Aircraft Carrier anyone???

[SeaHound]

Where in the world can I travel to dive an sunken aircraft career? Need SERIOUS help on this one please.

[akscubainst]

Bikini Atoll

[ams511]

Ha ! forget the lead weights just bring a lead suit. This is where they did nuclear testing.

[scuba-punk]

www.bikiniatoll.com - people actually do this...

-Frank

[XJae]

Here's a good start for you...
http://www.scubaboard.com/t24416.html

[XJae]

Ahh... I just realized you want an aircraft carrier.
Those other ones are nice too, some are WWII.
(Hopefully Sylvester will bring back some good pics of the Boeing. ;) )

You'll be able to dive the Oriskany off Pensicola Florida, sooner or later.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-o/cv34.htm
http://www.ussoriskany.com/id18.html

[gxdoyle]

Ahh... I just realized you want an aircraft carrier.
Those other ones are nice too, some are WWII.
(Hopefully Sylvester will bring back some good pics of the Boeing. ;) )

You'll be able to dive the Oriskany off Pensicola Florida, sooner or later.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-o/cv34.htm
http://www.ussoriskany.com/id18.html

You can dive HMS Hermes a WWII Aircraft Carrier in Sri Lanka - if you are a DIR diver you can join a GUE expedition there early next year..

[scuba-punk]

Speaking of the Oriskany, there was a movie years ago, with OJ Simpson, Sam Waterston, Elliot Gould - Capricorn 1, I think. Well, the Oriskany was the aircraft carrier that was supposed to pick up their space capsule when it landed. Terrible movie, but I was working night shift that week and it happened to be on TV. I stopped on that channel during one of my 'surfing runs' and they mentioned the Oriskany. I almost fell off the sofa :)

Sorry, please continue...

-Frank

[sylvester]

Xjae, was that a hint for me to try and use my crappy camera. I will take it, however I have yet to get a decent picture from the thing. Anybody want to contribute a housing for my SLR??? Bueller.........Xjae.........

[SeaHound]

You can dive HMS Hermes a WWII Aircraft Carrier in Sri Lanka - if you are a DIR diver you can join a GUE expedition there early next year..

This is a KOOOL ship man! First aircraft career ever built! I bet it went down with a load of planes. Any idea what depth it is sitting at?

[XJae]

Xjae, was that a hint for me to try and use my crappy camera. I will take it, however I have yet to get a decent picture from the thing. Anybody want to contribute a housing for my SLR??? Bueller.........Xjae.........I forgot that you don't have a housing for that bad boy.
I guess some crappy shots are better than no shots. :ne_nau:
Either way, hope you have fun, sounds like you will.


This is a KOOOL ship man! First aircraft career ever built! I bet it went down with a load of planes. Any idea what depth it is sitting at?Best I could tell it's at 60 metres. At the time a full load of aircraft would have been about 12.

[archman]

I thought the Langley was the first carrier, even if it was a retrofit. And it's "carrier", not "career". I thought this thread was about people's jobs!

[NOVIZWHIZ]

State of South Carolina and another state (Fla? Texas?) were in competition for an AC to sink offshore (obviously) as an artificial reef....last I heard, we (SC) didn't get it...but pretty sure it's going to be in the southeast or gulf...got a connection will find out.

[archman]

State of South Carolina and another state (Fla? Texas?) were in competition for an AC to sink offshore (obviously) as an artificial reef....last I heard, we (SC) didn't get it...but pretty sure it's going to be in the southeast or gulf...got a connection will find out.

That's the Oriskany, last of the Essex-class. It's going to be sunk off of Pensacola, and is currently being prepped in Corpus Christi. Check the wrecks forum for details. MARAD is "giving away" three other decommissioned carriers the next couple of years. Texas will almost certainly get one.

[NOVIZWHIZ]

That's the Oriskany, last of the Essex-class. It's going to be sunk off of Pensacola, and is currently being prepped in Corpus Christi. Check the wrecks forum for details. MARAD is "giving away" three other decommissioned carriers the next couple of years. Texas will almost certainly get one.

