First Visual Survey of IJN Akagi 赤城 - Historic Battle of Midway Shipwreck | Nautilus Live

Ocean Exploration Trust’s visual survey of the Japanese aircraft carrier Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Akagi 赤城 is the first time anyone has laid eyes on the vessel since sinking during June 1942’s Battle of Midway. Akagi was initially located during a mapping survey conducted by Vulcan, Inc. in 2019 that involved U.S. Navy participation. On September 10, 2023, E/V Nautilus team spent 14 hours surveying Akagi, examining battle and seafloor collision damage in the ship’s structure. The dive was launched and closed with protocol ceremonies to honor this place and all who lost their lives in ways that reflected their significance to Kānaka ʻOiwi (Native Hawaiian), Japanese, and U.S. military families and communities.
These historic, noninvasive, visual survey dives were conducted during the E/V Nautilus Ala ʻAumoana Kai Uli expedition, a 27-day NOAA-funded mission to explore never-before-seen deep-water habitats to collect baseline data needed to support management in the most remote and northwestern section of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). PMNM is a UNESCO World Heritage site distinguished for both its cultural and natural significance, the only site with this special distinction in the U.S. It is currently being considered for national marine sanctuary designation to safeguard further its diverse natural, cultural, and maritime heritage resources for generations to come.
The Battle of Midway surveys were made possible by the expertise, support, and collaboration of many partners including Ocean Exploration Trust, NOAA Ocean Exploration, NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, SEARCH, Inc., U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, International Midway Memorial Foundation, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the State of Hawaiʻi, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, University of Maryland, University of Rhode Island, University of Hawaiʻi, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, and Japanese archaeological colleagues from Teikyo University, Tokai University, and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.
Learn more about this expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute: nautiluslive.org/cruise/na154
E/V Nautilus is exploring unknown regions of the ocean seeking out new discoveries in biology, geology, and archaeology. Join us 24/7 for live video from the seafloor and to ask questions of our explorers currently aboard Nautilus: www.nautiluslive.org.
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[@leopardone2386]

I cannot understate how important it is that we document these wrecks. As a layman without millions of dollars to fund such expeditions, I want to thank the team for providing this amazing and fascinating footage. This type of work does matter. It may not seem mainstream, but you have appreciation from people all over the world.

[@robwernet9609]

Agreed. I know this isn't one of his expeditions but how awesome of Paul Allen to spend his money to make these discoveries to share. One of the most compelling was the cruiser Indianapolis!

[@leopardone2386]

@robwernet9609 He had me at IJN Musashi, but I agree fully. He found her only months after Panzer "Ace" Otto Carius passed. I just got done reading " Tigers in the Mud" when the news broke. Warm regards,

[@tarmbruster1]

Dosen't need to be mainstream. If it is just available for scholars, that would be sufficient, but of course, we amateur historians are always looking for more access.... yes we are.

[@lkzhang820]

Every converted aircraft carrier is unique，especially Akagi for her island’s placement.

[@beaterbikechannel2538]

The funnel was a good idea too

[@jimb9063]

Yes agreed. Two islands, no island, or islands on the port side. 8 inch guns, an 18 inch gun. No torpedo tubes though as far as I know surprisingly?!

[@sirboomsalot4902]

@@jimb9063Thanks for reminding me how cursed HMS Furious was with that one 18-inch gun she kept early in her conversion. Of course, that’s to be expected since she was one of the first carriers

[@oriontaylor]

@@jimb9063 As far as torpedo tubes on carriers, fortunately David Beatty was kept far away from HMS Eagle with his plans for a heavily torpedo-armed carrier.

[@jimb9063]

@@oriontaylor Heh yes, unfortunately not kept far enough away from other ships in the RN, by a few thousand miles.

[@the.original.throwback]

I'm 75 years old and remember my father's stories of being a chief gunner's mate aboard the destroyer USS Warrington DD-383 during WWII. The Warrington spent a lot of time as escort to naval fleets seeking contact with the Japanese navy to try and destroy them. In a way, the random chance that a Japanese airplane machine gun bullet strafing the Warrington ricocheted off the deck and into Dad's knee is why I'm here to tell his tale. He was evacuated to a Honolulu hospital before the Warrington sunk in a hurricane off the coast of Virginia with the loss of nearly all hands. Had he not been wounded, he almost certainly would have been on the Warrington that fateful day. It took many decades for Dad to work through his war demons enough to meet and embrace aging Japanese men who luckily survived their service in WWII and call them friends. The Akagi is symbolic of greed and failed diplomacy on both sides but mostly of brave, dedicated men and women from many countries during WWII who put duty ahead of personal safety and died or lived to help build a better world where their once enemies could finally be called brothers.

