corsairfreak
Airman
Hi all,
Three days ago, I dove on the wreck of another H6K 'Mavis' that's just off Ebeye island, near the Ebeye pier. This is the second of two H6K's that are off Ebeye...the other is farther north, just off the old seaplane ramp. Ebeye was the site of a Japanese seaplane base prior to the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll by U.S. forces in late Jan. 1944.
The research that I've done since diving the first 'Mavis' several months back, indicates that both of these H6K's were strafed and sunk on Feb. 1, 1942, by SBD's from the USS ENTERPRISE. That date is significant for two reasons- it was not only the date of the first American attack on Kwajalein Atoll, but it was also the first U.S. offensive action against the Japanese during WWII.
This H6K wreck is pretty much a jumbled pile, but there's more to it than the 'Mavis' wreck farther north. For example, on this wreck all four engines are present. More of the fuselage is present as well, although a large section of what appears to be the aft fuselage lies about 100 feet away from the main wreckage area.
This wreck is about 50 feet deep, which is a comfortable depth for scuba diving. I shot a total of 61 pictures of this wreck during my dive on it. I've sent the best 19 pictures in to J-aircraft.com for their Relics section. Of those 19, I'm posting 8 of them here today.
I shot these pictures using a digital SeaLife Reefmaster DC600. The other diver seen in a couple of these pictures is Hal Parker, a friend of mine who is also a WWII history buff and wreck diving enthusiast.
And now, on to the pictures. I hope you like them. Cheers all!
Dan, from Kwajalein
Three days ago, I dove on the wreck of another H6K 'Mavis' that's just off Ebeye island, near the Ebeye pier. This is the second of two H6K's that are off Ebeye...the other is farther north, just off the old seaplane ramp. Ebeye was the site of a Japanese seaplane base prior to the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll by U.S. forces in late Jan. 1944.
The research that I've done since diving the first 'Mavis' several months back, indicates that both of these H6K's were strafed and sunk on Feb. 1, 1942, by SBD's from the USS ENTERPRISE. That date is significant for two reasons- it was not only the date of the first American attack on Kwajalein Atoll, but it was also the first U.S. offensive action against the Japanese during WWII.
This H6K wreck is pretty much a jumbled pile, but there's more to it than the 'Mavis' wreck farther north. For example, on this wreck all four engines are present. More of the fuselage is present as well, although a large section of what appears to be the aft fuselage lies about 100 feet away from the main wreckage area.
This wreck is about 50 feet deep, which is a comfortable depth for scuba diving. I shot a total of 61 pictures of this wreck during my dive on it. I've sent the best 19 pictures in to J-aircraft.com for their Relics section. Of those 19, I'm posting 8 of them here today.
I shot these pictures using a digital SeaLife Reefmaster DC600. The other diver seen in a couple of these pictures is Hal Parker, a friend of mine who is also a WWII history buff and wreck diving enthusiast.
And now, on to the pictures. I hope you like them. Cheers all!
Dan, from Kwajalein
