a ship's soul resides in its bell. If so, the Houston's soul is perfectly safe.

How about the Perth? It must be close by the Houston and in shallow water as well.

The Pillsbury will probably never be found, likewise the DeRyuter, Java and Exeter. The Java sea is just too big and deep

I wonder why the Woods Hole crew never went to Iron bottom sound. Its deep, but all the ships should be clustered around a relatively small area.

Hi Timjot,

Bob Ballard and his crew went to Guadalcanal a few years back. I got the resulting book ("The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal") for about $15 (mint, used...abebooks.com).

The book is chock full of amazing photographs of most of the famous (and some not so) ships that fought around Guadalcanal.

A short, icomplete list includes: HMAS Canberra, USS Quincy, USS Atlanta, Kirishima (sound familiar Sniggy?:p ), Ayanami, and many others.

I believe there is also a National Geographic video concerning the above. I know there is one for Midway (I have it:) ).

Originally posted by dwesolick
Hi Timjot,

Bob Ballard and his crew went to Guadalcanal a few years back. I got the resulting book ("The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal") for about $15 (mint, used...abebooks.com).

The book is chock full of amazing photographs of most of the famous (and some not so) ships that fought around Guadalcanal.

A short, icomplete list includes: HMAS Canberra, USS Quincy, USS Atlanta, Kirishima (sound familiar Sniggy?:p ), Ayanami, and many others.

I believe there is also a National Geographic video concerning the above. I know there is one for Midway (I have it:) ).

Thanks dwesolick,

I didnt realize Ballard had gone to GD. I will have to look up the book. I did see the Midway NatGeo Doc. The Yorktown pics were great too bad they couldnt find any of the IJN CVs though.

Hi I rememberr many years ago a TV program was produced that focused on the ships sunk in an around thew south pacific I can't for the life of me remeber what the name of it was,alot of footage was focused on bikini anyone know the name of the show? produced an shown around 1976 or 77...cheers.

This is a great thread. Everyone interested in diving the Bikini wrecks prepare for decompression dives.
I have one of the Bikini sites bookmarked and they state most of the dives on the wrecks are below the
max rec diver limit of 130. Take a Nitrox or a Trimix course too.
The same website: combinedfleet.com also had a reference to a expedition which was to find the final
resting places of the FUSO and YAMASHIRO sunk at Suragio. I have been unable to get anymore info.
I don't know if they made the expedition or not.

If I recall correctly, I read on a scuba site somewhere that the Musashi wreck has also been visited.
I think it is resting at least 1000 feet down. I can't recall much of that thread.

Matt, you may be thinking of the National Geographic expedition to Truk lagoon that occurred around the mid 1970s. If I remember right there was a NGS video (you know, with the "Look at the two apes, this must be where they live!" trumpet theme).

Originally posted by Matt Erickson
don't forget the prinz eugen hero of the battle with the hood her hull still breathes air! talk about unsinkable!

My grandfather was picked to be part of the Prinz Eugen's "prize crew" that was to sail her to Bikini. It was voluntary of course and he was scheduled for discharge in five days. Needless to say, he would have had to re-up for another year, he passed on the assignment! Pretty smart move considering the reckless attitude given to the treatment of the highly radioactive ships after the blasts. I've got a really good book that's chock full of pictures on the tests. I believe its Ghosts of Bikini Atoll or something like that. I'll have to edit this when I get home.

Its a shame that we didn't keep one of these "Trophies" for posterity. Would have been nice to explore the Prinz, or better yet the battleship Nagato.

Of course, in this age of political correct-ness.....there would probably have been a movement by now to give them back to their former owners. Fine as long as they dont get scrapped

Alas....for most, all we have are photos of these former Queens of the seas. At least in the end both ships escaped the scrappers

Originally posted by mdiehl
Matt, you may be thinking of the National Geographic expedition to Truk lagoon that occurred around the mid 1970s. If I remember right there was a NGS video (you know, with the "Look at the two apes, this must be where they live!" trumpet theme).

hi I remeber the truk lagoon video...but you did ring a bell in my mememory it was a national geographic presentation they dove on some shot down allied planes shot down by rufes no-less,all in all a great program.

Originally posted by Nikademus
Of course, in this age of political correct-ness.....there would probably have been a movement by now to give them back to their former owners. Fine as long as they dont get scrapped

I actually think that the Prinz Eugen has had one of her screws removed and sent back to Germany as part of some memorial. Any Euros know if this is correct or was I misinformed?

Originally posted by Nikademus
.... Fine as long as they dont get scrapped

Alas....for most, all we have are photos of these former Queens of the seas. At least in the end both ships escaped the scrappers

Back then all we had was military surplus, but we didn't know what horrible weapons
the nukes were yet, so we tested. Heck we didn't even save the Enterprise (CV6)
from the scrap mans torches. If any ship deserved to be saved it was CV6.

Originally posted by showboat1

I too would love for Ballard to return to Midway and find the remaining ships lost there. By the way, does anyone know if he found any wreckage of the Hammann lying near the Yorktown.

I-158 torpedoed Hammann and Yorktown at 1536 June 6 1942, Hammann broke in half sinking on the spot while Yorktown drifted for the next 15 1/2 hours before rolling over and sinking at 0701 June 7 1942. Hammann's wreck would be located many miles away from Yorktown's final resting place and If IRC no trace of any wreckage from Hammann was located during Dr. Ballard's search.

also Prinz Eugen's bell was removed and is on display (or at least was the last time I was there) at the Museum at the Washington Navy Yard. Interesting note is that it is painted black with the lettering in red I am not sure if was the way it was or something done for display purposes.

other neat exploration ideas....

Ark Royal in the Med would be a nice photo opp. Arguably Britian's most beloved and famous wartime carrier. Barham would be nice though after her explosion there probably isn't much to look at.

Originally posted by Nikademus
other neat exploration ideas....

Ark Royal in the Med would be a nice photo opp. Arguably Britian's most beloved and famous wartime carrier. Barham would be nice though after her explosion there probably isn't much to look at.

Hey Nik, They found Ark Royal in December 2002, see the following

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2585887.stm