Dive Site - IJN Sakawa
| Dive Site - IJN Sakawa | |||
| Dive Location: | City / Island: | ||
| IJN Sakawa | Bikini Atoll | ||
| Country: | Rating: | Max. Depth: | Difficulty: |
| Marshall Islands |  |
61 m | Advanced Nitrox plus Decompression Proceedures |
| Aquatic Name: | Water: | Altitude: | |
| - | Salt | 0 m | |
| GPS Latitude: | GPS Longitude: | GPS Datum: | |
| 11° 37.000′ N 11.616667° N 11° 37′ 0″ N |
165° 29.000′ E 165.483333° E 165° 28′ 60″ E |
Google Map | WGS84 |
| 1 dive at this location: | |||
| 424 | |||
| Map: | |||
| - | |||
| Comments: | |||
| The IJN Sakawa was the last of four Japanese Agano-class light cruisers, built in Sasebo Naval Dockyard, and launched on 9 April 1944. Length: 563 feet at the waterline, 174.1 metres (571 ft 2 in) overall. Beam: 15.2 metres (49 ft 10 in). Draught: 5.63 metres (18 ft 6 in). Speed: 35 knots. The Sakawa was the only survivor of its class after the war and was surrendered to the U.S. at Yokosuka. Together with the battleship Nagato, the Sakawa departed Yokosuka for Eniwetok on 18 March 1946, carrying a 165-man American crew and eleven former Japanese officers to assist them. Operation Crossroads began with the first "Test Able" blast, an air burst on 1 July 1946. Sakawa was filled with cages containing various animals to be tested for radiation effects. Ground zero was 450 metres (490 yards) above and slightly to starboard of Sakawa's stern. The blast set the ship afire and its force crushed her superstructure aft of her bridge, damaged her hull, and she began taking on water. After the test, Sakawa was slightly down by the stern and had a slight list to port. The flooding progressively worsened overnight, and the following morning saw her even more settled by the stern and with a greater list. The tugboat USS Achomawi attempted to beach the cruiser to prevent her from sinking, but failed, as Sakawa started sinking by the stern almost as soon as towing began. Achomawi had to cut the tow cable to prevent herself from being dragged under. Sakawa sank in about 61 metres (200 feet) of water. The second weapons test, "Test Baker", was an underwater shot on 25 July 1946 about 150 metres (500 feet) away from the sunken Sakawa. It blew most of the remaining forward superstructure off the ship and further damaged the wreck. Sakawa sits mostly upright on the sandy bottom, but there is very little surviving aft of the forward gun turrets. The wreck was later identified in 1992. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Sakawa |
|||