This is part of a one season television series that investigated sunken war wrecks of various sorts. This is the only episode that features any wrecks in the Pacific and they are all Japanese. These wrecks are there because of a naval battle launched by US forces known as Operation Hailstone. They are located within the massive lagoon of a series of islands known to the Navy as "Truk Islands," which is actually the Chuuk Islands, which are part of the greater Caroline Islands, which in turn are now part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It really just blows my mind the extent to which south Pacific island native were so thoroughly stuck in the middle of such a huge war between two super powers. The extent to which the Japanese fiercely took over so many of these island nations is frightening. Some of these island were so isolated from other nations that natives had little contact with the greater world at large. The extent of the wrecks in this area is staggering. The island group is surrounded by huge coral reef, so what is called a "lagoon" is really a small sea dotted with islands of various sizes, the largest of which is Chuuk (which means "mountain"). These islands were just handed over to the Japanese (as were a number of others in the Pacific) following World War I by the League of Nations. I would thought, therefore, that they had a better understanding as to how to successfully navigate out of the lagoon if attacked....but apparently they were instead sitting ducks.
"Truk" Japanese Wrecks
(note: most of these are screen captures from the episode, some may be from other sources whose names I wasn't able to find. This is for informational purposes only; not copyright infringement intended)
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