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about 250 aircraft. Most of the ships sunk were large, armed ‘maru’ cargo ships with deck guns on the bow and stern carrying vital supplies of fuel, ammunition, and repair parts. The loss of these ships and supplies, along with the destruction of the airfields, crippled Japan’s ability to stop the Allies’ push toward Japan. Diving the Lagoon For dive trips, Truk/Chuuk Lagoon (the Lagoon) offers something for everyone, even snorkelers and freedivers. The atoll includes 11 major islands, 46 smaller islands within the lagoon, and more than 40 islands around the protective fringing reef. Located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean just above the equator, the water temperature stays warm, usually 83-86ºF (28-30ºC) in the summer and 81-84ºF (27-28ºC) in the winter. Some of the shallow ship and plane wrecks can be easily viewed in the clear water by snorkelers and ex- plored by freedivers. Many shipwrecks can be visited by recreational divers, with either the bow or stern beginning at approximately 30 to 40 feet (9-12 m) while the opposite end lies deeper than 100 feet (30 m). The Lagoon also attracts many technical divers as several of the ships lie in the 150-220-foot range (46-67 m). One of the popular deep wrecks, dubbed the ‘Million Dollar’ wreck, is the San Francisco Maru (121-203 ft./37-62 m), which contains tanks, trucks, mines, and shells in its cargo hold, deteriorated enough in 2025 to begin leaking oil into the la- goon. Some cargo ships are off-limits to divers because they are leaking caustic aviation fuel from their containers. Most of the other ships in the lagoon carry munitions that shouldn’t be disturbed. Previously, recreational divers could explore the cargo holds (with local guides) and swim past piles of torpedoes in the sub-tender Heian Maru or see the 18-inch artillery shells that were bound for the battleship Yamato that are in the hold of the Yamagiri Maru . One favorite dive is the Fujikawa Maru. Divers first descend to the bow gun, which is covered with colorful soft corals, before entering the cargo hold to view a Zero aircraft, where many divers in the past have squeezed themselves into the cockpit for a prize souvenir photo. Local divemasters should first assess whether these areas remain safe enough for visiting divers as the ships continue to deteriorate. For divers who prefer fish and corals, the Lagoon is home to more than 300 species of reef fish and abundant colorful hard and soft corals, plus sea fans, varieties of sponges, and
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