USS SARATOGA

Commissioned in 1927, an American aircraft carrier 880 feet in length and weighs 39,000 tons, it rests in Bikini's lagoon at a depth of 55metres. Her bridge is easily accessible at 13metres, her deck at 32metres, and the hanger for the Helldivers at 43metres. These Helldivers and bombs are still on display complete with all dials and controls. Saratoga had a fuel capacity of 63,200 barrels of fuel oil, 249 barrels of diesel oil, and 132,264 gallons of gasoline. Fuel and ammunition loads during test BAKER were 10% of capacity and 67% capacity respectively. She was reported sunk by the Japanese seven times during World War II. She received seven battle stars.

Eight hours after the waves created by the atomic Baker blast rolled over her, New York Times correspondent Hanson W. Baldwin wrote this epitaph as he watched the Saratoga sink slowly beneath Bikini's lagoon:

"There were many who had served her in the observing fleet and they fought with her through the long hot hours as the sun mounted. Outside the reef...the observing ships cruised, while the Sara slowly died. There were scores who wanted to save her-and perhaps she might have been saved, had there been a crew aboard. But she died a lonely death, with no man upon the decks once teaming with life, with pumps idle and boilers dead. From three o'clock on she sank fast, her buoyancy gone, as the fleet kept the death watch for a 'fighting lady.' The Sara settled-the air soughing from her compartments like the breath from exhausted lungs. At 3:45 p.m. the starboard aft corner of her flight deck was awash; then the loud speakers blared: 'The water is up to her island now; the bow is high in the air.' She died like a queen-proudly. The bow slowly reared high; the stern sank deep, and, as if striving for immortality, the Sara lifted her white numeral 3 high into the sun before her bow slipped slowly under. Her last minutes were slow and tortured; she fought and would not sink, but slowly the 3 was engulfed by the reaching waters, the tip of her mast was the last bit of Sara seen by man."

Unless, of course, you are a diver fortunate enough to be visiting Bikini Atoll! The USS Saratoga is the largest diveable vessel in the world, and the only aircraft carrier available for diving. 880 feet long. (3 buoys: bow, stern and bridge).

HIJMS NAGATO.

The Japanese Flagship to the Japanese Navy, she was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's floating fortress during Japan's World War II attack on Pearl Harbor and was a treasure to the Japanese forces. Japanese Naval historian Masanori Ito wrote: 

"When World War II began, the Japanese Navy-the third most powerful in the world-included some of the mightiest ships in naval history and was a force worthy of the pride and trust of the Japanese people. Then, in less than four years, this great war machine fell from glory to oblivion. Of ten battleships riding in Hiroshima Bay in December of 1941, nine were sunk. The lone survivor, the Nagato, died at Bikini as a target in an atomic bomb test."

The 32,720 ton battleship is at rest upside down in 57metres of water; her bridge is accessible at 45 metres, the hull and monstrous props at 32 metres. The Nagato was built by Kure Naval Dockyard, launched on Novemver 9, 1919, and completed on November 25, 1920. She was reconstructed in 1934 -1936, with torpedo bulges, increased elevation for main armament, aircraft crane, etc. After this refit, Nagato had 10 Kampon boilers, driving 4 sets of Kampon turbines developing 82,300 shaft horsepower (shp) for a speed of 25 knots. Her fuel bunkerage was now 5,650 tons of oil, giving her a radius of 8,650 nautical miles at 16 knots. Her new dimensions were 725' 9" long at the waterline, 113' 6" beam, 32' 2" draught. Her normal displacement was 39,130 tons, 42,850 tons at full load. She carried a crew of 1,368. In June 1944 she was known to be fitted with radar.

 By October 1944 her armament consisted of 8 x 16"/45, 18 x 5.5"/50 [guns that were later removed], 8 x 5"/40, and 98 x 25mm AA guns. Her displacement had by now increased to 43,581 tons full load, and as a result her maximum speed was 24.98 knots. By the end of the war she had had her main mast and funnel removed for camouflage purposes, as she was holed up in Sagami Bay near Yokosuka. 

Fuel and ammunition loads during both ABLE and BAKER tests were, respectively, 15% and 10% of capacity. She is upside down in the water and an incredible dive with her four massive screws appearing like an underwater Stonehenge. 708 feet long.
 

USS ARKANSAS

A 29,000 ton American battleship that survived two world wars had a fuel capacity of 37,779 barrels of fuel oil, 119 barrels of diesel oil, and 4,000 gallons of gasoline. The Arkansas took part in the Presidential Naval Review in the Hudson River, October 14, 1912 and then carried President William H. Taft to the Panama Canal Zone for an inspection of the unfinished canal. On April 22, 1914, she assisted in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. In December of 1918 she formed part of the escort carrying President Woodrow Wilson to France. In World War II, the Arkansas escorted convoys across the Atlantic. She remained in European waters for the invasion of Normandy where she performed yeoman service at Omaha Beach, the bombardment of Cherbourg and the invasion of southern France. She then moved to the Pacific to participate in action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. 

The Arkansas, at rest almost completely upside down in Bikini's lagoon in 55 metres of water, received four battle stars for her service in World War II and was sunk by BAKER. 562 feet long.

USS CARLISLE.

A merchant craft named after a county in Kentucky, she had fuel capacity of 9,695 barrels of fuel oil and 375 barrels of diesel oil. She made three voyages to the west coast from Hawaii and Japan and shorter passages among South Pacific islands. She sits upright on the bottom and is guarded by a magnificent school of skip jacks; and there is almost always a shark siting on this ship. 

The ABLE blast split her open so she makes for a sensational penetration dive. Fuel and ammunition loads during test ABLE were 95% of capacity. The Carlisle was sunk by the ABLE blast. 426 feet long.

USS LAMSON.

The American destroyer Lamson received five battle stars for service during World War II. She was used to search for Amelia Earhart in 1937 in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. She was deployed from Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in the unsuccessful search for the Japanese Task Force that bombed Pearl Harbor and later served throughout the Pacific until the end of the war. Her fuel capacity was 3,600 barrels, her diesel oil capacity was 110 barrels, and she was at 50% capacity for both fuels and ordnance when she was sunk by ABLE. Her hull provides a great example of the power of a nuclear explosion as it is horribly twisted and damaged. She is a Bikini divemaster favorite. 341 feet long.

USS APOGON.

An American submarine with normal fuel capacity of 54,000 gallons, and an emergency load of 116,000 gallons. She made eight war patrols sinking three Japanese vessels totaling 7,575 tons. Her first patrol was out of Pearl Harbor in November of 1943. She later patrolled from Majuro to Midway and was part of Operation Galvanic during the invasions of Tarawa and the Gilbert Islands. Working off Formosa, she ran in a wolf-pack known as the "Mickey Finns" that sunk 41,000 tons worth of Japanese vessels toward the end of the war. She received five battle stars and was sunk by BAKER. She now appears perfectly upright as if ready to drive away on the bottom of Bikini's lagoon.