Sunken Japanese WWII Plane in the South Pacific

Osiris32 · 3 months

Since there's a bunch of guesses as to what this plane is, AND the image is a repost, I'll dig through my comment history to find what I posted.

Dig dig dig dig dig dig (it's a ways back) dig dig dig dig dig dig (fuck, I'm getting a tired) dig dig dig

Okay, the consensus reached is that this is an IJN Aichi E13A "Jake" reconnaissance floatplane, based on the forward location of the wings in relation the engine, the extended cockpit, the wing shape, and the fact that there were over 1,400 of the things built. And this time I didn't have to spend 20 minutes staring at pictures of aircraft!!

EDIT: My spelling is like a sausage-fest party; too many "he's."

bravo_sierra · 3 months

Link to the photographer's site

Eurydemus · 3 months

It's sad that this isn't OC :(

Photo credit to : George Steinmetz Aerial Photography - Solomon Sea George Steimetz's website

thisissuperb · 3 months

This is creepy, yet beautiful at the same time.

one_of_reddit · 3 months

seeing anything under water always freaks me out for some reason..

tahoehockeyfreak · 3 months

I'm Curious to see how many wrecks like this are so clearly visible and not at great depths. Looks like an awesome dive site.

windsostrange · 3 months

It really happened.

chicagogam · 3 months

ooh i got that creepy 'seeing stuff under water' feeling that i read about in another reddit.

moo_moose · 3 months

That actually looks closer to a tbf avenger because of the squared wings, great picture though! Where was this taken? http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints-depot-restricted/ww2planes/ww2-grumman/grumman_tbf_1c_avenger-26303.jpg

VentureBrosef · 3 months

There are pictures somewhere of people diving in the cockpit. I saw this picture posted on reddit a few months back and they had the whole series with it.

Kukymc · 3 months

This is in Truk Lagoon.

sigaven · 3 months

Wow. To think that there was a dogfight or battleship around this very spot 67+ years ago.

Okay that's assuming the plane didn't drift...but whatever it still sounded nice.

newsome51 · 3 months

How deep is it in the water? That is amazing...

betarded · 3 months

Are the pilot's corpses still in the plane? If this is just discovered, I'd assume there'd be some grizzly shit in there.

BlackNyellow · 3 months

Does anybody else find that really creepy. If you threw me in that water i would not be a fan.

CrackItJack · 3 months

If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, you should check out Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon:

Chuuk Atoll, (also Known as Truk) in the Caroline Islands is infamous for its giant lagoon. The lagoon is the final resting place for more than 100 ships, planes and submarines - the legacy of a fierce World War II battle between the Imperial Japanese Fleet and Allied carrier planes. The lagoon has been declared an underwater museum. Souvenir taking of relics from the area are prohibited by law.

The majority of the wrecks lie off DubIon, Eten, Fefan and Uman Islands and represent the largest naval loss in history. Their cargoes of tanks, trucks, airplanes, mines, bombs, machine gun bullets and thousands of other artefacts including beautiful china are there still to be explored. The warm, tropical waters and prolific marine life has transformed the wrecks into artificial reefs and beautiful coral gardens.

Rampage771 · 3 months

How the fuck did you get up there?

Movinmeat · 3 months

Seeing that from the vantage point of the boats mast gives me vertigo. Remember, the minimal rocking of the boat even in smooth water is multiplied by the height of the mast.

Also, cheap to post and not give credit to photographer. Down vote.

_Aldous_ · 3 months

Not a Zero, because of wing profile. Not an Avenger as others have stated because it is much too small. Avengers are very large airplanes.

My guess would be an F4F- Wildcat. The later Hellcat is also a possibility, but I think the wings on the hellcat are too narrow.

canuckgal · 3 months

Check out pearl harbor on google maps, you can see a bunch of sunken ships through the water just like this, it's very cool

RayLomas · 3 months

My guess is A6M Zero:

