Truk Lagoon - Mikronesien

Truk Lagoon
Or Chuuk Lagoon, as it is now called, is undoubtedly the ultimate dive destination for wreck enthusiasts. With over 60 shipwrecks and 250 aircraft wrecks, Truk Lagoon can be described simply as a paradise for the wreck diver. The calm, clear, protective lagoon is one of the largest in the world and is relatively free of currents. This contributes to safe and easy diving and makes the area very suitable for beginners as well as more experienced divers. Nowhere else in the world are so many historical wrecks in one place, on so shallow and clear water. Many of the wrecks are visible even for snorkelers. 

Truk Lagoon and World War II
At the end of November 1941, an American reconnaissance aircraft flies over the lagoon, revealing that Japan has secretly transformed the area into an extensive military base. Two weeks later, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. The starting point for the attack is precisely Truk Lagoon. Immediately thereafter, the United States declares formal war against Japan. The Pacific War reaped many lives in the years that followed, with unimaginable losses on both sides.

During this time, Truk Lagoon is Japan’s largest air and naval base outside Japan and plays a very important strategic role in Japan’s attack on targets such as Guam and Australian Guinea, as well as in the attacks on Sydney Harbor. Truk lagoon becomes Japan’s largest military base in the Pacific, with 5 airfields, submarine bases, aircraft carriers, minboats, torpedo boats and seaplane bases. Truk Lagoon also becomes a major Japanese logistics base and serves as home base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific. Truk Lagoon can therefore be described as the Japanese equivalent of the US Navy’s Pearl Harbor at the time.

Operation Hailstone
On February 17, 1944, under the code name Operation Hailstone, US fighter planes launch a massive air strike against Truk Lagoon. The attack involves fighter jets and ship actions as well as submarine attacks and is a real surprise to the Japanese. Just a week before, the Japanese military has moved a large number of its ships to the area. The result is devastating! About 250 Japanese aircraft and over 50 of their vessels are sinking. Some of the ships are destroyed at their anchorage while others are lowered around the lagoon as they try to escape from the battlefield.

Caustau and Truk Lagoon
In 1969, Jacques Cousteau and his team became interested in Truk Lagoon. His TV documentary on Truk Lagoon aired in 1971 showed fascinating, ghostly, intact, sunken shipwrecks and remnants of the once powerful Imperial Japanese fleet. Since then, Truk Lagoon has been on the top list of places wreck divers around the world dream of traveling to. “The Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon” is a large number of wrecks that are scattered, mainly around the islands of Dublon, Eten, Fefan and Uman. All wrecks are easily accessible in crystal clear water and sometimes the shallower part is less than fifteen meters below the surface. There are no major currents here and the wrecks have therefore been better protected from the effects of the sea.

The wreck offers an abundance of details that make diving extra exciting. Gas masks, tool boxes, ammunition, crockery, radios etc. On the larger wrecks there are still tanks, excavators, railway locks and motorcycles. Also torpedoes and bombs as well as aircraft parts and ammunition chambers as well as thousands of other artifacts can be seen. All details captured in a time capsule that take you back to the battlefield on February 17, 1944. The submarine I-169 Shinohara that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 is also located here, located at a depth of 27-43m.

Naturereserve
The warm, tropical marine environment has contributed to a very productive marine life and has turned the wrecks into artificial reefs and homes for many animal species. In addition to world-class wreck diving, this unique travel destination also offers an amazing variety of beautiful corals and animal species including various sharks and large mantles. In other words, this destination offers the ultimate diving experience!

About the country
The Micronesian Federation is an independent sovereign nation located in the western Pacific Ocean north of Papua New Guinea. Micronesia consists of four states, Yap, Chuuk (Truk Lagoon), Pohnpei and Kosrae.