[@kendrahelvey1751]

Beautifully written, thank you. My husband and I contemplate his existence here on Earth as well. He is the son of a WWII Army Air Corps B25 flight engineer. The 345th did low level strafing and bombing in New Guinea. Several of his squadron mates did die due to the enemy, the weather, or the impossible terrain of the country. You and he are here today because they miraculously survived. We too thank all of those who served our country, and respectfully morn those who were lost, on both sides. Thanks again.

[@sulevisydanmaa9981]

@@kendrahelvey1751 That was THE AIR APACHES ..? Rite ? Congrats

[@kendrahelvey1751]

The Air Apaches yes! @@sulevisydanmaa9981

[@francisbusa1074]

Women?? Come on...!

[@dochlldy]

@@francisbusa1074 Yes,women!!!They weren't on the front lines,but there were quite a few that were lost transporting fresh aircraft to air crews.There were others lost in various service units.

[@michaeldavid6284]

It's ironic that the narrator's very first sentence states how important it is to document history and the significance of this battle...and then he gets the year wrong.

[@jmrodas9]

We all make mistakes now and then, only GOD is always right. Regards.

[@redstone5149]

Yep, missed it by a year.

[@lieutenantusubuchi674]

I was deeply moved by the way they treat the sunken Akagi with full respect to the war dead who are resting there. Yes, sunken man-of-war is a solemn shrine where thousands of lives were sacrificed. The souls, not only the ones at Akagi but the ones at Yorktown too, should be very pleased that they are visited by their grandchildren now best friends and solid allies supporting the world together.

[@AgencyIsland]

Idk man nationalist japanese hated anyone not japanese , so idk if theyd be too thrilled lol

[@tosansakamoto]

あかぎの文字が解る、　艦橋も映ってましたね、直撃受けた感じでしたね！ 有難うございました。 亡くなられた方々の、ご冥福をお祈り申し上げます。合掌！

[@beaterbikechannel2538]

Respect. May all the crews of all nations' fallen warriors find peace.

[@tosansakamoto]

@@beaterbikechannel2538 同感です。有難うございます。

[@scottke2273]

The view of the island was incredible. Nagumo and Genda watched the Pearl Harbor raid take off from there. During the opening attacks on Kido Butai on June 4th 1942 by the 6 Grumman TBF's and 4 Army Martin B-26's (configured as torpedo bombers, NOT used as depicted in the recent Midway Movie), Nagumo and his staff were atop this island structure when they ducked to avoid the plunging B-26 that was shot down. Walter Lord's book The Incredible Victory describes that near miss just as depicted in the recent movie. I'd like to see if/when they find IJN Mikuma if they find the wreckage of a Marine Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator mixed in with the wreck to either prove or disprove Captain Richard E Fleming's crash dive into the ship on the morning of June 5th. Reports vary as to when he attacked Mikuma that morning if after being struck by flak, if he dropped his bomb scoring a near miss, then crashing into the ocean. Other reports say after dropping his bomb, he crashed into the after turret area of Mikuma. Either way he was the only Medal of Honor awarded during the battle.

[@jameseaton5703]

Im amazed that she settled on Her Hull, right on the Sea Floor. She didnt even break apart. I cant imagine the massive forces at work on the ship as she sank.

[@benbliss9589]

Maybe she filled with water pretty close to the surface, negating the effect of the water pressure. On second thought, would that make her sink faster and smash into the sea bed?

[@twilightparanormalresearch186]

@@benbliss9589large holes she could have sank faster

[@tora-tora-s44]

18:30　The three characters are written in hiragana from the left as ”gi” ”ka'' "a". Written in Japanese, they become "ぎ", "か", and "あ".

[@baronofrhodes1185]

The Sea remembers her own. Thank you for remembering the sacrifice of all involved, in all sides of the conflict. Though enemies by flag at one time, brothers by bond of the Sea.

[@RUfor80six]

would you say that about german nazi navy sailors? because the Japanese were just as bad but not worse than the germans...

[@glenchapman3899]

@@RUfor80six Would you suggest every sailor in the Kreigsmarine was a rabid Nazi?

[@captaintoyota3171]

Evnautilus and her Rov's Hercules and Argus are a shining example of the good humanity and science can do. In a world of greed and suffering we have tiny examples of our potential for empathy and progress

[@SexDrugsNpostprod]

I only wish for humanity to enter the Star Trek era, where science and exploration becomes our main purpose.

