Images of sunken plane reveal ‘forgotten casualty’ of Pearl Harbor attacks

Images and video of a US Navy plane which sank during the opening minutes of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 have been released. The sunken Catalina PBY flying boat was an important reminder of the 'Day of Infamy’, archaeologists said. The plane is in three pieces at a depth of 30ft and there were signs the crew may have died while attempting to take off as the Japaense attacked.

The new images and site plan tell the story of a largely forgotten casualty of the attack.

Hans Van Tilburg, maritime archaeologist

Minutes before the attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Oahu, Hawaii, Japanese aircraft had bombed the US Naval Air Station on the east of the island. In all, 27 Catalina PBY “flying boats” were destroyed, while another six were damaged. In June, a team from the University of Hawaii and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration carried out a detailed survey of the wreck of the Catalina PBY-5. June Cleghorn, senior archaeologist at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said: “This sunken flying boat is a window into the events of the attack, a moment in time that reshaped the Pacific region.”

This sunken flying boat is a window into the events of the attack, a moment in time that reshaped the Pacific region.

Hans Van Tilburg, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

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