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| Location Iron Bottom Sound was American nickname for the body of water in the Solomon Islands between Guadalcanal in Guadalcanal Province to the south and Florida Island Group (Florida Islands) to the north and Savo Island to the west in Central Province. Also spelled Ironbottom Sound. On average, the depth of Iron Bottom Sound is roughly 1,967 feet / 600 meters. The eastern end of Iron Bottom Sound is comprised of coral reefs that are divided into three channels: Furthest to the south was Lengo Channel nearest to Taivu Point on Guadalcanal. In the center was Sealark Channel and furthest to the north was Ngello Channel nearest to Florida Island (Nggela Sule) and Tulagi. Further to the east are the Indispensable Strait and Malaita Province. The western end includes Savo Island and Cape Esperance on Guadalcanal. Wartime History During the Guadalcanal campaign, a total of 53 ships were sunk into Iron Bottom Sound. The first ship sunk was Japanese destroyer Kikuzuki damaged May 4, 1942 by U.S. carrier planes during the Battle of the Coral Sea and sunk the next day and during 1943 the shipwreck was raised and moved by the U.S. Navy. Next, warships were sunk during the Battle of Savo Island (First Battle of Savo Island) between August 8, 1942–August 9, 1942, Battle of Cape Esperance (Second Battle of Savo Island) (October 11–12, 1942), Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Third Battle of the Solomon Sea) (first phase November 12, 1942–November 13, 1942), Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (November 14, 1942–November 15, 1942), Battle of Tassafaronga (Battle of Lunga Point/Fourth Battle of Savo Island) (November 30, 1942) and Operation Ke (January 14, 1943 –February 7, 1943) and Operation I-Go (April 7, 1943). The wartime coordinates for many of the ships sunk in Iron Bottom Sound are only approximate because they sank at night or the positions were not accurately recorded. Ships sunk Iron Bottom Sound Kikuzuki damaged May 4, 1942 sunk May 5, 1942 refloated middle 1943. USS George F. Elliott (AP-13) sunk August 8, 1942. USS Quincy (CA-39) sunk August 9, 1942 at 2:38am during the Battle of Savo Island. USS Vincennes (CA-44) sunk August 9, 1942 at 2:50am during the Battle of Savo Island. HMAS Canberra (D33) damaged August 9, 1942 at 1:45am during the Battle of Savo Island scuttled 8:00am. USS Astoria (CA-34) sunk August 9, 1942 at 12:16pm after the Battle of Savo Island. USS Jarvis (DD-393) sunk August 9, 1942 by a torpedo by B5N Kate off Cape Esperance USS Blue (DD-387) damaged August 22, 1942 by a torpedo scuttled August 23, 1942 at 10:21pm. USS Colhoun (APD-2) sunk August 30, 1942 by D3A Val dive bombers. USS Little (APD-4) sunk September 5, 1942. USS Gregory (APD-3) sunk September 5, 1942 by Japanese destroyers off Guadalcanal. Fubuki sunk October 11, 1942 by gunfire during Battle of Cape Esperance Furutaka damaged October 11, 1942 during Battle of Cape Esperance sunk October 12, 1942 at 2:28am. USS Duncan (DD-485) sunk October 12, 1942 by gunfire during Battle of Cape Esperance. Murakumo damaged October 12, 1942 by U.S. planes and scuttled west-northwest of Savo Island. Natsugumo sunk October 12, 1942 roughly 90 miles west-northwest of Savo Island. Sasako Maru sunk October 15, 1942 by U.S. planes near Bunani Point on Guadalcanal. Azumasan Maru (Deep Ruinin Wreck) sunk October 15, 1942 by U.S. planes off Ruaniu on Guadalcanal. Kyūsyū Maru (Ruinin Wreck) sunk October 15, 1942 by U.S. planes off Ruaniu on Guadalcanal. USS Seminole (AT-65) sunk October 25, 1942 by gunfire from Japanese destroyers. Akatsuki sunk November 13, 1942 around 2:00am during Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Atlanta (CL-51) sunk November 13, 1942 at 8:15am during Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Barton (DD-599) sunk November 13, 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Monssen (DD-436) sunk November 13, 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Cushing (DD-376) sunk November 13, 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Laffey (DD-459) sunk November 13, 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Yūdachi sunk November 13, 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Hiei sunk November 14, 1942 after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Preston (DD-379) sunk November 14, 1942 Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. USS Walke (DD-416) sunk November 15, 1942 Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Ayanami sunk November 15, 1942 Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Kirishima