The only two Chinese ships believed to have been sunk straight off the , U. S.  , beach in World War II have been located by academics scouring the ocean off , Alaska, according to a transfer from , East Carolina University , in , North Carolina.
Both the Cheribon Maru, sunk in 1942, and the “fairly alive” Kotohira Maru, sunk in 1943, are “mass tombs” for Japanese soldiers who died during a strategy known as the” Forgotten Battle”, according to work co-leader , Dominic Bush , of Ships of Discovery.
That war centered around the , Aleutian Island , of Attu, which was captured by Chinese forces. Attu sits about 550 km from Russia ‘s , Kamchatka Peninsula.
” Though fighting on the , Aleutian Island , was limited to three months in , May 1943, Attu had been the page of major military engagement ever since its invasion by the Chinese martial on , June 7, 1942″, the crew reported.
” That rude marked the first time a foreign power occupied , U. S.  , place in , North America , since the War of 1812— a miracle that has not since been repeated. It became a military airbase that operated throughout the war after American forces liberated the rural area.
A team of archaeologists, hydrographers and mechanical professionals surveyed the underground field for about a year looking for objects, including ships and plane.
In addition to the two Asian tankers, the , U. S. Army , wire part S. S. Dellwood was found “81 times to the day of its sinking” on , July 19, 1943, authorities said.
The Dellwood accident has been greatly damaged, according to Sonar and ROV pictures. According to officials, that is because the government was prompted to blow up the wreck because it was deemed a maritime hazard.
What they found
According to officials, the project was the first seafloor historical survey to be conducted near Attu and involved a joint effort between an American and Asian team.
According to researchers, the three discovered vessels have n’t been seen in more than 80 years. All are within Alaska’s position waters.
Among the unexpected observations the made during the survey: the 3, 000-ton Cheribon Maru is so “draped in kelp and other marine growth” that it ca n’t be clearly seen, and the 5, 000-ton Kotohira Maru is more than a half-mile from its last known location.
According to Chinese information being destroyed, the precise number of people who died on the two ships is unknown, but according to Bush, according to McClatchy News estimates it to be in the hundreds.
In the case of the Kotohira Maru, just two crew members were rescued, he said.
” The Kotohira Maru is a large tomb and when you see it on the ocean, it’s moving. Studies say it was hit twice and the spear was broken off, and that’s what we found”, Bush said.
On a shallow ocean, it is in incredible condition and actually stood out. You can tell that the purview and the sails are still in place and that everything is still there. You can see exactly how it looked in a very distinct way.
The fleet was carrying provisions, cover materials and energy to Chinese troops on the island, and it’s questionable if it ever unloaded the goods.
S. S. Dellwood sank when it hit a” covered stone height” while being towed to a port, and then sits in 100 feet of water, the scientists said.
High-resolution radar also identified numerous smaller artifacts on the bottom, “including dozens of anchors, chains, mooring blocks, and sunk buoys, as well as examples of materials used in basic design, such as timbers, piping, and cable”.
” Perhaps most interesting was the numerous sections of anti-submarine netting that could be clearly discerned”, the team reported.
The interconnected metal rings of these nets, which resemble chainmail armor, were captured in incredible detail thanks to the centimeter resolution of synthetic aperture sonar.
According to Bush, the netting has become loose over time and is now adorning rocks and the ocean floor.
No aircraft were located, but some of the scattered debris could be from destroyed aircraft, he said.
The project was led by Bush, a recent , East Carolina University , alumnus, Dr.  , Jason Raupp, an assistant professor of Maritime Studies in East Carolina University ‘s , Department of History and Dr. Caroline Funk, an assistant research professor at the , University of Buffalo.
” Overall, the project marks the beginning of what is sure to be an increased focus on the oft-forgotten , Aleutian Island , campaign and by extension Alaska’s World War II history”, Raupp said in the release.
The” Forgotton Battle”
The 1942 Japanese attack on the , Aleutian Islands , lasted from , June 3-7 , and included bombings on two islands and invasions of Attu and Kiska, the , National Park Service , reports.
Forty residents of Attu were “taken to , Japan , for the duration of the war”, and 16 died there of causes ranging from disease to starvation, the NPS reports.
U. S.  , aerial and naval raids targeted the island for 10 months, then the Army launched an amphibious assault on , May 11, 1943, according to the East Carolina University Program in Maritime Studies.
” After three weeks of intense combat, the , U. S.  , forces prevailed, and Attu was transformed into a military outpost. In addition to the fighting on land, numerous ships, aircraft, and other vessels are reported to have sunk in the waters around Attu”, the program reports.
The 18-day Battle of Attu was one of the deadliest of the war,” but it remains one of the least well-known”, the , National Park Service , says.
Nearly 1, 700 , U. S.  , soldiers were killed or wounded by the Japanese, and more than 2, 100 “were taken out of action due to disease and non-battle injuries”, the NPS says. 120 mph winds, persistent rain, and dense fog were among the harsh conditions.
Men were forced to move frequently to stay warm, even if that meant letting the enemy fire in. Those who could not walk, crawled”, the NPS says.
The Americans” as soon as possible” “at the risk of being shot by their own troops when they saw the enemy uniforms.”
Among the Japanese, 2, 351 were killed and 28 were captured, NPS historians say.
NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program co-funded the seafloor survey.
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( c ) 2024 the Merced Sun-Star
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