[@majnjord]

Regarding the somewhat confused discussion about Akagis name painted on the hull: - Japanese warships usually had their name written in katakana on the bow, or sides for smalles ships like destroyers. Excellent examples include destroyer Yukikaze, if you want to google it. - The names were also written in hiragana on or by the stern - not sure how consistent this rule is, but there are definitely examples of this on destroyers as well, for example the Hatsushimo. - The names were always written with the characters from right to left, because the characters were treated as written vertically - even though they are placed beside each other. Vertical Japanese is always read right to left, and horizontal Japanese is read left to right. So treating each character as on a separate vertical line, from RIGHT to LEFT the characters on Akagi are A-KA-GI in hiragana - あかぎ. As pointed out in the stream, the GI ぎ is written with the character KI き and an added diacritical "dakuten" or "ten-ten", which are two dots similar to citation marks that signify a change in the consonant sound of the syllable.

[@wilsonj4705]

01:43 He got the position of the islands reversed, Akagi's was on the port side, Kaga's starboard.

[@totallyaploy1824]

​@@luckyguy600It's an easy mistake to make, to mix them up on the spot like that. It's a bit like mixing up left and right if you were asked directions with no prior indication.

[@waistgunner3930]

Same thing with Soryu and Hiryu; Soryu's island was on starboard side flight deck, Hiryu's to port

[@floydoroid]

I take it there were mildly rough seas during your expedition, given the distance that the ROV is bobbing up and down. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@robertstroud5750]

I hope someone will resume the expedition and bring more video / photos. I also would LOVE to see an Artist rendition of the Kaga and Akagi wrecks. Looking at sonar images, the wrecks look to be in VERY bad shape. They did burn violently for a while before sinking.

[@strfltcmnd.9925]

The Battle of the Coral Sea in May, 1942 was the first Naval battle in history in which the opposing forces never saw each other ships, only aircraft.

[@tarmbruster1]

If it were not for the two Japanese carriers damaged at Coral Sea, Midway could have been a completely different story.

[@glenchapman3899]

@@tarmbruster1 More to do with doctrine. Zuikaku could have made a significant impact on the battle if she had been allowed to absorb the surviving air groups from Coral Sea. Instead they held her in port while waiting for new aircrews to be produced

[@tarmbruster1]

@@glenchapman3899 Thank you for the info.

[@cbstevp]

Dick Best dropped a 1000 .lbs bomb on the middle of the flight deck and there were so many secondary explosions it engulfed the ship in flames. It is believed to be the only bomb to hit Akagi, though Best's two wingmen dropped their bombs close by the ship, possibly causing some damage. And later that day Best got a hit on the Hiryu helping send her to the bottom.

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

It also ended his career. Caustic soda got into his oxygen supply and activated his latent tuberculosis. He never flew again and retired in 1944.

[@user-rw7hx7pq1p]

Not "believed" - IS - it was the ONLY bomb to HIT the ship - the bomb that landed aft caused shaft and rudder damage, but did not directly threaten the loss of the ship. The fires caused by Best's bomb DID !

[@Chameleon569]

What a humble and educated presentation.. love the soft music in the background, great to hear everyone share the knowledge and guesses. What a moment this had to be for these people who deboted their lives to studying this

[@David_B_Dornburg]

I would much have preferred them talking more about what the cameras were actually showing, rather than a rehash of the battle. They were making their own history dealing with the finding of the ship, we don't need more verbiage about one of the most well known battles of WWII.

[@booch9109]

WW2 isn't taught much in Japan

[@rickhobson3211]

Error in the narration in the beginning. Midway happened in 1942, not 1941. Great video!

[@stevelawrie8265]

Simply stunning. Thank you for sharing this and providing context throughout the video of not only the wreck itself, but also the human side. Looking at the mangled wreckage of the superstructure my immediate thought was that it must have been a hellish place to be and I cannot imagine what temperature that structure must have reached.

[@Bethlam]

That anchor settled like a cross marking a grave. That’s a powerful image.

[@spudhut2246]

Simply amazing to see this ship. I grew up with knowing and studying Akagi's accomplishments and her role in WW2. She was a mighty Flagship Carrier, so unique, powerful... along with the other 3 that fought the Battle of Midway. Visuals from the original "Battle of Midway" come to mind. From one Navy Sailor to Another - Salute to the brave men who served on this ship and the families that lost loved ones. Such bravery and culture. Its simply amazing to put my eyes on this wreck.

[@rizon72]

Has there been a computer graphic, drawing, etc of how she looks on the ocean floor giving an overall picture of her instead of small views?

[@philb5593]

Not yet, this is the first time she has been surveyed. Her location was only discovered back in 2019, but this is the first time someone has taken an ROV down to her. I expect in the next few months people will create panoramas and models from the footage. It will take time.

[@Stellaris556]

Petrel did the Sonar survey while mapping the ocean terrain & accidentally located Kaga & Akagi. Only two more left which is Soryu & Hiryu.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

There’s some paintings of her wreck from when they first found her

[@rizon72]

@@Stellaris556 For some reason I thought 3 of the 4 had been found, guess I was mistaken.

