After about 6 years of thinking about it, 18 months of planning it and a long trip to Bikini, stopping off en route in Honolulu, we were finally kitted up on the boat and ready for the check-out dive on the Saratoga - a 40 minute dive at 35 meters on the largest wreck in the world has got to be a good start to any dive trip!
The Saratoga had been sunk as part of the US Atomic bomb programme at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Codenamed “Operation Crossroads” they were the largest scientific or military tests ever. As the world looked on forty-two thousand US scientists, officials and plain GI’s worked on the massive programme. The first blast codenamed “Able” took place on 1st July 1946 and was an air dropped device similar to the bombs that had brought Japan to the negotiating table in 1945 when the US attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The second test codenamed “Baker” was an underwater device suspended below the waters of Bikini Atoll. When the device was triggered it sent a column of water a mile-high into the air. From the fleet of ninety-five ships anchored around the test area sixteen would sink as a result of the blast, the Saratoga taking some seven and a half hours to finally go down. Launched April 7, 1925 and commissioned November 27, 1927, Saratoga was a massive ship for her time and she still is today. She is 850 feet long at the waterline and almost 900 feet long at the flight deck. Completely loaded with fuel, munitions, aircraft and provisions, she weighed about 48,000 tons with a draft of 27.5 feet. To put that into some sort of context, the Titanic was 883 feet overall, had a gross tonnage of 46,228 tons. The Saratoga’s 180,000 hp steam turbines drove her at speeds up to 34 knots making her faster than any battleship of her day. The Saratoga had been the home to over 100,000 sailors during World War II and as she sank several of the men gathered openly wept.
DIVING THE SARATOGA
As we dropped down towards the deck, we passed the gun director and bridge, covered with coral and surrounded by jacks and bat fish. There were massive grins all round as we hit the deck that stretched off in either direction. The bow and stern were invisible in the distance and the aircraft lift shafts were spookily dark; these were all treats in store for us on dives later in the week. We finned over the port side to see the bottom a further 25 meters below and saw two aircraft lying there, yet more targets to be explored later in the week. We inspected the anti-aircraft guns and the heavy guns on the side of the ship before returning to the bridge via the huge double 5-inch gun in front of the superstructure. The bridge was perfect, light filtering through the slits in the dogged down portholes. We finally got to try the tiny joystick that was used to steer this massive ship and see the dials and binnacles and the bugle hung up behind the bridge. On our next dive, we dropped down the lift shaft and saw the 500lb bombs and the Hell Diver planes sitting in the hanger deck their wings folded away for storage. The rear flight deck is dented in from the Baker bomb test and the ceiling of the hanger deck has collapsed in. The main bulkhead swayed eerily in the current like a massive curtain of steel. The planes look almost useable after a good dust -down when you view them from a distance but when you get close, you can see the damage and also find that the fuselage metal is so thin that you cannot touch it in case you poke through it. Dishwashers and kitchen equipment from the deck above have fallen through, adding a surreal touch to the hanger deck. Above massive walk-in freezers hang there threatening the planes below.
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On another dive, we entered via the rear aircraft lift to do the dive known as "the haunted house" as the dent in the deck has created two spooky tunnels on either side of the hanger. A solitary Mazda light bulb reflects your torch beam as you start the trip round, passing torpedoes, depth charges, racks of rockets etc. Faint blue light can be seen from ports above. Leaving the starboard side, you swim over the gully and over to the port side, entering the wreck via a couple of hatches to gain entry to the port side of the hanger. This is spookily dark and silty with faint patches of blue way above you as you work to the front hatch and rise slowly to the light above.
The bow dive has to be the most impressive sight, I swam out and out from the bow to try to see the entire sight, by the time I could frame it all in a 16mm lens, I was too far away to light it with a strobe. I took a couple of shots anyway but it is just too big. Under the bow, the main anchor chain flows out of a massive "mouth". Following the chains down to 55 meters and looking up at the bow rising to make a giant letter "T" where the flight deck meets it just has to be one of diving's greatest sights. Finning out from under the wreck, you find a Hell Diver with 2 500 lb bombs lying upside down on the bottom; next to it an Avenger with a huge torpedo sits silently. Inside the torpedo bay, a couple of clown fish have set up home, oblivious to the threat that the unexploded torpedo poses. We passed, a huge stingray that had settled himself in the sand to hide - the three remoras lying on his back did kind of give the game away though! As we swam back, the 25 meter high shadow that is the Saratoga's hull filled us with awe as we headed back up to yet another 40 minute deco stop on 75% Nitrox.
If you are a real depth hound, there is a scour on the bottom beside the port propeller that will give you 58 meters on your computer, the official "deepest point in Bikini". Swimming out, there is yet another dive-bomber on the bottom. Rising back up the side, you swim along the covered companionway, looking into the cabins before dropping back down into the hanger at the mid point for another chance to photograph the bombs, more bombs, bigger bombs, torpedoes and the planes. On the way back up, you can check out the 5”shell charges and shells in the ready use store under the bridge. The Saratoga is a truly "awesome" wreck as the Californians say! It defies description - and there is only one thing to say DIVE IT!
THE LAMSON
"OK" I thought when Tim Williams briefed us before the dive, "A destroyer is a destroyer, is a destroyer...small, guns and stuff, what's this compared to the Saratoga?" However this turned out to be a stunning dive - so good in fact that we asked to go back for another look.
Dropping down as a large group, bubble tubes linking us to the surface like ropes, we raced each other to the 55 meters and the Lamson. The ship was almost hidden by glassfish, I tried to photograph the bridge but all I got was glassfish! A nice shark stopped behind one of the divers for a photo shoot, Paul obligingly posing for the shot, completely unaware that a shark was lying right behind him. The wreck has big guns, small guns, torpedoes, depth charges and interestingly a telegraph with ruby glass for night lighting.