It may be A6M, model 32 - most of Zeroes had rounded wingtips, but this model had square ones - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A6M3_Model32-common.jpg
It also may be some other model, since wingtips were folded - and they'd probably fall off during a crash, or after some time spent in the sea - http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/imgs/mitsubishi-a6m_2.jpg
Ailerons location and length suggest Zero, other mentioned aircraft (for example Wildcats - http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/9/3/5/1786539.jpg) have much shorter ones
Fuselage is too thin for a Hellcat or Avenger
There are 2 holes in its wings, they corelate with the gun positions in Zero - http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Zero/Mitsubishi-A6M-Zero/images/0-Mitsubishi-A6M3-Zero-cut-away-0A.jpg - they were used to reload ammo by the ground/carrier crew
And last - it doesn't matter too much, since after some time in the water coulours would change - but the paintjob looks like Japanese Navy [edit]
The wing profile (the part closer to fuselage) resembles Zero - they had trapezoidal wings, E13a 'jake' (mentioned by others) had much more rectangular shape - http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints-depot/ww2planes/ww2-aichi/aichi-e13a-1-jake.png
Zeros had split flaps - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Airfoil_lift_improvement_devices_%28flaps%29.png - the top part of the flap was a part of the wing, and wasn't moving, while 'Jake' had plain flaps which would probably fall off together with its ailerons - http://www.j-aircraft.com/gallery/navy/e13a_gallery_files/e13a-mervin_brewer_01.jpg

[deleted] · 3 months

textified

MarkDLincoln · 3 months

Ki-61b.

eS_Reid · 3 months

Wow what an awesome shot, how does this get 1600 down votes, I don't understand?

Dr_Sandvich · 3 months

Now who would leave a perfectly good plane in the South Pacific ocean?

CPTkeyes317 · 3 months

Even more impressive is the USS Arizona which is like this, only huge

Pazda · 3 months

This belongs in r/historyporn or r/abandonedporn

M0b1u5 · 3 months

If you can afford a boat like that YOU CAN AFFORD A CAMERA THAT TAKES OK PHOTOS.

[deleted] · 3 months

That isn't a Japaneese plane! That's Emilia Earheart's plane!

Citisol · 3 months

Does OP have the lat/long of this site?

insulting_faggot · 3 months

Wonder if there are any remains of the pilot in the cockpit.

iamagainstit · 3 months

Hey kids, want to see a dead body?

argh_minecraft · 3 months

Is there a market for finding old ww2 planes/tanks etc? I have an interesting group of friends who would do remarkably well at this.

moneymizzlle · 3 months

Must be one of those japanese "sea-ros"

inefficientmarkets · 3 months

Its Palau. I'm going there this summer.

Bluedemonfox · 3 months

I bet it went kamikaze on some poor whale or dolphins.

Thinkcali · 3 months

Kamikaze FAIL!

K931SAR · 3 months

::shudder::

orkid68 · 3 months

Get down from there this instant.

xmasskull · 3 months

Aprox. how deep is the plane & did you dive it?Awesome pic.

Njuul · 3 months

Don't go near it man, radiation will fuck you up. Black eyes though, that's a bonus (with a small side-effect of being possessed by an unknown alien entity.)

8bitmage · 3 months

Wrecks like like this are one of the myriad reasons I want to get certified to go Scuba diving.

ferrari4ari · 3 months

That awkward moment when a Kamikaze misses the boat

guntycankles · 3 months

What a great shot of this!!

cyborgdonkey3000 · 3 months

sunken japanese pixel conglomeration.

question_all_the_thi · 3 months

It's usually not a good idea to go diving there. Sunken war planes or ships may have unexploded bombs in them.

Bombs during WWII had mechanical triggers and seawater leakage may have corroded some parts, so they could go off at any disturbance.

3 months

[deleted]

Schrikbarend · 3 months

is this your yacht? looks amazing

XTC-FTW · 3 months

We need a follow up of you diving and a picture of this beauty under water!

Unrelated_Pun_Girl · 3 months

Man... that plane crash must have been Cat-Astrophic!

soufmel · 3 months

KAMIKAZI!!!

let the downvotes come.

PseudoKhan · 3 months

Not surprising

ConformOrElse · 3 months

I thought it was shopped at first

supraspinatus · 3 months

Coral Sea?

redditjerk · 3 months

Beautiful - dead jap under the ocean.

cy10p3s · 3 months

i would so like to jump on this WWII plane karma bandwagon but i have none

fallopian_swim_team · 3 months

YOU FORGOT TO PUT DOWN THE LANDING GEAR!!

MAJORpaiynne · 3 months

I thought this would get ZERO up votes. That's the type of plane in the picture.

Moomasterq · 3 months

Plane or not, that water looks really nice to swim in. Then to snorkel with that plane in there? That's gotta be sweet.

JDMjosh · 3 months

[deleted]

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