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.