Coron Bay, 1944

Take a look at the above photo. Imagine, if you will, the following events occurring right before your eyes. The year is 1944. The sea is sitting so calm that even the slightest exhalation of air might disturb the serenity. There's a light, sea breeze blowing through your hair as your boat putters forward as you make your way out to sea in anticipation of an early catch. You glance forward into the horizon. Ships from the Japanese Imperial Fleet are sitting at bay as the glimpse of the sun slowly rises out from sleep. You hear a distant hum. You look around towards the passing islands. Nothing. The sound gets increasily louder...and louder. You shut off your boat, in efforts to listen for the incoming sounds more attentively. Cluelessly, you look far off in the distance.....skywards. You gasp as the unmistakable silhouettes of 120 aircraft peek over the distant hills, as a now-rising sun, comes up ever so slowly. The hum of their engines rapidly turn into roars. One by one, the aircrafts begin diving aggressively towards the Japanese fleet. Fiery explosions, one after another, overcome your body. Your eardrums desperately try to contain themselves as waves after waves of sonic pressure slams towards you. You sprint back towards your cabin, restart the motor, turn around, and accelerate back to shore. Terrified, you glance back. The sight of burning ships capsizing and sinking as men abandon ship etches into your eyes, as you putter ever so slowly back home. The date...is September 24, 1944.

Although the above account is fictitious, the events that transpired on September 24, 1944 are not. Below the sea at an average depth of 30-35m, members of the Japanese Imperial Fleet lie at their final resting place in Coron Bay. A majority of the ships remain in excellent condition despite having been exposed to the power of nature for over 60 years. Most of the ships sunk in Coron Bay were supply vessels. Construction ships and freighters carried building materials such as concrete bags and fencing, much of still lay within the interior of the ships. One warship was sunk in Coron, the Akitsushima. Akitsushima was a seaplane tender/carrier armed with 10 25mm anti-aircraft guns, four 5-in .50cal gun, and one large Kanwanishi flying boat. At the time of the attack, the seaplane was not present.

The following photos show my journey into the depths of Coron Bay and through the wreckage of the sunken fleet. May all the lives that perished that morning on September 24, 1944 rest in peace.

-Michael