Pacific Wrecks Forum

Two note worthy events take place this summer. Nautilus will visit Iron Bottom (Savo) Sound during expedition NAT173, WWII naval battle area near Guadalcanal. Part of the larger naval Battle of Guadalcanal that left dozens of aircraft and ships in the deep Pacific waters. It will be interesting to s...

DR. Richard Pettigrew is planning an expedition to Nikumaroro in the summer of 2025. Perhaps 10 people will go. Objective to check out Taraia object seen in satellite images of Nikumaroro. The USN search planes SOC-1 (Curtiss Model 71) of the USS Colorado did not reach the Phoenix Islands until July...

In the summer of 1937, one of those activities occurred in the Phoenix Islands and was the scientific expedition of National Geographic and USN on Canton (Kanton) island to monitor and record the total eclipse of the sun on June 8. This scientific effort was well advertised in advance giving Tojo pl...

Tojo was the commander of Japanese forces in Northern China and effective controller of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo (Manchuria). In invading and pushing all Chinese forces out, numerous war crimes were committed by theJapanese Kwantung army. By 1937, Tojo had realized he had no way to conque...

The Japanese attacked the US Naval Forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. Today, eighty three years later, the full story of the attack is still under examination. Mainly as to why the Japanese would start the great Pacific War without warning. The Orona-Saipan theory speculations add the o...

The recent sonar image has proven to be a seafloor rock formation. Unlike the Orona 2006 satellite image, there was no measurements provided. The Orona measurements and obvious resemblance to the Electra are not enough to convince other investigators that this is Amelia Earhart's plane at the bottom...

Nautilus has started the Howland Island area cruise. Mapping the ocean bottom is the mission of this expedition. In transit the various heading courses has the ship located just off the West side of Nikumaroro and heading North. Looks as though sonar search along the path will be looking for the mys...

The Nautilus is just Northwest of Tutuila American Samoa. This is near the location of the tragic 1938 air disaster of the Samoan Clipper S-42. Captain Musick and entire crew were lost. I think maybe Dr. Ballard is searching for the lost ship just as the Nautilus did in 2019. Nautilus has multiple v...

Contrary to my speculation, I think the bulky things under the tarps as seen on the aft camera(s) are the launch and retrieve boat for the ASV autonomous surface vessel DRiX. The ship passed 250 miles east of the Phoenix Islands on the transit from Hawaii to Samoa.

After the completion of their Northeast Pacific expedition, the OET ship Nautilus has departed Honolulu for the 2024 South Pacific expeditions. Transiting from point to point the ship will have ample opportunity to pass through the Phoenix Islands. No specific plans to visit Orona. Speculation: it i...

The OET Nautilus has departed Hawaii to begin the 2024 expedition season. The ship will not be in the South Pacific until late summer/early fall. No indications that a search for Amelia's plane is planned. Dr. Ballard has stated that every clue to the plane's location will be pursued. Hopefully, Oro...

An explorer has said he has found Amelia's L10E plane on the ocean bottom some 16,000 feet down using advance autonomous deep diver. He posted a sonar image of the object he claims is Amelia's plane. However, he has no exacting location and no physical measurements of the object. I refrain from disp...

An explorer has said he has found Amelia's L10E plane on the ocean bottom some 16,000 feet down using advance autonomous deep diver. He posted a sonar image of the object he claims is Amelia's plane. However, he has no exacting location and no physical measurements of the object. I refrain from disp...

The Nautilus has posted the 2024 exploration schedule on the Nautilus.org website. NA 166 and NA 165 scheduled for late summer provides the best times for exploration of Orona. The organization has not expressed an interest in Orona with regard to the search for Amelia's plane. Probably NA 166 aroun...

The question arises about who actually owns the Electra should it's location be found. Pictured below is Amelia and Dr. Edward Elliott standing before the Electra in 1936. Doctor Elliott and Purdue University financed the purchase of the L10E during the period Amelia was acting as a consultant for P...