New footage from the Ocean Exploration Trust nonprofit released over the weekend is the first visual survey of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi since its sinking in 1942’s Battle of Midway.
On the social media platform X, the EV Nautilus account highlighted major sights from the Akagi, including an anti-aircraft gun and the Japanese imperial chrysanthemum seal still visible on the ship’s bow.
The full visual survey of the Akagi was uploaded to YouTube by the EV Nautilus channel on Sunday and lasts nearly 24 minutes.
The survey was undertaken by researchers aboard the nonprofit’s Exploration Vessel Nautilus from Sept. 8-12.
In addition to surveying the Akagi, researchers also did an in-depth archaeological survey of the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga, also sunk at Midway, and the first viewing in 25 years of the USS Yorktown, the only American aircraft carrier lost in that key battle.
The wrecks, along with the island of Midway, are part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which stretches around the islands and to Hawaii.
Researchers said that the new footage is helping to further reconstruct the details of the Battle of Midway.
Akagi’s location, for example, was only determined with sonar in 2019 and these are the first actual images of the sunken vessel.
“During over 43 hours at depth, we methodically circumnavigated these historic wrecks, bringing to light many features in great detail, including their armament, battle, and sinking-related damage. Many anti-aircraft guns were still pointing up, providing clues about the final moments on these iconic ships,” Ocean Exploration Trust Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in the OET release.
Japanese archaeologists from Teikyo University, Tokai University and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology were also involved in the expedition.
“On this occasion, we meet on those same Pacific waters in which Japan and the U.S. once met in battle, but this time as allies and fellow researchers,” Kosei Nomura, an official in Japan’s U.S. embassy, said in the OET release. “It is meaningful that Japan and the U.S. are now deepening their cooperation at Midway.”
At the Battle of Midway, contested over a few days in June 1942, the main Japanese fleet attacked the small island in a bid to lure the U.S. Pacific Fleet into a battle to finish it off six months after Pearl Harbor.
Instead, thanks to code-breaking that gave the U.S. warning and the general plan, the Japanese aircraft carriers were caught in an ambush and four of them were sunk.
The defeat cost Japan the naval advantage that it had at the start of World War II and its fleet was on the defensive for the rest of the conflict.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.