WWII B-29 Bomber
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download (mp4, 134.0 MB)

Tinian and Saipan served as major air bases during the final year of WWII with B-29 bombers flying long-range missions to Japan. Many aircraft were lost on take-off and landing. The lost aircraft have great significance to American history yet none of the B-29s that crashed in the Saipan Channel have ever been discovered.

During the final dive for Leg 3 of the expedition, we explored sites that had been identified with exploration targets to search for B-29 aircraft during previous mapping. The dive provided the first information on B-29 bomber wreckage resting in the deep water of the channel and provided initial information on the state of preservation of the aircraft and the environmental conditions affecting the sites.

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