[@rhphotocdn]

A 3D Digital Mapping like what they did on the Titanic would be really cool..

[@KManXPressTheU]

Are they ever going to look for the Shinano? Even though She never saw Combat, She was Unofficially the World's First Supercarrier.

[@stmichael4655]

submariners call super carriers..SUPER targets ...lol

[@keithrosenberg5486]

The text is incorrect. Akagi was struck by one 1,000 pound USN bomb. Its own ordinance then added to the destruction.

[@rafaelj.benero4880]

Two more were near miss.

[@keithrosenberg5486]

@@rafaelj.benero4880 Best's wingmen made those near misses. Probably be cause they dived in formation. Still a near miss can cause damage. But a 1,000 pound bomb into a hangar deck filled with aviation gasoline, bombs and torpedoes is all that was needed.

[@spikespa5208]

Whoever was speaking at the very beginning didn't know what year the battle took place.

[@keithrosenberg5486]

@@spikespa5208 It is so easy to check basic fact these days that there is no excuse for poor research. If there was any.

[@spikespa5208]

@@keithrosenberg5486 I might put it down to a slip of the ol' tongue. But editing and proof reading before posting is key.

[@27hfd]

Similar to Titanic in distance to the bottom, there is likely a large debris field scattered out behind the main hull. Wiki has the ship listed as being in service for about 4 years and it was involved in 3 other battle assignments between Pearl Harbor and its last day on the surface near Midway Island.

[@stevecurl7430]

Thank you

[@Blend-24]

Holy smokes!! This is an AMAZING video!! Thanks for posting

[@tweb2295]

Stunning and absolutely incredible...! Thank you..!

[@randalltanascu5821]

love the big display screens with all the info ...so cool all them years underwater .

[@scharnhorst_42]

As of 2mnths ago, we only had sonar pictures. This is amazing!

[@nightmaregaming8498]

now we just need to find Soryu and Hiryu

[@nathanielmuzzipapa8222]

When Petrel scanned that area in 2018, they covered alot of sea floor. And thats how the Akagi was found and they dived on the Kaga and they had intended to come back but didnt. I was surprised in that survey that Soryu wasnt found. Hiryu is gonna be fun to find.

[@MRYOUNG123451]

Akagis island is on the port side! And Kagas was on the starboard

[@Guangrui]

It was hit by one single bomb from the dive bomber piloted by Richard Best

[@nathanielmuzzipapa8222]

Petrel did a good job mapping out there area, although im surprised that the wreck of the Soryu wasnt discovered as well. If memory serves they all were in the same general area. Even accounting for drifting before they were scuttled. Ive often wondered how far off Ballard was when he was looking for Kaga.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Soryu is just a debris field now. She was lightly built and suffered a major internal explosion as she sank

[@nathanielmuzzipapa8222]

Thats fair but still you figure something shouldve been found. I cant remember how big Petrel mapped out, but it was alot. Hiryu though is gonna be the bear to find. Since she drifted for a day or two. At the end of the day im just excited that there are other people who are also excited to find and explore these wrecks. I dont know about you, but ive still got a list of wrecks that i would love to see be found and documented.

[@bizjetfixr8352]

@@sirboomsalot4902 Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if she wasn't in similar condition as USS Juneau.

[@misterbaker9728]

@@nathanielmuzzipapa8222do you not understand how deep they are??

[@oldnick4707]

​@@misterbaker9728, Sonar still functions the same at these depths. Like mowing a big field with a hand mower, and the addition of depth adds more time of course.

[@peterdoucet7974]

Totally Unbelievable!!! What more could I say!?! Makes anyone want to see the two big-screen 'Midway' movies again!!!

[@hiroshi19690330]

Thank you for discovering it！

[@oriontaylor]

The late Paul Allen's team aboard RV Petrel discovered Akagi, but were unable to get eyes on it in 2019 due to an equipment failure.

[@robertrusnak620]

Absolutely amazing

[@Ro6entX]

Personally regardless of what horrible things the Japanese did in world war 2, majority of the sailors aboard those ship were relatively young, and sacrificed their lives. I view shipwrecks, not as ship of former enemies, but as tombs that all should be respected no matter the flag.

[@Bethlam]

Atrocities on EVERY side were committed. To quote an old phrase “two wrongs do not equal a right”. Americans love to forget that concentration camps existed on American soil. Many Japanese Americans were robbed of their liberty as well as their property during WWII. I realize American concentration camps were better than German concentration camps but it was still robbing its citizens of their liberty and forced to endure hardships simply because their families originated from a certain area of the world. Japan definitely committed many war crimes not only to Americans but many Asian countries as well. War is declared by those that are safely on their own soil but fought and die by those that may not have a choice in the matter. ANY front line soldier should be shown some respect because they are ones risking their lives to fight a war they didn’t start.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Amazing.

