Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon
40.741895,-73.989308
The Chuuk Lagoon is a very large Atoll (80 km by 50 km across) in the Caroline Islands and part of the Federated States of Micronesia. Chuuk is located around 1800 km north-east of Papua New Guinea and about 1500 km east-south-east of Guam.
Japanese occupation
The Japanese occupied Micronesia in 1914 and established Chuuk as a military base in 1939. It is a nearly perfect natural harbor and thus became a large and very strategic base for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It served as anchorage for warships and supply vessels and was a major hub for moving materials from Japan to the South Pacific including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Japan also constructed five airstrips on the islands and a seaplane base.
Operation Hailstone
During the 17th and 18th of February 1944 a massive United States air and surface attack surprised the Japanese forces in Chuuk. Over 500 US planes from a large carrier group were involved. As a result of this surprise attack Japan incurred very heavy losses. At least 46 ships were sunk and 270 aircraft were destroyed. The majority of the vessels sunk were transport and merchant ships.
The Diving
Today, the Chuuk Lagoon is a premier wreck diving location. Many of the wrecks (ships and planes) are accessible without the need for decompression diving. The marine life that inhabits the wrecks today is breathtaking and many ships are full of historical artifacts.
