Wrecks in the South China Sea?

Discussion about wrecks and losses as well as historic sites in the Pacific.

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sanleo
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Wrecks in the South China Sea?

Post by sanleo »

Hi all

Please tell me how can I collect all wreck data from 1700s to the end of WW2 in the South China Sea. Thanks!

Timerover51
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Re: Wrecks in the South China Sea?

Post by Timerover51 »

sanleo wrote:Hi all

Please tell me how can I collect all wreck data from 1700s to the end of WW2 in the South China Sea. Thanks!
That is an ambitious project, and one that will take a lot of time. For WW2, I would recommend the book, Warship Losses of the Second World War by David Brown, and then cross reference with reported locations with the South China Sea. For merchant ship sinking during WW2, the US Army Air Force and US Navy compiled a list of Japanese merchant ships losses of over 500 tons at the end of the war that has been updated since, but does not cover smaller ships. Prior to that, you would need to research merchant ship losses as reported to Lloyd's of London, but that will get you only the losses reported to Lloyds's. There is a book called the Treasure Diver's Guide that covers ship losses believed to be carrying quantities of gold, silver, or other valuables that you could consult. However, unless you read several foreign languages, getting a record of all KNOWN ship losses in the South China Sea area is going to be extremely difficult. In the 1700s and 1800s, it was quite possible for ships to vanish without a trace all over the world. You also have to take into account the piracy endemic to the area for additional ship losses. Basically, you should be able to compile the data for the WW2 period with a lot of work, prior to that, you will find it pretty much impossible.

Timerover51
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Re: Wrecks in the South China Sea?

Post by Timerover51 »

The book you would need for Japanese merchant ship losses is a US government publication, Japanese Naval and Merchant Ship Losses, available online at the following website.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/I ... ses-4.html

The charts give the approximate latitude and longitude of each loss, so you would need to check which ones occurred in the South China Sea.

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