[@kennbmondo]

Fascinating feeds.. I love it.

[@timothybullard5161]

Say what you will. My short time at sea, serving America's Navy, I never felt alone in the ocean. The previous sailors and ships felt present. As present as the sailirs with me and the steel of our own hull.

[@SHiFTyTReATS]

She’s in amazingly good shape, considering how strong the current is down there. You can sense it in how much the ROV is bobbing up and down.

[@jhmonthetube6339]

Excellent work with the ROV. If another video is planned, please concentrate dialogue on what the ROV is showing. We already have the history documented from those who were there.

[@geomodelrailroader]

Yorktown found, Akaki found, Kaga found, and Mukuma and Hammann have been found Soryu and Hiryu are still down there. Nautilus is close to finding Soryu they just need to look in the same spot as Akagi and Kaga because all three went down at the same time Hiryu will be a needle in a haystack but with the advanced sonar we will find her and this area will be designated an international shrine.

[@god-came-in-my-body-as-a-body]

this is amazing

[@timschoenberger242]

The installation of 8 inch guns had very little to do with their designs originally as battlecruisers (or battleships in the Kaga's case). It was all about timing, technology and role in battle. In the 1920's, except for the visionaries, carrier roles were seen as primarily scouting and control of the air, not as delivering bombs and torpedoes. With the shorter range of planes in the 20's, IJN and USN determined that these ships needed protection against fast cruisers. Hence the 8 inch guns and armor plate. What is interesting is that early in WW II, the US removed theirs from the Lexingtons while the IJN did not.

[@suzukamo248]

日本から感謝致します。赤城を見つけてくれてありがとうございます。

[@mikehiggins946]

We're looking at one of the 6 Aircraft Carriers that launched the Zeros, Torpedo Bombers, Dive Bombers and High Altitude Bombers that attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. The surprise attach came on a Sunday morning without a declaration of war and while Japan's Ambassadors remained in Washington D.C. carrying out negotiations for the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. In fact all 31 Japanese ships that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor would be sent to the bottom in the ensuing war with the United States.

[@douglasstruthers8307]

Capturing a time and a place. This time & place was such an important event in history where, sadly, so many lives were lost. Thank you for sharing this incredible and haunting footage.

[@spanqueluv9er]

^”Capturing a time and place” is not a sentence.

[@douglasstruthers8307]

You have a lot of time on your hands. Incredible footage, don't you think?@@spanqueluv9er

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

Come on man, it was 1942' not 41' !!! (0.27) 🧐

[@aserta]

8:17 the gold has remained in place and through cracks from the swelling wood before it got consumed, materia got deposited over the gold. It would've been a decent plating, being a royal insignia.

[@user-ur1ke5zc3j]

ご返信ありがとうございます、thank you。 おっしゃってくれた内容でおぼろげながら全体像が少し見えた感じがします。 空母赤城は元々巡洋戦艦を建造する目的で途中改造された軍艦なので割合作りが丈夫だったんでしょうか。 空母加賀はミッドウェイ海戦で赤城よりも激しい被害を受けて大火災を起こして海上で船体が分断してしまいましたが、空母赤城は船体のダメージが少なかったわけなのかな、結局味方駆逐艦の魚雷攻撃で処分されて沈没してしまいましたけれども。

[@RebelScum1996]

So we found the akagi now we need to find the others. 🎉

[@DSW964]

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by important history of our world, and especially the story of important artifacts that are recovered after being lost and hidden. As fascinating as all these recent expeditions and deep sea discoveries of WWII have been, I cannot for the life of me understand how these companies will not put the same effort into continuing the search for MH370. Somewhere on the seabed are perhaps two 6 ton Trent 800 series engines that are far beyond impossible to locate given current advanced search tools. We’ve located and recovered quite a few objects less than 1/4 of the size and mass. We owe it to the survivors and families and aviation safety to continue searching until it is found.

[@cascadesouthernmodeltrains7547]

A big part of the problem with MH370 is we don’t really know the exact location, or even a close enough proximity to search for a tiny aircraft. I agree that it should be found, if for no other reason than to give the families some peace. The ships from WWII on the other hand have a known proximity of their sinking and being very large chunks of iron, they can be detected much easier using magnometers and they will have a much larger sonar return than that of an aircraft.

[@oldnick4707]

This and ships like it are VASTLY larger targets, and so are VASTLY easier to locate and vid. The search area for these is vastly smaller also, as we have historic reports that are useful. 370's search area is utterly vast in comparison to all WW2 wrecks.

