Three Military Ships from World War II Discovered Near Alaska's Aleutian Islands

shipwreckPhoto byNOAAonUnsplash

Underwater archaeologists have uncovered the wrecks of three military ships involved in Japan's World War II invasion of Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands. This discovery sheds light on an often-overlooked conflict that some historians call the "forgotten battle."

The expedition, which took place last month, revealed the sunken remains of two Japanese freighters and the American cable ship SS Dellwood. The vessels were located near Attu Island, the westernmost point of the Aleutians, marking a significant find in the history of World War II.

The Japanese freighters were destroyed by American bombers shortly after Japan invaded Attu in June 1942, just six months following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The SS Dellwood, which had been laying undersea cables during the war, sank approximately a year later in 1943, while efforts were underway to reinforce the island's defenses. Dominic Bush, a maritime archaeologist and project co-leader explained:

The original [Japanese] idea was to turn Attu into an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' for attacks on other American locations.

However, as the Pacific theater evolved, Japanese forces on Attu were abandoned by their command, instructed to hold their position and "die with honor," Bush added.

Attu and Kiska, another island in the Aleutians, were the only parts of North America to be invaded and occupied by foreign forces during World War II. Despite this, the conflict in the Aleutians is often overshadowed by other battles. The United States spent nearly a year bombarding Japanese positions in the Aleutians before successfully driving them out with a combined force of American and Canadian troops. The Battle of Attu in May 1943 was particularly brutal, resulting in the deaths of 2,351 Japanese and 549 Allied soldiers.

This discovery resulted from years of dedicated research by Bush, project co-leader Jason Raupp, and their team at ECU. During a two-week expedition in July, they located the wrecks with the help of several strategic partners, including the Japanese World Scan Project, which specializes in scanning environmental and archaeological sites using advanced technology. Raupp said:

Nobody had documented these wrecks before. So we went out there and searched … and since we had about four years of research and preparation, it made the identifications easier when we found them.

The team's use of advanced technology, including the Norseman II and the synthetic aperture sonar system, was instrumental in their search for the wrecks. The Norseman II, a former crab-fishing vessel converted into a scientific research ship, was equipped with a remotely operated underwater vehicle that captured video footage of the sunken ships. The wrecks were first detected using the advanced sonar system, which provided highly detailed three-dimensional scans of the seafloor.

Raupp explained that the advanced sonar system allowed the team to cover large areas of the seabed more efficiently and with more excellent resolution than traditional methods. "We would have needed weeks to achieve the same result using standard sonar," he noted.

The wreck of the Dellwood and one of the Japanese freighters, Kotohira Maru, were discovered offshore at about 300 feet. In contrast, the other Japanese freighter, Cheribon Maru, was found in shallow water closer to shore. Bush confirmed that the damage observed on the Japanese freighters matched historical reports of their sinking by American bombers.

The SS Dellwood, laying cables for a new airbase after the US repelled the Japanese invasion, struck an uncharted underwater pinnacle, causing it to sink. The researchers also found evidence of anti-submarine nets used to defend Attu's main port from potential attacks by Japanese submarines.