Underwater Military Wreck Exploration

Diverse underwater scenes showing divers exploring wrecks of military aircraft and ships, featuring a mix of marine life and sunken structures in clear waters.

Wreck of a North American B25 bomber Mitchell from World War II with diver, Corsica, France, Europe

Diver exploring the wreck of a Japanese Navy Seaplane in Palau, Micronesia.

Wreck of a North American B25 bomber Mitchell from World War II with diver, Corsica, France, Europe

Men and woman scuba diving and examining sunken ship El Naranjito undersea

A member of a Navy sea-air-land (SEAL) team descends along a line as another SEAL enters the hull of the submerged nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine USS WOODROW WILSON (SSBN 624) during lock-out procedures off the coast of Puerto Rico. The maneuvers are being videotaped by a photographer's mate/diver.. Country: Atlantic Ocean(AOC)

Scuba divers moving towards sunken barge wreck on seabed, Brunei

Group of divers after deep dive, decompression stop, shipwrecked ferry, Zenobia, sunk 7th June 1980, Larnaca, Cyprus, Europe

A far off view of a MK-8 Mod-0 SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) conducts final approach to the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) buoy line in preparation for hook up and recovery to the DDS track and cradle system connected to the underway nuclear submarine USS Kamehameha in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. The DDS is a 40' long x 9' diameter hyperbaric system consisting of a hangar, transfer trunk and a recompression chamber.

May 27, 2010 - U.S. Navy Diver instructs a Barbados coast guard diver on using a hydraulic grinder underwater during Navy Diver-Southern Partnership Station (ND-SPS) in Barbados. ND-SPS is a multinational partnership engagement designed to increase interoperability and partner nation capacity through diving operations.

A photographer's mate/diver positions his video camera near a hatch in the forward hull of the submerged nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine USS WOODROW WILSON (SSBN 624) while waiting for a Navy sea-air-land (SEAL) team member to emerge. The cameraman is on hand to film the SEAL team members entering and exiting the vessel during lock-out procedures off the coast of Puerto Rico.. Country: Atlantic Ocean(AOC)

Diver on the bow of the USS Lamson, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

filmimg on the russian spyship wreck

DN-ST-88-07224. Base: Key West State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Diver finds portable radio on the Maldive Victory wreck, North Male Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, Asia

divers at safety stop in the tropical waters of the Andaman Sea

Diver on a 12-inch gun of the USS Arkansas, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

Deck of the USS Carlisle with 5-inch gun and divers, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

DN-ST-86-01167. Subject Operation/Series: PACSUBSALVEX 83 State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scuba divers swimming underwater exploring wreckage

DN-ST-88-07217. Base: Key West State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Diver seen through a porthole of the USS Kittiwake (US Military submarine rescue vessel) Photograph was taken shortly after the wreck was deliberately sunk as an attraction for scuba divers, Caribbean Sea, Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands. Model released.

WWII US Cargo Ship sunk in 1962 near Papeete, Tahiti Nui, South Pacific

220512-N-KK081-1181 KEY WEST, Fla. (May 12, 2022) Naval Special Warfare Sailors test underwater propulsion equipment during a training dive at Naval Air Station Key West. The training is part of Naval Special Warfares deploy-for-purpose model, an optimized combat ready force in reserve focused on innovation. This new design gives forces the time and space to experiment and develop new concepts to meet specific operational needs while increasing agility to respond to crises around the globe.

Divers on the bridge of the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

240104-N-PI330-2032 SíO TOMÉ, São Tomé and Principe (Jan. 4, 2024) Construction Mechanic 1st Class Michael Dupray, left, and Equipment Operator 2nd Class Richard Engelhard, both assigned to Underwater Construction Team 1 (UCT 1), attach lift bags to an anchor chain during an underwater survey of a Coast Guard pier in São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe, Jan. 4, 2024. UCT 1 is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.

010718-N-9271Z-013. Subject Operation/Series: CARAT 2001 Base: Lumut Country: Malaysia (MYS) Scene Major Command Shown: FLTCOMBATCAMGRUPAC

240109-N-PI330-2046 SíO TOMÉ, São Tomé and Principe (Jan. 9, 2024) Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Zach Reisinger, left, and Equipment Operator 2nd Class Richard Engelhard, both assigned to Underwater Construction Team 1 (UCT 1), attach lift bags to a submerged container during an underwater survey of a Coast Guard pier in São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe, Jan. 9, 2024. UCT 1 is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.

