HONOLULU — Scientists in Hawaii found parts of a sunken Japanese submarine during a one-day dive paid for by Japanese broadcasting corporation NHK.
HONOLULU — Scientists in Hawaii found parts of a sunken Japanese submarine during a one-day dive paid for by Japanese broadcasting corporation NHK.
KITV-TV reports that teams from the University of Hawaii’s Undersea Research Laboratory and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration found a conning tower and all the anti-aircraft guns from the Japanese sub I-400, which the U.S. seized and sunk in waters off South Oahu after World War II. The sub was first found in December.
Despite sonar, the crew didn’t know the artifacts were coming.
“So, we’re following this debris and out of the dark the first thing was the giant hangar door. That came out and after that the conning tower and then the hangar and then we found all the anti-aircraft guns,” said HURL director Terry Kerby.
After 30 years of successful dives, the University of Hawaii announced it would cut HURL’s $3 million annual funding, which is why the dive was sponsored by NHK.
Footage captured on the dive will be included in an NHK documentary premiering May 6.
“Anytime we find something once lost and now found, I think it reminds us of more than history,” said James Delgado, director of NOAA’s Maritime Heritage Program. “It reminds us that here, even in our own backyard, there’s things that can be found, discoveries to be made.”