News
Wreck of WWII Japanese Mega-Sub discovered off the coast of Hawaii
After more than half a century, a mystery of military history has finally been resolved.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have discovered a missing World War II-era Japanese mega-submarine under more than 2,300 feet of water off the southwest coast of Oahu.
The submarine, an I-400, has been missing since 1946. It was the largest (400 feet) and most innovative of its day, capable of voyaging one and a half times around the world without refueling and deploying three bombers, each with a 1,800-pound bomb, within minutes of surfacing.
Up until it, submarines had simply been used to destroy ships. The I-400 presented a significant tactical change to have air strike capability from long-range submarines.
“Following World War II,” said Dr. James Delgado, director of NOAA’s Maritime Heritage Program, “submarine experimentation and design changes would continue in this direction, eventually leading to ballistic missile launching capabilities for U.S. submarines at the advent of the nuclear era.”
The I-400 submarine had actually been captured by the U.S. military at the end of World War II, but the U.S. had kept it and four other Japanese submarines at Pearl Harbor for inspection. In 1946, as the Cold War was just beginning, the Soviet Union demanded access to the missing submarines under terms of a World War II treaty.
The U.S. Navy, not wanting the technology in Soviet hands, scuttled the submarines and then pleaded ignorance, claiming it didn’t know where the warships had disappeared to.
The location of the I-400 has been a mystery ever since.
To read more on this story, click here.
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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