Divers on the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

diver checking a small ship wreck in the Red Sea

Woman scuba diver near World War II Shipwreck-Liberty Cargo Ship, Tulamben, North Bali, Indonesia. (MR)

Divers on the wreck of the Umbria, Wingate Reef, Red Sea, Sudan, Africa

Divers at the stern of the Maldive Victory wreck, Hulhule, North Male Atoll, Maldives, Asia

110629-N-XD935-139VALPARAISO, Chile (June 29, 2011) Navy Diver 3rd Class Bryan Myers, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, leaps from rock to rock along the ocean floor during diving operations. MDSU-2 is participating in Navy Diver-Southern Partnership Station, a multinational partnership engagement intended to increase interoperability and partner nation capacity through diving operations.

Diver explores the wreck of a Mitsubishi Zero fighter plane, Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.

Diver exploring the forward gun turret of the British HMS Audacious battleship wreck.

Diver explores unknown shipwreck, Egypt, Zabargad, Zabarghad, Red Sea, Africa

Turret of the submarine USS Apogon, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

090524-N-5208T-013 GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (May 24, 2009) Danny Facciola, a certified scuba instructor with Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba, leads a class of wounded warriors learning open water diving at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Wounded warriors participating in SUDS visited U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to complete their open water diving certification. The SUDS program teaches and certifies disabled and wounded recovering veterans how to scuba dive.

Diver finds teapot in the wreck of the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

Female scuba diver shines underwater light through doorway on the shipwreck of the USCG Duane, Key Largo, Florida

220707-N-KK081-1264 PEARL HARBOR (July 7, 2022) - Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Group 1 conduct improvised explosive device training during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The worlds largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the worlds oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

011105-N-3093M-031. Country: Pacific Ocean (POC) Scene Major Command Shown: CINCPACFLT

A SEAL Delivery Vehicel (SDV) maneuvers to rendezvous with a submarine by attaching into a buoyed line. Once attached to the buoy and line the SDV will be winched down on to the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) track and cradle below in the foreground.

U.S. Army diver assigned to the 569th Dive Detachment, 130th Engineer Brigade grabs ladder during salvage dive rodeo, Feb. 26, 2024 at NOAA Marine Operations Pier, Ford Island, Hawaii. The rodeo was conducted to validate Salvage Divers on their training checklist and supervisor checklists.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning Fighter aircraft wreckage, Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands, Oceania

Divers in the washroom of the destroyer USS Lamson, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

Divers on the Maldive Victory wreck, North Male Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, Asia

Diver finds teapot in the wreck of the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

Bridge of Japanese WWII ship forms artificial reef Shortland Is Solomon Is, Pacific. Kasi Maru. Japanese fleet sunk by american warplanes in 1944

Divers on the bridge of the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

World War II Cargo Shipwreck-Liberty,Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia

U.S. Army Spc. Benjamin Lane, a diver with the 86th Engineering Team (Dive) out of Fort Eustis, Va., tends to his dive buddy's air supply line as he enters the forward access hole of the sunken former Russian submarine Juliett 484 in the Providence River June 3, 2008. U.S. Navy and Army divers along with federal, state, and local authorities are participating in a joint service operation to raise the submarine.

Divers on the Maldive Victory wreck, North Male Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, Asia

U.S. Marines with 2d Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d Marine Division, conduct a dive during Exercise Caribbean Coastal Warrior in Savaneta, Aruba, June 17, 2022. This bilateral training exercise allows 2d Recon to expand its knowledge and proficiency when operating in littoral and coastal regions. Caribbean Coastal Warrior continues to increase global interoperability between the U.S. Marines and Marine Squadron Carib, Netherlands Marine Corps, as well as Caribbean Urban Warrior, an annual training evolution conducted on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

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A U.S. Marine swims with his pack during swim qualification on Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, Feb. 27, 2024. MarForPac Marine Corps Instructors of Water Survival (MCIWS) instructed Marines from bases around the island through basic and intermediate swim qualifications to fulfill their swim qualification requirements during this multiple-hour exercise. A 250 meter swim, shedding gear, and treading water using different techniques are a few components of the trials the Marines completed. Marine Corps

TINIAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (Jun. 9, 2022)Senior Chief Navy Diver Robert Johnson, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, conducts a dive during repair work to demolish and reconstruct a Roll-on, Roll-off Discharge Facility (RRDF) in Tinian Harbor. This type of capability will enable logistics throughput where conventional port facilities are not available. This is one of many projects ongoing by Navy Expeditionary Combat Command during Exercise Valiant Shield 2022. Exercises such as Valiant Shield allow the Indo-Pacific Command Joint Forces the opportunity to integrate forces from all branches of service to conduct precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi-axis, multi-domain effects that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the Joint Force and our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photos by Lt. Tyler Baldino/Released)

Diver on the bridge of the USS Saratoga, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

220716-N-KK081-1286 PEARL HARBOR (July 16, 2022) - U.S. Coast Guard Region Dive Locker Pacific and U.S. Army 7th Engineer Dive Det. divers conduct salvage training during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The worlds largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the worlds oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

220508-N-TT059-2154 GULF OF OMAN (May 08, 2022) Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Christian Vitervo swims with a rescue dummy during small boat operations aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92) in the Gulf of Oman, May 8. Momsen is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.

Divers at the B-24 Liberator bomber wreck, Vis Island, Mediterranean Sea, Croatia, Europe

DN-ST-90-04398. Base: Guantanamo Bay Country: Cuba (CUB)

Diver at the massive 16-inch 45 calibre gun under the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

110520-N-VF350-123THUA THIEN HUE, Vietnam (May 20, 2011) Navy Diver 2nd Class Jordan Wingard, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, sucks sand off the bottom of the ocean during a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) underwater recovery mission. Both JPAC and MDSU-1 are deployed off the north central coast of Vietnam searching for evidence of Americans that remain unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. The mission of JPAC is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts.

Work of a fire diver on Lake Attersee

Diver on a 12-inch gun of the USS Arkansas, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

A wrecked C-130 cargo plane rests on the floor of the Red Sea near Aqaba in Jordan.

U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, take part in amphibious operations during KAMANDAG 6 at Naval Education, Training, and Doctrine Command, Zambales, Philippines, Oct. 7, 2022. This combined interoperability event also involved members of the Philippine Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. KAMANDAG is an annual bilateral exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades shared experiences.

Diver on the bow of the USS Anderson, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

DN-ST-90-04389. Base: Guantanamo Bay Country: Cuba (CUB)

Diver on a 12-inch gun of the USS Arkansas, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

Diver exploring the wreck of the SS Laurentic ocean liner sunk during WW1.

Scuba diver swimming underwater near a shipwreck

A diver from Detachment 8, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit 6, swims behind an Iraqi mine after attaching an explosive charge to its side. While operating with the U.S. Mine Countermeasures Task Group, the divers of Detachment 8 recovered or destroyed 40 Iraqi mines in the Persian Gulf and Kuwait's harbors.. Country: Persian Gulf

Remains of the shipwreck of a small coastal vessel called Afortunadas. The boat ran aground on the Baja de Beltran, near the Abona lighthouse, and its remains now lie scattered across the seabed at a depth of about fifteen meters. The engine remains embedded in the highest part of the rocky formation, while the anchor chain traces with striking precision the outline of the chain locker where it once lay coiled. Among the corroded remains, you can distinguish the winches, a solitary anchor, and several twisted tubesperhaps one of them the old mast. Tenerife, Canary Islands. Atlantic Ocean.

A U.S. Marine with 2d Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d Marine Division, conducts a dive during Exercise Caribbean Coastal Warrior in Savaneta, Aruba, June 17, 2022. This bilateral training exercise allows 2d Recon to expand its knowledge and proficiency when operating in littoral and coastal regions. Caribbean Coastal Warrior continues to increase global interoperability between the U.S. Marines and Marine Squadron Carib, Netherlands Marine Corps, as well as Caribbean Urban Warrior, an annual training evolution conducted on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 27, 2014) Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) participate in a command swim call. Halsey is on deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

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DF-ST-89-09559. State: Okinawa Country: Japan (JPN)

SEAL Delivery Vehicle pilot and navigator conduct predive preparations.

