In the remote South Pacific , due east of Papua New Republic of Guinea , too non far from Commonwealth of Australia , lies a string of almost ix hundred islands that brand upwardly the patch of Solomon Islands. Between 1941 too 1945 , this swath of sea witnessed some of the fiercest fighting betwixt the USA too the Empire of Nihon during the Second World War. At that fourth dimension , the islands were nether British dominion , simply were occupied past times the Japanese too it became strategically of import for the Allied forces to recapture them if the nation of war inward the Pacific was to live on won.
The allies launched an offensive against the Imperial Japanese Army too Navy past times swarming ashore the islands of Tulagi too Guadalcanal. The Battle of Guadalcanal became bloody every bit tremendous warfare waged on province , on sea too inward the air. The Japanese suffered peachy losses: to a greater extent than 36 ,000 killed , missing or captured. Eventually , it wore the Japanese downward too they withdrew completely inward early on 1943.
Photo credit: Kelsey Schwenk/Flickr
Most of the fighting took house about a torso of H2O called New Georgia Sound , that runs some through the substance of the Solomon Islands. During the Pacific War the Sound was known every bit "the Slot" past times Allied soldiers due to its geographical kind too the total of warship traffic that traversed it. At the southern terminate of The Slot betwixt Guadalcanal , Savo Island , too Florida Island , lies the wrecks of —according to i estimate— to a greater extent than than 200 ships , 690 air crafts too countless landing barges. This expanse is right away called the “Iron Bottom Sound” because of the immense total of twisted metallic that lies on the sea floor. Now covered inward coral too teeming amongst marine life , the wrecks attract large position out of recreational too professional person divers , every bit good every bit photographers. Most of the wrecks are likewise deep to live on dived at simply others are at each achieve , too some prevarication exposed on the beach.
Some of the major wrecks of Iron Bottom Sound include the American cruiser Quincy , the Australian heavy cruiser Canberra , the Japanese aircraft carrier Kinugasa , the battleship Kirishima too the freighter Kasi Maru. Wikipedia has a partial listing of ships wrecked at the Iron Bottom Sound. Each of these ships accept a remarkable story.
PBS writes almost i detail dive bomber , the ‘American Douglas Dauntless’ that sank on July 23 , 1943. That twenty-four hr stream , amongst Robert Bernard every bit his radio gunner , Marine Corps airplane pilot Jim Dougherty laid upwardly out to sink Japanese ships that were supplying local troops. As Dougherty swooped depression over the isle of Munda on a bombing run , he was hitting past times flak from i of the several guns on the shore. Dougherty managed to proceed the airplane airborne plenty to achieve the isle of Rendova earlier it crashed on the lagoon too sank inward 35 feet of water. When the wreck was rediscovered to a greater extent than than fifty years afterwards , the 75-year erstwhile Dougherty returned to Solomon Island , too donning scuba gear , he swam piece of cake downward to the wreck too sat inward the cockpit i final time.
Map of the place of World War II shipwrecks inward Ironbottom Sound inward the Solomon Islands. Some wreck positions are non precisely known. Image credit: Wikimedia
The wreck of the Kinugawa Maru , beached too destroyed inward 1942. Photo credit: www.guadalcanal.com
Wrecked aircraft , Guadalcanal , 1945. Photo courtesy of NZ433261 Ian 'Jungle' Forrester.
Pile of wrecked vehicles , Guadalcanal , 1945. Photo courtesy of NZ433261 Ian 'Jungle' Forrester.
Two Solomon Islanders inward a traditional canoe want using a large shell. Behind is the funnel too engine block of a WWII wreck. Photo credit: Antony Robinson/Flickr
Photo credit: Stefan Krasowski/Flickr
Sources: PBS / www.solomons-diving.com / Wikipedia / Wikipedia