In 1943, the U.S. and Japan fought over a tiny atoll in the Pacific called Kwajalein.
At the time it was an important Japanese base. After a short but bloody battle, the United
States took over, turning the island into its own base of operations for the rest of
World War II.
Today, Kwajalein atoll is still a restricted US military base. But the remains of the battle
are everywhere, some visible and some hidden.
Hi, I'm Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
Right below the boat is a silent graveyard of ships sunk by the United States during
the battle. More than 20 ships and dozens of airplanes lie on the bottom of Kwajalein
lagoon right where they sank more than 50 years ago.
Today the Blue World crew is headed out in search of an area called the "airplane graveyard."
This area of the lagoon is littered with hundreds of U.S. warplanes that were discarded at the
end of the war because they were too damaged to be saved. The graveyard includes one of
the most complete collections of World War II military aircraft anywhere in the world.
Before every dive the team members carefully double check each other's gear. The dive
site is more than 120 feet down. We must be extra vigilant with safety. The decompression
lines are lowered into the water, and finally we descend.
I'm the last one in and I'll be filming the exploration.
First we discover the wreck of a Corsair, nose down in the sand. This plane was pushed
off a barge more than fifty years ago. It landed on its nose and stayed upright ever
since. Sections of wing without covering show the areas that had fabric instead of metal
skin. The fabric has long since decomposed.
The F4U Corsair, manufactured by Vought aircraft, was a peppy little fighter plane. The military
rejected it at first because it couldn't land on a carrier deck. But after modifications
the Corsair went on to become one of the most famous and successful airplanes of World War
II..
The Corsair had one of the most powerful engines available and a huge propeller, which gave
the plane an odd shape with bent wings. But it was fast by World War II standards -- 400
miles an hour.
But few were preserved. Of the almost 13,000 Corsairs built, only a handful are still flying,
like this one, restored to its former glory. Most of them lie, silent and forgotten, in
places like this, Kwajalein Atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Not far away from the Corsair we find a dauntless dive bomber. There are dozens of these scattered
throughout the airplane graveyard.
The holes on the trailing edge of the wings are the air brakes-used to slow the plane
while diving on a bomb run. This plane has an extra propeller in its cockpit.
The dauntless was the standard dive bomber on aircraft carriers through most of the war.
It was one of the planes used in the initial air attacks on Kwajalein Atoll.
The dauntless was considered obsolete when World War II began. The navy had planned to
retire the plane before Pearl Harbor, but with aircraft in short supply, it continued
to be used throughout the war.
Lying silently in the airplane graveyard, the cockpit of this dauntless has holes where
the gauges once were. The gauges were probably salvaged for re-use before the plane was discarded.
But even without the instruments, the cockpit makes a perfect home for a lionfish.
The ribs are exposed on the rudder, where the fabric skin used to be. Yet the aluminum
skin of the airplane looks remarkably good for an airplane which has been underwater
for more than fifty years.
Meanwhile, a shark lurks in the background keeping its eye on us. .
We move on to examine an upside-down Dauntless resting on a sandy bank. Its tail hook, used
to catch the plane when it landed on an aircraft carrier, is sticking straight up.
An anemone fish now calls the airplane home.
Nearby, a B-25 sits perfectly positioned on the sand for take-off.
The twin engine B-25 was a mid-range bomber, famous for the raid on Tokyo in April of 1942.
One of the few B-25s that is still flying is on display at an air show. Although not
as shiny, this B-25 in the airplane graveyard looks almost likes it's ready to take off.
The B-25's twin tail is bare, missing the fabric that once covered its rudders.
The bomb-bay doors that once opened to unleash fury on its enemies are now home to a peaceful
growth of pink algae.
The cockpit--a nursery for baby fish.
Only 50 yards away lies a C-46 commando. The C-46 started out as a 36-seat passenger plane.
The military loved the huge interior and immediately ordered a militarized version optimized for
transporting cargo. It played a significant role in carrying out the military's successful
island hopping strategy in the Pacific, which explains how this plane got here.
In the cockpit, the controls are still accessible -- the throttles ready to be pushed up for
takeoff.
The cargo bay is enormous. Emptied of everything of value before the it was discarded, the
plane looks like a vast, empty warehouse, its memories locked away forever behind these
silent walls.
With our bottom time running out, we finally must abandon the airplane graveyard and head
to the surface. While we decompress on the line, we can only imagine what other treasures
hide in this incredible underwater museum.