Shipwrecks in the Chuuk lagoon

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The shipwrecks in Chuuk Lagoon are remnants of parts of the Imperial Japanese Navy Pacific Fleet that were sunk by the US Navy in an attack in February 1944 during World War II .

After the occupation of the island, Japan had expanded Truk into one of its most important naval bases in the Pacific . As part of the hostilities of the Pacific War , the US Navy attacked this base on February 17 and 18, 1944 . During the operation, entitled Operation Hailstone , two cruisers , five destroyers , four military support ships and 31 transport ships were sunk in the lagoon . 200 destroyed and more than 100 heavily damaged warplanes remained on land .

In 1969 the French marine researcher Jacques Cousteau explored the Truk lagoon. A 1971 television film produced by Cousteau led to the wrecks becoming an Eldorado for divers around the world. In the same year the state administration of the island declared the entire lagoon a national monument. On September 30, 1976, the National Register of Historic Places listed the wrecks under National Register 76002267.

Today they are considered an endangered monument. Due to weathering, vandalism and looting, the condition of the ships has deteriorated significantly in recent years.