[@DSW964]

@@oldnick4707I’ve spent more time than just about everyone I know not only on MH370, but also other many other subjects- from previous aviation searches, and military operations stretching back to the Cold War era of the 1950’s. If it is in the SIO, there is plenty of reason to believe the US knows the location already. To dismiss this, would mean you have insufficient understanding of the capabilities, past recoveries, and the extent of the search grid to date with the data released. This doesn’t mean that the multi-billion dollar private funded search teams could not crack the biggest mystery in our present times, if the military and state actors are keeping it secret.

[@kibbeystovall7546]

The narrator places the battle of Midway in the wrong year, 1941, rather than the actual 1942, in the first couple minutes of the video.... sigh.

[@dzikijohnny]

I was going to post that too!!

[@Вивсівідстій]

Good work Dick Best, et als. RIP to the crew of Akagi.

[@VraccasVII]

Great work! Subtitles would be helpful, as microphone quality is understandably spotty in places.

[@odonovan]

0:27 - "...happening just over four days in 1941..." Say WHAT??? The last time I checked, The Battle of Midway happened in June of 1942. It's not like that's an obscure fact. 4:26 - NOPE! The Akagi was never launched as a cruiser. It was converted into a carrier while still under construction.

[@kendrahelvey1751]

I was wondering how deep the ship rests? Thanks for this great video and story.

[@fredwood1490]

The silence the deep dark silence covers her like a smothering blanket and time passes only within her corpse The silence is broken by the thump and the rumble of disarticulation as she becomes one with the sea The darkness is complete and utter as any grave should be The pride has become the price of conquest as she slips into the mud of defeat and all that is left is Honor

[@user-ur1ke5zc3j]

貴重な映像をありがとうごいます。　　映像を拝見する限り、艦首の部分と何かの構造物に張り付く白い板に何か書かれているというのがoperatorの平仮名とか漢字とかおっしゃってる感じで分かります。　赤城の全体像はどういった感じなんでしょう？　　ちなみに僕は英語わからんよ　笑。

[@Joaquin602001]

From this and from the wreck scans in 2019 she appears to be surprisingly intact, if the hangar sides and island still being in place are anything to go by. Much better condition than the Kaga at least, which is missing everything above the waterline.

[@bruges1964]

彼らは船の設計と歴史について話します また、女性は両側の死者を追悼してハワイ語の祈りを数回唱えます

[@user-ur1ke5zc3j]

@@bruges1964 　　　ありがとう　thank you

[@syutain]

右側の文字が[あ]というのは読み取れましたね。ひらがなでした。

[@tomohayashi8343]

元々巡洋戦艦だったシャープな艦首形状と副砲、ひらがなで右から左へ　"あ”　"か”　”ぎ”と艦名が読める、また加賀と同様に艦橋にも直撃弾あったかのような破損状況に驚いた。とても感動してます、英霊よ安らかに。

[@ngilmour3]

Very sobering. All sailors and airmen who lost their lives at Midway were serving their countries and made the greatest sacrifice.

[@user-ed1gy1vr5x]

All these ships no matter which side deserve to be documented for their history and left in peace. They are war graves. Men who fought and died doing their duty to their respective countries. For that they deserve respect. As for the documentation, this is history that we generations later should know of and not be forgotten. History has a real bad habit of repeating itself itself

[@mekanyca]

Wow!!

[@shawnc1016]

Any confirmation that the 8-inch guns were actually manned/provisioned on that day? By that point in the war I'm sure they realized there were better uses for those crew members.

[@user-ur1ke5zc3j]

本当に劇的な海戦ですね。　劇的な出来事は神々の神話の如き浪漫に満ちてると撲は思いますけれど、この海戦もその劇的な展開にある意味人知を超越した運命みたいなものを感じます。

[@cleekmaker00]

01:43 Wasn't Akagi's Island on the Port side of the Ship, not the Starboard side? It looks that way from all of the Wartime photos and other Documentation.

[@dcmtoppins]

Are these "talkers" attempting to one up one another!? Awesome finds, look forward to modeled visual assessments of the damage each of these carriers succumbed to.

[@thomasmiller5587]

One of the carriers involved in the pearl harbor attack

[@helenburke9507]

My cousin is still on the Arizona. Trapped ,never retrieved. !!!!!!!!!

[@koltp1909]

The Bauxite Queen sees the light of day again

[@geomodelrailroader]

in the tradition of the Japanese Empire and the Kingdom of Hawaii when a sub completes their final dive a plaque is sent down with the sub and secured to the deck which says "Here lies (ship name) may the souls on this vessel rest in peace please do not disturb" Ballard started that tradition but it was ignored by James Cameron and others and all the White Star Canard wrecks Ballard went to were looted and disturbed and the ships are falling apart. We ask that the vessel be left alone let them rest in peace. Once the sub reaches the surface the crew mans the rail and a lay and a bottle of sake are tossed overboard to honor the dead.