DN-ST-87-05025. Base: Key West State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

110726-N-WA189-124LONG BEACH, Calif. (July 26, 2011) A Navy SEAL climbs up a ladder attached to the side of a gas and oil platform during training to prepare an upcoming deployment.

A U.S. Marine with 2d Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d Marine Division, emerges from the water during Exercise Caribbean Coastal Warrior in Savaneta, Aruba, June 17, 2022. This bilateral training exercise allows 2d Recon to expand its knowledge and proficiency when operating in littoral and coastal regions. Caribbean Coastal Warrior continues to increase global interoperability between the U.S. Marines and Marine Squadron Carib, Netherlands Marine Corps, as well as Caribbean Urban Warrior, an annual training evolution conducted on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

110323-N-OT964-015NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain (March 23, 2011) Navy divers assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, check their gauges during a training dive to familiarize themselves with the MK 16 MOD 1 underwater breathing apparatus. The Mark 16 is a re-breathable underwater system used for bubble-free operations in water conditions with low visibility. Personnel from MDSU-2 are assigned to Combined Joint Task Force 56.1, which provides maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

MALAKAL PORT, Palau (June 7, 2022) Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 conduct surveys of derelict vessels in Malakal Port in Palau as part of an Expeditionary Port Damage Repair Opening (ExPDRO) Joint-Force Proof of Concept in support of Exercise Valiant Shield 2022. Exercises such as Valiant Shield allow the Indo-Pacific Command Joint Forces the opportunity to integrate forces from all branches of service to conduct precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi-axis, multi-domain effects that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the Joint Force and our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photos by Master Chief Navy Diver Marshall Goble/Released)

Diver at the massive 16-inch 45 calibre gun under the HIJMS Nagato, Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean, Oceania

050124-N-3019M-001. Base: USS Salvor (ARS 52) Country: Pacific Ocean (POC)

Diver exploring navy vessel wreck in the Gulf of Thailand

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan Neathery, assigned to the Famous-class medium endurance cutter USCGC Mohawk (WMEC 913), rescues a sea turtle caught in a fishing net in the Atlantic Ocean, July 14, 2022. USCGC Mohawk is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Africa area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied, and partner interests.

220531-N-TI693-1382MEDITERRANEAN SEA (May 31, 2022) - Airman Chris Wignall, from Ankeny, Iowa, a search and rescue swimmer assigned to the Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4), dives into the Mediterranean Sea while conducting search and rescue training as part of exercise Phoenix Express 22, May 31, 2022. Phoenix Express 22, conducted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, is a maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Mediterranean.

Fusiliers

American tank M42 Duster with self-propelled 40mm anti-tircraft gun, wreck, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Red Sea, Western Asia

Frogman with complete diving gear and weapons in the water. Frogman with weapons

Special Forces Combat Divers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), probe the Cayman Salvage Master wreck at a depth of about 100 feet near Key West, Florida, as part of a three-week requalification used to validate combat diver capabilities May 5, 2022. Special Forces dive teams performed an open-circuit dive to test search and recovery skills. (DoD photo)

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PEARL HARBOR (Sept. 12, 2012) National Park Service diver Buster Stancil carries the ashes of retired Master Chief Glenn Harvey Lane following an internment ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial. Lane served aboard USS Arizona during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and his ashes were buried with his fellow shipmates.

S65-33491 (7 June 1965) --- A United States Navy frogman team participates in the recovery of the Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) spacecraft. The USS Wasp was the prime recovery ship for the Gemini-4 mission. The crew of the Gemini-4 spaceflight was astronauts James A. McDivitt, command pilot, and Edward H. White II, pilot.

110613-N-OT964-104 NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain (June 13, 2011) Chief Navy Diver Aaron Knight, left, assigned to Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.1, swims alongside Pakistani divers while conducting a familiarization dive during a weeklong diving and salvage exchange. The divers conducted scuba operations, anti-terrorism force-protection training dives, underwater search techniques and diving fundamentals during the exchange. CTG 56.1 provides maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

A U.S. Marine with Food Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, looks at a fish tank at the Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa, Japan, August 30, 2022. Food Service Company took a trip to the aquarium to boost morale and build comradery. 3rd MLG, based out of Okinawa, Japan, is a forward deployed combat unit that serves as III Marine Expeditionary Force's comprehensive logistics and combat service support backbone for operations throughout the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.

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