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One of the anti-aircraft guns had a red anemone at the end of the barrel and with a yellow sponge growing inside the barrel it looks like the flash of a real shot being fired from the gun. Dipping down the engine room hatch, we were able to see the maker's name clearly displayed on the boilerplate.
This was a classic dive. My deco ended up taking a fair spell as my Suunto Vytec (again) registered the wrong depth, 5 meters shallower than my Dive Rite Nitek3. So I had to do my 3m stops at 8m to keep the Suunto happy and then do my "proper" stops while the Suunto decided it was on the surface at 5m and went into surface mode. When we got back home, I returned it to Suunto and got a new one in the post.
THE ARKANSAS
This is a classic WWI battleship. As with most of the big wrecks at Scapa Flow, this battleships turned over as they sank due to the weight of guns and superstructure. As you drop down the side, you find a classic old battleship side gun mount. Carrying on under the ship into the dark, you come across the massive 12”guns that jut out the side. Coming to the bow, you see the "reverse" shaped bow that comes to a point on the bottom rather than the modern cruiser bows. This looks almost like an ancient Greek ramming bow and makes a great photo opportunity. Swimming up to the bottom, you see the massive damage the bomb made. The thick armour is twisted and crushed like tin foil, 12” plates buckled into contorted shapes. Once again this was a fantastic dive.
THE NAGATO
Diving on His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Ship, the battleship Nagato, was a dive into history. She was the most hated ship at Bikini because she was associated with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nagato's biggest sin was having been Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's flagship in 1941, when he and his staff planned the Pearl Harbour attack. Ironically neither Admiral Yamamoto nor Nagato participated in the actual attack. Nagato was the only Japanese battleship to survive the war and some thought using her as a target vessel was an act of revenge because of her association with the Pearl Harbour attack. Once a proud ship, 727 feet, 9 inches long and weighing 42,850 tons when fully loaded, she now lies upside down in 45 to 55m of water, her huge propellers reaching up from her hull; her bridge jutting out to one side.
Lying upside down with a slight list to port, she is easy to get at. Diving under the massive deck, you swim "up" into the deck, entering the huge seaplane hanger and then exit through the side hatches. Going back down, you swim under the wreck, blue light visible at the edge of your vision. At first you do not realise that they are guns, the massive 16” barrels are improbably huge and everyone just has to see if their head can really fit in the end! At the Nagato’s bow there was a nice shark at the bridge that is lying out to the side. This is a massive structure with gun director ports, a real pagoda of steel!

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The gun director is a great chance to experience history as this is where Yamamoto launched the Pearl Harbour attack with the cry of "Climb Mount Nitaka!" Carrying on under the deck, darkness surrounds you as you travel between the massive 16”gun turrets, rising up unto the wreck. This is where you find the famous Nagato Wheel, nobody knows what the heck it does but everyone takes a shot of their buddy turning it anyway.
THE ANDERSON
This is the Lamson on its side, 350 ft with one of the most notable features being a nice prop sticking up making photogenic shots. The bridge is really accessible and a toilet sits strangely on the bottom beside it. Loads of destroyer stuff for destroying things: guns, torpedoes, more guns, depth charges, even more guns and a friendly house shark that seemed to be guiding us around, proudly showing off the features of the wreck. As with the Lamson, glassfish almost hide the wreck at times.
THE APOGON
Having toured the submarine USS Bowfin in Pearl Harbour, we were well prepared for this dive. An added bonus was a bunch of sharks that darted up to meet us as we started down into the 53m of water separating us from the wreck. I managed to get a couple of shots in before they got bored and went off to look for something more interesting. The sub was covered in whip coral and glassfish (that are also called Apogon!). There were two interesting remote torpedo directors forward and aft of the conning tower. There was a nice big hole above the forward torpedo room and we could see the torpedoes, bunks and loads of brass. This was a lovely submarine dive. As we started back up the line, the sharks returned, cruising effortlessly round us as we headed for another fun filled 40 minutes on 75% Nitrox before getting back to the sunlight.
THE EXPEDITION
The trip was a delight to organise, Layne Ballard of CPDE helped out with the Marshall Islands part and everything ran like clockwork. We flew from Edinburgh to Honolulu with United Airlines, Honolulu to Majuro with Continental and Majuro to Bikini with Air Marshall Islands. Accommodation in Honolulu was Ohana Maile Sky Court and we stayed in the Ohana Outrigger Resort in Majuro. Both were excellent value and very comfortable.
In Honolulu, we dived with Alex Mason's excellent AAA Diving - highly entertaining chap and very organised diving! We were just a bunch of Scottish divers who wanted to dive the Saratoga, we did it and then some! We have fantastic memories of the trip and many photos to enjoy.
On Bikini - huge thanks to Tim Williams, Jon Salas, Edward Maddison, Ronnie Lokiar and all the guys who run the Island. All the dive briefings were thorough and comprehensive and also great fun.
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All the diving is 40m to 55m was on air and deco is carried out at 24, 12, 9, 6 & 3 meters, the 9 meter and above stops were on 75% Nitrox fed from the boat to the 3 bar trapeze below the boat. I had to admire the Scubapro MK25 first stage that fed all 15 of us on the bar - that valve must stay open for the full hour we hung there every dive!
I hope this article inspires others to get out there and dive Bikini - it was my dream for many years and I can't explain how I felt to get there and dive the Saratoga. If I can help anyone arrange the trip - get in touch and I will be more than willing to help you sort it.