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INTRODUCTION

The legacy of Truk Lagoon was born out of Warefare-from a period of bloody history surpassing all
before. Today in stark contrast, an entire fleet, which aided that destruction lies silently on the
bottom of the lagoon-.After almost 70 years these vessels remain a museum to that conflict-but
have been reborn-brought back to life by mother nature.

I first visited these wrecks back in the early 80’s-about the same time as my adventures began in
Egypt. But these wrecks are a beacon to the rest of the world in terms of conservation. In those 35
years I have seen little change in the Truk wrecks save some damage caused by livaboard vessels.
Indeed the coral and fish life seems to get better as time goes on. Those responsible in Egypt should
take note!

The wrecks are all very well documented and this publication is a mere introduction to the wrecks
and is intended as an introduction for those thinking of visiting Truk-I have selected a handful of my
favourites-after 8 visits that list is growing!

Masterful works by ROY SMALLPAGE, KLAUSS LINDEMANN and DAN.E. BAILEY are all highly
recommended.

I could not complete this work with paying homage to the father of wreck diving in Truk-KIMIUO
AISEK, who I had the great privilege to meet on several occasions. At the age of 17 Kimiuo witnessed
the events of Feb 17-18 1944, and later went on to establish the Blue Lagoon Dive centre. He died
th
January 4 2001
Many of the vessels featured in this publication are of Japanese origin, the letters IJN
preceding the ships name refer to a naval vessel (Imperial Japanese Navy). Merchants ships
are designated with the word MARU after their name.(Maru roughly translated means “to go
around”) In the case of an “auxillary naval” vessel, such as a fleet oiler the correct designate
would be IJN and not Maru. Most Japanese vessels had their name embossed in both English
as well as Japanese characters, due to international shipping procedures and canal transfers.

It goes without saying that this location is regarded by most experts as the best wreck diving
in the world. As such the wrecks have been expertly identified and documented in two superb
books;

“Hailstorm Over Truk” by Klauss lInferman

And

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