RELICS OF THE ATOMIC BLASTS AT BIKINI ATOLL

29 April 2016: Sorry for any delay in posting - I have been traveling with VERY limited internet access..... but here we are again with something interesting - to me, and, I hope, to you.

American warship sunk in atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll

Scientists spend much of their time peering up into the deep, dark night, hoping to catch glimpses of spectacular cosmic sights. Although we know very little about the far reaches of space, those who spend their lives exploring the depths of our own world’s oceans will always tell you that we’re even less aware of what life is like on the seafloor.

The research ship Alucia's submersible vehicle is just one of many designed to explore the deepest parts of the ocean, and it’s certainly proving to be an intrepid mechanical wonder: Just recently, it was part of a squadron of submersible vehicles that stumbled across a swarming mob of red crabs off the coast of Panama.

But, while we certainly have nothing against Panamanian red crabs, the more interesting video made by the submersible is from the trip to the ships which were sunk at the Bikini Atoll during the test of the atomic bomb there.


Bikini Atoll is a small strip of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This tiny speck is most notable for being the site of 23 nuclear weapon tests conducted by the U.S. between 1946 and 1958.

As Alucia has revealed, this atoll is also surrounded by a ghost fleet of military ships. During these atomic explosions, more than 95 naval vessels were sunk on purpose.

The USS Saratoga, a vast (then) aircraft carrier built in the 1920s that survived numerous battles with the Japanese military forces during the Second World War, was brought to Bikini Atoll and designated as a test target.

Although it survived the first nuclear blast with surprisingly little damage, it was finally sent to its watery grave after a second cataclysmic explosion. The Alucia paid a visit to the Saratoga, and even managed to see some of the warplanes still resting on its deck, in this amazing video. Click the link right below this: (if you want to skip some of the "pre-dive" stuff, go to 2:38 in the video for the underwater part.

Alucia's submersible at Bikini

Hope you found it interesting, too!

Until next time,

                                  Fair Winds,
                                      Old Salt