Page 134 - Micronesia

etroyer Wakatake - This Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer was foot (40 m) sandy bottom. Corals found here include staghorn,
lettuce, brain and many varieties of soft corals. Octopus, cuttlefish,
D sunk upright. It has broken into two sections and sustained
significant bomb and salvage damage. It lies in murky water with nudibranchs and colorful tropical fishes live among the corals. Vis-

possible currents at 15 to 95 feet. ibility is usually excellent. The wreck can be clearly seen from the

G eorge Bush Wreck - German Channel - This was built by the surface.
Germans during the 1900’s to serve as a passageway for ves-
sels coming from Peleliu and Angaur to Koror. Now it serves as a J ake Seaplanes and Cave - Japanese Zero Fighter - This Mitsubi-
shi A6M “Zero” or “Zeke” was Japan’s most popular and lethal
passageway for dive boats to the dive sites. The inside of German airplane during WWII. Between 1937 and 1945, 11,500 “Zero’s”

Channel is too shallow to dive, so your dive will take place just were built. The “Zero” fighter’s wings were armored with twin

outside, where it slopes to a sandy bottom. A manta ray cleaning 20mm guns. It is suspected that this plane was damaged during

station is the main focus here. You will also see stingrays, spotted a dogfight during Operation DESECRATE ONE on March 30 to 31,

eagle rays, sea turtles, giant clams, cuttlefish, barracuda, garden 1944. The plane landed on the shallow reef with the gear up and

eels, and white tip reef sharks. the engine feathered. One propeller sticks up above the water; the

J AKE SEA PLANE - This slow flying reconnaissance seaplane other two are buried in the reef. The straight propeller indicates
is one of a few JAKEs on Palau and it is very well preserved. that it was not rotating when the plane landed..
The plane apparently crashed during takeoff or landing after the
engines had stopped. Note that the propellers are straight, if the J apanese Zero II - This Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 fighter (Zeke)
was ditched on shallow reef near Ngeruktabel Island.
airplane hit the water while the engine was running the props
would have bent! On impact the tail section, the engine and one of
amakaze Maru - This 370-foot Japanese Navy motor torpedo
Kthe pontoons broke away. The tail section and the missing pon- boat tender was sunk upright in 80 to 115-foot depths. The

toon can be found about 20 feet (6.1 meters) north of the plane. partially salvaged wreck features a cargo of torpedoes and artillery

They are difficult to find because they are now covered with thick shells. There is poor visibility here and poor penetration access.

layers of coral and marine growth. The plane is resting in about

45 feet (15 m) on a large coral head. The reef slopes up from 120