sunk November 15, 1942 Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Hirokawa Maru (Bonegi 1) sunk November 15, 1942 near Bonegi on Guadalcanal. Kinugawa Maru (Bonegi 2) sunk November 15, 1942 near Bonegi on Guadalcanal. Yamaura Maru sunk November 15, 1942 near Tenaro on Guadalcanal. Yamazuki Maru sunk November 15, 1942 near Veuru on Guadalcanal. USS Minneapolis (CA-36) damaged November 30, 1942 Battle of Tassafaronga bow sunk into Tulagi Harbor. Takanami sunk November 30, 1942 by gunfire during Battle of Tassafaronga. USS Northampton (CA-26) sunk December 1, 1942 damaged Battle of Tassafaronga by two torpedoes. PT-44 sunk December 12, 1942 by gunfire from Kawakaze and Suzukaze southwest of Savo Island. Teruzuki sunk December 12, 1942 by a torpedo from PT-37 or PT-40 off Cape Esperance. PT-112 sunk January 11, 1943 by destroyers Hatsukaze and Tokitsukaze. Japanese submarine I-1 sunk January 29, 1943 by depth charge attacks and ramming by HMNZS Moa. USS De Haven (DD-469) sunk February 1, 1943 by D3A Vals east of Savo Island. PT-37 sunk February 1, 1943 by gunfire from destroyer Kawakaze. PT-111 sunk February 1, 1943 by gunfire from destroyer Kawakaze. PT-123 sunk February 1, 1943 by fire from a bomb dropped by F1M2 Pete. Makigumo damaged February 1, 1943 by a sea mine then scuttled February 2, 1943 at 1:27am off Savo Island. HMNZS Moa (T233) sunk April 7, 1943 by D3A Val dive bombers in Tulagi Harbor. USS Erskine Phelps (YON-147) damaged April 7, 1943 by bomb fragments and afterwards refloated. USS Kanawha (AO-1) damaged April 7, 1943 by D3A Val dive bombers sunk 4:00am. USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) damaged April 7, 1943 by D3A Val dive bombers at sunk at 9:35pm off Nggela Pile. USS John Penn (APA-23) sunk August 13, 1943 by B5N2 Kate torpedo off Lunga Point on Guadalcanal. SS John H. Couch damaged October 11, 1943 and sunk two days later off Koli Point on Guadalcanal. USS Serpens (AK-97) sunk January 29, 1945 due to accidental explosion off Koli Point on Guadalcanal. Aircraft crashed or ditched Iron Bottom Sound R4D-1 01648 crashed November 15, 1942. B-17E "Bessie The Jap Basher" 41-2420 pilot Norton ditched September 24, 1942, 7 missing. SBD Dauntelsss ditched or crashed upside down discovered. Shipwrecks The shallow shipwrecks on the north coast of Guadalcanal have been known since World War II including Hirokawa Maru (Bonegi 1) at 180' / 55m, Kinugawa Maru (Bonegi 2) at 88.6' / 27m, Yamazuki Maru at 65.6' / 20m, Yamaura Maru, Japanese submarine I-1 at 16'-98'. Other known shipwrecks were plotted on marine maps. The deeper shipwrecks were undiscovered until Iron Bottom Sound was surveyed by underwater explorers. During July 1992–August 1992 an expedition led by Dr. Robert Ballard was the first to locate many of deep shipwrecks and used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to record video footage included in National Geographic: The Lost Fleet of Guadalcanal (1993). Ballard's team found USS Quincy (CA-39) at 2,000' / 610m. During January 2015, Octopus owned by Paul Allen conducted a sonar mapping of Iron Bottom Sound and located 29 shipwrecks with six positively identified including USS Vincennes (CA-44) at 3,345' / 1,020m, USS Astoria (CA-34) at 2,820' / 860m, USS Quincy (CA-39) at 2,000' / 610m, USS Northampton, HMAS Canberra, and the USS Atlanta Only a few shipwrecks are accessible by experienced SCUBA divers and technical divers. Tulagi Dive is one of the only technical dive operators in the area. This includes the shipwrecks off the north coast of Guadalcanal including Sasako Maru at 197' / 60m, Azumasan Maru (Deep Ruinin Wreck) at 130'-205' / 40-62m, Kyūsyū Maru (Ruinin Wreck) at 16'-151' / 5-46m, Hirokawa Maru (Bonegi 1) at 180' / 55m, Kinugawa Maru (Bonegi 2) at 88.6' / 27m, Yamazuki Maru at 65.6' / 20m, Yamaura Maru, Japanese submarine I-1 at 16'-98' / 5-30m. USS Seminole (AT-65) at 110' / 33.5m but only dived during the dry season. Other shipwrecks are only suitable for experienced technical divers including USS Atlanta (CL-51) at 430' / 131m, USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) at 240' / 70m. References Pacific Island Monthly - December 1997 "Solomon Islands Call on Japan to remove war relics on Guadalcanal Oil leaks." ON&T "Mapping the Ghost Fleet of Iron Bottom Sound" by Garry Kozak June 1, 2015 Thanks to Ewan Stevenson and Neil Yates / Tulagi Dive for additional information Contribute
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 Map Nov 30, 1942 Map Iron Bottom Sound |
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