National Geographic History - 03.2020 - 04.2020

THE RESEARCH VESSEL PETREL has located more than

30 historically significant shipwrecks in the Pacific,

including the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp, sunk by a

Japanese submarine in September 1942. Petrel’s two

deep-sea vehicles can survey craft at depths of three

miles. One of these is equipped with long-range sonar

equipment that can detect anomalies on the seabed.

VULCAN INC.

NEWS

of the four Japanese aircraft

carriers sunk during the Battle

of Midway in June 1942. The

three-day clash ended with a

humiliating defeat for Japan,

turning the tide of the war in

the Pacific theater.

Deploying deep-sea diving

vehicles, the research team

mapped the seabed around

the isolated Midway Atoll.

S

tate-of-the-art tech-

nology has probed

thousands of feet

below the Pacific to

glimpse the wreckage of one

of the most pivotal battles of

the Second World War.

A crew aboard the research

vessel Petrel, operated by

Seattle-based Vulcan Inc.,

has located and imaged two

Deep Discoveries From

the Battle of Midway

Two of the four Japanese carriers sunk in the

decisive World War II battle have been found.

WRECKS OF WORLD WAR II

4 MARCH/APRIL 2020

UnderJapanese control

HawaiiU.S.

Midway

Island

JAPAN OCEAN

AlaskaU.S.

LYING ROUGHLY half-

way between Tokyo

and San Francisco,

the Midway Atoll was

claimed for the United

States in 1859, and

placed under the con-

trol of the U.S. Navy in

1903. Its two islands,
      together totaling less
      than three square
      miles, were vital
      staging areas in early
      transpacific aviation.

NG MAPS

AMERICAN DESIGNER NORMAN BEL

GEDDES CREATED REALISTIC DIORAMAS

DEPICTING WORLD WAR II EVENTS,

INCLUDING THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

AND THE DAMAGE TO THE JAPANESE

VESSELS SORYU, KAGA, AND AKAGI.

PJF MILITARY COLLECTION/ALAMY