Shipwrecks of Truk
Truk is best wreck diving in the world overall because of the numerous
wrecks and their preservation and beauty. Depths vary from the surface
in excess of 200 feet. You can penetrate into the wrecks but you can't
remove any artifacts. Caustic substances like high octane aviation
fuel, oils, gasoline and acid exist on many of the wrecks. Explosives,
mines, munitions, detonators, torpedoes and shells are still "live".
The wrecks of Truk Lagoon are war graves. Strict policies exist that
prevent the removal of any artifacts or marine life from the wrecks.
Fines and a possible jail sentence await those who disobey. The Trukese
hope preserve their lagoon as an underwater living monument and museum
of the war.
Surprise Attack: Operation Hailstone
On the morning of February 17, 1944 a surprise United States
Navy air attack code named "Operation Hailstone" caught a fleet
of Japanese Merchant vessels and warships by surprise in
Truk Lagoon. 400 tons of bombs and torpedo were dropped. Attacks continued on February 18, 1944. A total of forty ships and
thousands of men went to the bottom. Ten weeks later, a second
successful raid added a score more ship to the bottom. For more
than two years after the war, oil from the sunken ships covered
the beaches and reefs.
Shipwrecks
