The Filthie Naval Expert

 

Fascinating.

I have two versions of the story. In the first - a lone American patrol searching for the Jap fleet - with just minutes of fuel remaining - came across a solitary wake across the water but no ships around. Cutting their fuel margins right to the bone, they followed the wake and found the Akagi and called in the fatal naval strike that sent it to the bottom.

In the second version of the story, the Americans had cracked the secret codes of the Imperial Japanese Navy and knew exactly where the fleet was. In order to conceal the fact that they had cracked the Japs’ codes… they made sure to dispatch spotter planes to the exact areas, making sure the Japanese sailors saw them…making their discovery look like a horrible fluke of bad luck. 

I dunno which version is true, all I know is that the Pacific Ocean is inconceivably vast, and hiding an entire fleet on it in the 40s would have been child’s play. Today of course, satellites and spy planes make such things largely impossible. There will be very few surprises on the battlefield from here on out.

What I found really interesting was that the wreck site is now a protected grave. No salvage, no removal of artifacts is allowed. Any historical documentation and exploratory activity has to be cleared by both the Japanese and American govts. 

I would never want to be lost or buried at sea. If it were my remains down there, I’d ideally want somebody to take my bones home and bury them there. It wouldn’t bother me if later generations were able to recover my personal effects either … I’d actually prefer it to the dark, obscure and lonely depths. What a horrible way to die…

I’m glad they found the wreck, and hope the families find closure and maybe some kind of small re-connection to their lost loved ones.