[@ryanbluer6098]

It’s a wonderful thing what you do in documenting the war graves of the many sailors who died during the war, the sad part is the ones that unscrupulous people are targeting and salvaging on a very large scale. Personally when one is discovered especially in areas accessible to divers , the coordinates should be only passed on to the navy of the ships that are discovered. Because it’s obvious that the locations of these unmarked graves are being passed on by certain people in the government’s employment of the waters they are in to businessmen for a large payment, how else would they know where to look . When LiDAR was first used to map Egypts undiscovered sites , loads of new potential history were found, unfortunately it was during the phase known has the Arab spring and all archeological work stopped, when they returned many of these undiscovered sites had been looted of the lost history they concealed and their locations could only have come from one source for looters to know where to dig for something not public knowledge

[@Pyro-et9vs]

So, theoretically speaking, the other carriers must be ‘nearby’, right?

[@oriontaylor]

Kaga's wreck site has been known and surveyed. Soryu is the nearby one that has yet to be located.

[@randho5150]

Who said "that looks like a prop blade sticking out" when they were looking at the anchor on the bow end?

[@getoffenit7827]

The casemate gunners must have felt pure frustration,anger

[@805drift]

have The Soryu and Hiryu been found yet?

[@michaelgrey7854]

Akagi's Island was on the port side and Kaga on the stb'd

[@robertrusnak620]

Scuttled but blown to bits

[@SexDrugsNpostprod]

Can anyone explain the bobbing back and forth of the submersible ?

[@Gelbwurst]

Guess it is a camera platform connected directly to the mothership and not a freefloating ROV. So all the rolling from the ship above in the waves is transfered to the camera below.

[@grmcdorman]

They were using ROV Atalanta, which is directly connected to Nautilus. Normally they use what they call a "dual body" system, where there's actually a 2nd ROV (remotely operated vehicle) called Hercules connected to Atalanta by a tether, but for these three wrecks (USS Yorktown, Akagi, and Kaga) the depth, at about 5,100 meters, is well below Hercules' maximum depth. There was a second ROV they _were_ going to use, but it suffered mechanical issues. So they had to use Atalanta, and the bobbing is the motion of the surface vessel, Nautilus, transmitted through over 5km, or about 3 miles, of cable. Apparently it takes about 5 minutes for a motion on the surface to reach the Atalanta ROV. Moving around the wreck was done by precise movements of Nautilus; in the original live stream you can occasionally hear the ROV navigator contacting the bridge and issuing requests like "Please move 10 meters at bearing 250". Then, after Nautilus repositions, Atalanta ROV will eventually slowly move the corresponding distance and direction. They were extremely fortunate that the surface was quite calm, for the middle of the Pacific.

[@SexDrugsNpostprod]

​@@grmcdorman Thank you for the thorough and interesting explanation. I'm so used to the steadiness of the "dual body" system, that I completely forgot that those must be connected to the vessel by a massive heavy duty cable. Props to the crew operating this giant noodle over 5K of distance. It's truly impressive work!

[@SteelbeastsCavalry]

Makes me seasick.

[@connorjohnson4402]

@@SexDrugsNpostprod Yea if you dont usually watch the channel 2 feed from Atalanta or Argus its easy to forget that its always bouncing up and down with the waves, that and usually they have the vehicle fairly high up above Hercules and the sea floor so the movement isn't as noticeable. The cable itself isn't massive really excluding its 7Km in length you'll often hear it referred to as the "six, eight" cable if you listen to enough dives, but that's because its diameter is .68 inches. So really they cable is under and inch thick. but yea a very long and heavy noodle indeed. But they really did get lucky and had a great weather window and had pretty calm seas despite how bouncy it may have been, but with these great depths they begin to run into the tension limits on the which system and cable so it doubly fortunate that it was great weather.

[@krob5375]

I take it they were using the backup ROV lol. That constant motion must have made it tricky to get close..

[@Davi-pq3ej]

I would like to see how is Bismarck nowadays .

[@CarbonGlassMan]

It would be cool if these ships could be brought back to the surface.

[@BGnome94]

is it the sea currents making the ROV move up and down?

[@AnakinSkyobiliviator]

The ROV is connected to the mothership, which is rocking in the waves.

[@BGnome94]

@@AnakinSkyobiliviator oh thank you i figured it would of had flexible cord

[@EVNautilus]

Yes! Normally we use a dual-body ROV system that reduces the movement but for this dive, could only use a single ROV.

