TRAVEL
One Destination, Two Dive Worlds: Chuuk/Truk Lagoon by David Prichard & Lily Mak , Enchanted Sea Images, Inc., Dallas, TX
P LANNING A TROPICAL TRIP for a dive group often means bal- ancing very different wish lists. Some divers want dramatic shipwrecks and wartime history, while others are looking for colorful coral reefs and abundant marine life. Add the desire for an English-speaking destination that uses U.S. currency, and the list of options becomes much shorter. For group leaders facing that challenge, Chuuk Lagoon offers a compelling solution. Better known to many divers by its former name, Truk Lagoon, this Micronesian des- tination contains more than 60 wrecks from the U.S. attack on the Japanese fleet stationed there during World War II. More than 82 years later, many of those wrecks are showing their age, making this an important time to experience them before further deterioration takes its toll. The wrecks are only part of the appeal. Many are richly covered with corals and surrounded by abundant marine life, giving reef lovers plenty to enjoy while wreck en- thusiasts explore one of the most historically significant diving destinations in the world. For a group leader trying to satisfy both sides, Chuuk may be the rare destination that truly delivers both. The Making of a Ship Graveyard Germany was the first European nation to colonize Chuuk (after purchasing it from Spain) and much of Micronesia at the end of the 1800s, but German colonists reportedly had trouble pronouncing the ‘ch’ portion of the name and replaced the ‘ch’ sound with ‘tr,’ producing a pronun- ciation similar to ‘Truk.’ During WWI, Japan was an ally of the United States, England, and France and was tasked with attacking the German East Asia Squadron
and taking over German-held islands. After the war, Japan was awarded control of these islands, including Chuuk, but in- stead of reverting to the original name, Japan adopted the German pronunciation and the atoll area was still called Truk La- goon, a name that held until 1990 when the Federated States of Micronesia officially reverted to the original Chuuk name, al- though many still call it Truk. During WWII, Japan used the large la- goon as a natural naval base, similar to the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, but also constructed many airfields to con- trol the airspace over Micronesia. In Feb- ruary 1944, the United States sent a large naval task force of five large aircraft carriers ( Enterprise, Yorktown, Intrepid, Essex, and Bunker Hill ) along with four escort carriers, six battleships, four light carriers, 10 cruisers, 28 destroyers, and 10 submarines in an at- tack named “Operation Hailstorm” to de- stroy the ships and airfields based at Truk Lagoon. This was considered by many to be the U.S.’s “payback” for Pearl Harbor. Prior to the attack, repeated American reconnaissance flights over Truk spooked Japanese Vice Admiral Masami Kobayashi, and he ordered most of his naval vessels out of Truk Lagoon to relocate to other bases before Operation Hailstorm began. (Side note: the fictional training exercise in the show Star Trek called the “Kobayashi Maru” is considered to be named after this admiral, who was faced with an impossible task. “Maru” means cargo ship.) For nearly three days, American bombers and torpedo planes, plus surface ships, sank approximately 50 of the remaining Japanese ships in the lagoon and destroyed
36 | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
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