Bikini Atoll- Dive to the USS Saratoga (Interior) скачать в хорошем качестве

Bikini Atoll- Dive to the USS Saratoga (Interior)

Commissioned in 1927 the USS Saratoga was one of the US Navy's first aircraft carriers. She spent much of her pre-war career developing the carrier aviation tactics and technology that would become critically important during World War II. When the Pacific War broke out the Saratoga played a major roll in supporting US forces, particularly around Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands, and earned herself 8 battle stars. In 1946, less than a year after the war ended, the US Navy decided to conduct a series of atomic tests to determine the effects of a nuclear blast on ships at sea. They would use soon to be decommissioned and captured ships as targets. As the oldest carrier in the US Fleet at that point the Saratoga was selected as a target ship for Operation Crossroads, the name given to atomic bomb test that were to be conducted at Bikini Atoll. The Saratoga was placed close to the center of the target fleet and was filled with aircraft, bombs, and fuel to simulate a carrier at sea. The first test was conducted on July 1st, 1946 and was named Able. The Able bomb was an air burst and was dropped from a B-29. Unfortunately the bomber missed its target by over a half mile sparing the Saratoga from significant damage. The second test, named Baker, was an underwater burst, conducted with an atomic bomb suspended below the lagoon surface. The Saratoga was anchored only 500 yards from the blast. The Baker blast created a massive wave of pressure and radioactive water that slammed into the Saratoga, sweeping aircraft from her deck and smashing her funnel and flight deck. Mortally wounded, and too radioactive for a salvage attempt the Saratoga sank soon after. Today the Saratoga sits mostly intact in 165 ft of water in Bikini Atoll. Her flight deck is at a depth of 100 ft, and the top of her intact conning tower is only 65 ft down. The aft section of the ship is the most damaged and her flight deck is fully collapsed. However the forward half of the ship is remarkably well preserved. With a wartime compliment of nearly 3,000 the Saratoga would have needed to provide the services of a small town, in addition to her war fighting roll. Today inside the ship it is still possible to swim past the radar screens and radio equipment of the ships combat information center as well as the chairs and dental instruments of the ships barbershops and dental offices. Plates and bowls can still be found in the ships kitchen, and old Mark 5 dive helmets in the ships dive locker. The following video is compilation from 6 dives to the Saratoga, I've highlighted a few areas of interest. The ship is massive, and is more like swimming through an office building than a ship. To simulate a wartime situation many of the ships watertight doors and hatches were sealed, and today to get to many of these rooms we were required to swim circuitous routes around closed or collapsed areas, up and down multiple decks, but it is well worth it. Enjoy the video! Contents of Video 0:00 - Swim to the Dive Locker 01:40 - Machine Shop 04:00 - Officer's Pantry and Mess Hall 05:38 - Barbershop 05:59 - CIC (Combat Information Center) 08:16 - Officer's Country & Main Deck 11:12 - Sick Bay & Dentistry 13:50 - Exit and Forward Elevator Shaft