Thursday, April 16, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA—The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Navy, and private industry partners have confirmed the location and condition of the USS Independence, a light aircraft carrier that operated in the central and western Pacific from November 1943 through August 1945. The ship was later one of 90 vessels that served as a target fleet for the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests in 1946, when it was damaged by shock waves, heat, and radiation from two atomic blasts. Independence then returned to the United States, where it was used by the Navy to study decontamination until it was towed off the coast of California in 1951 and scuttled in 3,000 feet of water. “After 64 years on the seafloor, Independence sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes,” James Delgado, maritime heritage director for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said in a press release. The survey of the ship determined that it is upright, slightly listing to starboard, and much of its flight deck is intact. There are gaping holes leading to the hangar decks that once housed the carrier’s aircraft. To read more about underwater archaeology, see "History's 10 Greatest Shipwrecks."