[@BGnome94]

@@EVNautilus thank you for the information

[@SeanCox-ic3fm]

Rest in peace 🪦

[@CockMcBallsddd]

God its just amazing how many of the most important WWII ships that we have found the wrecks of in the last few years. We have found almost every major ship that was sunk in WWII. Its just absolutely incredible. . .and I'm very thankful that the people doing these surveys understand the enormity of what they are doing. Enemy or not. . .the men on those ships in WWII saw things that no man will ever see again. A kind of war that is literally unfathomable to those of us who didn't experience it. They were some of the most brave humans to ever live. And that should be remembered.

[@YmTan-uf4bx]

How bout carrier Hiryu?

[@williamlam3083]

Please to explore more sunk carriers, such as Sōryū and Hiryū

[@dzikijohnny]

Need to find them first

[@buingockhoa1998]

I can imagine Japan thinking: "You are still as beautiful as the day we lost you"

[@dutch1589]

Narrator meant to say battle happened over four days in 1942 and not what he said, 1941.

[@robertevans8126]

Yes, they paid the price of Nagumo's thinking, and the not re-loading of the bomb and torpedo's after they were taken off the planes. Hopefully, you can find the 4TH last of the carriers sunk there at Midway?

[@UCs6ktlulE5BEeb3vBBOu6DQ]

That ship doesn't have Active Heave Compensation System ??

[@johnrusselman1364]

Do they have the Akagi’s final photo above the waves?

[@connorjohnson4402]

I believe the final photo of Akagi that is known to exist is a photo from one of the US planes during one of the attacks on the Battle of Midway. I think it shows it on fire and damaged from the bomb hits but unless there was photos taken later on by the Japanese i think that its last known photo.

[@bizjetfixr8352]

Frankly, the SBD pilots were too busy either attacking, or trying to avoid the CAP fighter to take any pictures. If they were going to be pictures taken, one of the backbseaters in the SBDs would have been a Photographer's Mate. No Photographers mates flew in any of the airplanes, on either the morning or afternoon strikes on June 4 You may be thing of the shot of the SBDs approaching the cruiser Mikuma the following days. One well known picture shows SBDs in formation, approaching Mikuma, with the ship smoking in the background. Because running into fighters was unlikely, a Photographer's Mate was in the back seat of an SBD during the Hornets airstrike (IIRC)

[@bizjetfixr8352]

If there were any pictures taken by the IJN on June 4, they were disposed of immediately, or in the mass burning of records after the surrender. The only picture I've seen of the IJN carriers on June 4 was the one in "Shattered Sword". A picture taken of Hiryu as she launched the dive bomber attack on Yorktown at 1100, or thereabouts. The Japanese didn't like shutterbug, for a list of reasons. Remember that the only decent pic of Shinano was taken covertly by a crewman on another ship running trials in Tokyo Bay. He could have received the death penalty, if discovered.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

@@bizjetfixr8352There were a few photos taken of the carriers from the B-17s

[@scottke2273]

That photo you speak about if of the IJN carrier Hiryu. It was taken on the morning of June 5th by a Yokasuka B4Y torpedo bomber from the Japanese carrier Hosho. Most people only know of the 4 carriers that were sunk by the Americans that day, but there were actually 4 more involved in the whole Midway Operation. The Hosho was with the 1st Mobile Force which included Yamato as the flagship. Hosho's planes were present over the battle area on the 5th, so she had the range to cause problems. Junyo & Ryujo were assigned to support the Dutch Harbor attack and were well north of Midway. The Zuiho was assigned to the Main Body invasion force with the seaplane carrier Nisshin. Zuhio's combat air patrol actually engaged an American PBY of VP-44 operating out of Midway forcing it to withdraw. Had they decided not to retreat, could these light carriers have saved the day? Zuiho carried 6 A6M2 Zero & 6 A5M Claude fighters as well as 12 B5N2 Kates. Hosho carried 8 B4Y torpedo bombers (Biplanes) and up to 7 A5M Claude fighters. Junyo carried 18 A6M2 Zeros and the same number of D3A Val dive bombers. Ryujo carried 12 A6M2 fighters and 18 B5N2 Kates. These two had some minor combat losses of all three types, but all four together would have been a handful for American carriers. As for the Nisshin, that ship carried 12 floatplanes which included F1M "Pete", E8N "Dave" and E7K "Alf" types. These could have been used as fighters (Pete/Dave) and the Alf's as recon. @@connorjohnson4402

[@joegagnon2268]

Japan 🇯🇵 a mighty warrior culture

[@halfpintcustoms3428]

Is the current causing the drone to bob in and out ?

[@paulgent9203]

How big is it?

[@outfield1988]

When I was a kid I used to dream of the wrecks from Midway being found.