Today we started a bit earlier, however we still arrived at the diveboat just ion time. Well, it wouldn’t matter if we were late – there’s just one other diver, so they would wait for sure.
After the pumpy trip – we arrived totally wet, we went down for the first dive. SHINKOKU MARU, 152m. The 10,102 ton Naval Tanker was built in 1940 and was one of eight tankers refueling the ships used for the japanese attack on pearl harbor. In august 1942 a US submarine torpedoed her, but the damage was minor enough for repairs. In july 1943 she was torpedoed again, but was repaired in just five weeks. She met her final match on February 17, 1944 when a Dauntless dive bomber from the USS Yorktown CV10 hit her amidships, and then the next morning she was torpedoed by Grumman Avengers which opened a huge hole into her engine room. At last she went down. To the divesite: It is known as one of Chuuks best dives and a must-do for divers. She was sunk upright with a hole in her aft port side. Her superstructure is just 12m deep and her deck 18m. The deepest point of the ship is at 38m. Through the bomb hole some rooms are accesible, like the engine room, crew quarters, rudder and rudder engine. In the top of the ship you can also dive inside and see the galley with dishes, stove top and utensils. Moreover the bridge with wheelhouse, engine telegraph, sick bay – where daddy was lying in, and operating table – which we haven’t seen of course are also accessible and easily dived. The bow gun and most exposed structures are completely encrusted with colourful corals and sponges. They are also sourrounded by lots of little fish.
After the dive we went snorkeling again. That time we went to HINO MARU No.2 (aka Dai Na Hino Maru, or One Boat Gun), 66m. 998ton Naval Miscellaneous Auxillery Ship. She began her life as a small Transport in 1936, then was converted to a Gunboat in 1942, and finally was made into an Auxiliary Ship in 1943. She showed up in Truk Lagoon after Operation Hailstone, but was sunk in shallow water after numerous strafing attacks that set her afire, and bombings on April 29, 1944. The small Cargo Ship was the unofficial „Symbol of Truk Lagoon“ with its photogenic bow gun in just a few meters deep. The location is just offshore west of Uman Island in 1 to 12m deep. The frighter was blown inside out by two bombs midships, so other than the bow little is recognizable.
For the second dive we went to SANKISAN MARU, 113m. The 4,776ton Army Cargo Ship origins are a mistery, although it is said that she was originally called the Red Hook, and was an American vessel doing Northwest trade duringthe depression. Captured by the Japanese in 1942, she arrived in Truk on February 12, 1944. The ship was bombed on both February 17th and 18th, and it appears that the cargo of munitions was either struck by a bomb directly, or reached by a fire. Nevertheless it resulted in a tremendous explosion, fragmenting the entire midship superstructure and flinging the whole stern section into deeper water. The wreck lies in a depht from 15m to 24m. It has some soft corals and other marine growth. The masts are rising toward the surface. In the ship are tons of monition. Daddy and I wanted to take a little „Patrone“ with us, but we didn’t dare. There are also lots of carwheels and some „Lenkräder“. For the pictures I acted like I was driving while sitting on a small motor, which had a wheel on each side, and holding a „Lenkrad“.
Then we rested again till 3pm in the rooms. I was writing the entry about the day before and Daddy way sleeping. At three we went to the diveshop. Paul was already awaiting us and „Ferl2“ and the diveguide came shortly after us.
The third dive we did at KIYOSUMI MARU, 87m. The 8,614ton Passenger-Cargo Ship was built in 1934 and providedservice to New York from Kobe, Japan. In 1941 she was converted into an armed oxiliary cruiser, with eight antiaircraftguns and a pair of tornado launchers. US Submarine Balao attacked Kiyosumi Maru with a half dozen torpedoes, three of which nailed her, but she didn’t go down. A sister cruiser Oyoto towed her to Truk Lagoon, where she was being repaired at the time of Operation Hailstone. Douglas dive bombers from USS Yorktown CV10 and USS Enterprise did her in. 43 crewmen died in the attacks. The wreck lies in a depth from 30 to 14m. It lies on its portside. The foreship has been blown up by a torpedo. The bridge and the structure has been bombed. In the torpedo hole, which is huge, are many corals, also black corals, which transformes the sad sight into a beatiful magical area. The engine room is wide open with catwalks and massive engine cylinders, but not easily accessible – we just saw it from the outside. The ship was really huge. I felt a bit sad, thinking about how many people died there and now we are swimming through their grave.