YEAH! That's the one! Pensacola! Too COOL! I can make that one.......

[JPBECK]

I went to the toll last summer-- Serous diving-- better not get bent cause its a long way to the closest chamber unless they get theirs up and running-- Also no Tri-mix-- We are talking narcosis up the ying yang!

Better have your diving wired down tight if you go. They just plain wont let you in the water if you dont!

good Luck!

[SeaHound]

What about all those Japanese aircraft carriers that went down in Midway? Too deep? How about Yorktown?

[archman]

Here's a cute link listing SOME of the carriers known as underwater wrecks.
http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Survivingships/CarrierSurvivorsA-Z.htm

The original USS Yorktown is lying on the abyssal plain in the Pacific... you can visit it in Alvin.

[Dharshana Jayawardena]

Hi,
I have dived the H.M.S Hermes several times. It is the most exciting & best/challenging dive in Sri Lanka. The top deck is at 42m and the bottom is at 54m. There are no aircrafts onboard. But you can see plenty of anti air craft guns and unused shells. For more information and some pictures pls see www.DiveSriLanka.com -> Wreck Dives sectionn.

Thanks & Regards
Dharshana
Editor
www.DiveSriLanka.com

[Jonny_Rocket]

Good job on plugging your business twice in the same thread back to back... in a thread that has been dead for months.

[archman]

Earlier post pulled, as it's near a duplicate of the later one.

[Kevrumbo]

Hi,
I have dived the H.M.S Hermes several times. It is the most exciting & best/challenging dive in Sri Lanka. The top deck is at 42m and the bottom is at 54m. There are no aircrafts onboard. But you can see plenty of anti air craft guns and unused shells. For more information and some pictures pls see www.DiveSriLanka.com -> Wreck Dives sectionn.

Thanks & Regards
Dharshana
Editor
www.DiveSriLanka.com
Thank you Dharshana and much appreciation for your post & dive experience!
I will be going on the April 2006 Hermes Expedition chartered through Tech Asia
http://asiadivers.com/techasia/expdive.html, and you have given me some very informative links to explore. . .
FWIW, this is not a GUE Expedition --but it seems as of late, a courtesy invite has been offered to its members. . .

[Dharshana Jayawardena]

Good job on plugging your business twice in the same thread back to back... in a thread that has been dead for months.
Thank You Jonny. Resurrection of dead things are my speciality! As you see, I am back giving life to another post dead for two years!

However if you bothered to look in to the site you will notice that it is not a business.
Its a web site about a whole country. It also lists every dive center in the country. This site is a non-profit web site and I have to spend good money to keep it float and so far not earned a cent. I am not in the dive industry anyway, just a hopeless Nitrogen addict who needs a fix at least every week!

See you in another 2 or 3 years!

[Kevrumbo]

Yeah and the trip in April 2006 was canceled because of the war between the Sri Lanka Gov't and the Tamil separatists, with concerns of personal safety for our group. . .

(Arthur C. Clarke, may you rest in peace. . .)

[Nishan]

and i will keep the resurrected thread going!

just returned from a successful Hermes expedition together with Dharshana Jayawardena, ajithf and a couple of others. did 3 dives on the midsection, rear and front close to the bow. we had good conditions with flat seas, mild currents and 20-25m viz which allowed us to cover a large area of the ship. all the dives were on air and didnt include penetration.

the wreck is lying upside down on its flight deck. its intact with some damage, and the main tower has broken off and is lying on the starboard side. several anti-aircraft guns are still pointing towards the sky. one propellor is clearly inact but the other and part of the rear including the hangar seems to have been destroyed. the dive starts around 42m and bottoms out around 54m but part of the ship is buried under sand and it may be possible to go deeper if you penetrate. penetration appears possible through several large openings.

the wreck is covered in large black corals, soft corals and sea fans and there is good fish life. large schools of yellow snappers and fusiliers, groups of mangrove snappers and trevally, and lots of lionfish.