Just before the Japanese attack force reached Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, they stopped off at the nearby Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay sinking dozens of Catalina PBY-5 seaplanes, long-range bombers that threatened to follow attacking force back to the carriers where it originated. In the 74 years since, those wrecks have sat at the bottom of the ocean. Now, for the first time, we have a good clear look at one.

NOAA and the University of Hawaii have released all kinds of photos and videos of one of the wrecks, which has gone mostly unexplored in the near quarter-century it's been down there. Two previous attempts to explore the scene where thwarted by cloudy water and bad weather in 1996 and 2008. But in June, students from the University of Hawaii—with help from Hans Van Tilburg, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries—were able to get the first clear shots and video one of the long-dead planes.

It's unclear exactly what doomed the craft to its fate, but NOAA has a guess:

Van Tilburg said while the precise identity of the aircraft remains unknown, it is possible the crew died while attempting to take off in the face of the attack. The plane, which rests in three large pieces at a depth of 30 feet, is protected by the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004, which prohibits unauthorized disturbance of military vessels or planes owned by the U.S. government, as well as foreign sunken military craft that lie within U.S. water.

Following Pearl Harbor, other Catalina PBY-5 seaplanes would go on to be of great service to the United States military, especially in the Pacific theater as anti-submarine craft. And today, the planes are still used as tankers for aerial firefighting.

You can see more photos (and video!) of the wreckage at NOAA's website.

Source: NOAA via Gizmodo

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