# Bikini Atoll - ever wondered what happened after the bombs? **IMAGE INTENSIVE**



## TeeJF (Jul 25, 2012)

We are off for the last of our summer urbexing jaunts tomorrow so we thought we'd leave you with another little 'wet' exploration report!

Back in 2006 I had a little windfall so we bought a round the world ticket and dived in Truk Lagoon, then Bikini Atoll and finally Hawaii, coming home via San Francisco. It was a cracking trip and my only regret was that I was not a better photographer with an underwater rig because the picture opportunities, especially in Bikini, were amazing. Anyway for what it's worth here's a collection of pix and a little report on the Atoll today.

*Bikini Atoll...*​
*If the name Bikini seems familiar but you can't think of anything other than skimpy two piece bathing costumes then you are actually closer to the truth than you might at first think! In 1946 the Americans decided to put on a show for the rest of the world - and specifically for the Russians and the British - to make it clear that they were the world's new superpower. They decided to display their awesome atomic might by gathering together a huge armada of fighting ships with the intention of detonating two atomic bombs in the immediate vicinity - and the place they chose to do it was Bikini Atoll. Shortly after the blasts shocked the watching world a clothing designer created the "Bikini" to commemorate the occasion and yet today you are hard pressed to find anyone who knows why their swimwear is named after a tiny Pacific Atoll!!!*

*Click the image below to watch a short movie of the Baker detonation in 1946...​*

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*The Bikinian people were moved away from their islands to a tiny, God-forsaken island with US promises that they would be allowed to return sooner not later. But they are still there to this day because as yet Bikini is unable to support them safely. Radioactive pollutants such as Caesium, Iodine and Plutonium are inextricably caught up in the soil and the food chain - coconuts take up the Caesium and coconut crabs eat the fruit. And if they lived there the Bikini islanders would eat both and glow in the dark. So their beautiful islands were still uninhabited 60 years on in 2006, apart that was from a small group of islanders who were working at Bikini Atoll Divers and a few visiting US Department Of Energy scientists. 

You may well be wondering how come it was safe for these guys (and us) to spend any time on Bikini at all... well the radioactive nasties are tied into the soil and the plants so comprehensively that only consumption of the contaminated material is harmful . Assuming you eat food brought onto Bikini from outside you are perfectly safe and a small group of people on the main island can be sustained by food brought in by sea and drinking water extracted by desalination. So effective is the system that it is actually safer in terms of radiation exposure to spend a week on the islands rather than stay at home - believe it or not, despite atomic bomb detonations from 1946 to 1956, and including the largest yielding bomb of all time, Bikini has a lower background radiation level than either the UK or the USA and you actually cop afar greater dose of radioactive nastiness on the flight across than whilst you are on the Atoll.

We stopped off for a couple of nights en-route from Truk Lagoon to Bikini at Majuro, the ar*ehole of the Pacific, and to say we couldn't wait to get out again is something of an understatement! And get out we did eventually, by Air Marshall Isles or "Roach Air" as we not so fondly prefer to call them! We boarded the tiny De Havilland aircraft and our noses immediately told us that this was likely to be quite a trying flight and the cockroach running across my leg as I sat down rapidly confirmed our suspicions that this plane was not going to win any praises from TV's Kim and Aggie! We then endured multiple take-offs and landings for four hours as we island-hopped our way to Bikini where we finally made our approach down towards a grass and rubble landing strip.








A short transfer by boat from the airstrip island across to the main island and we were soon established in spartan but spotlessly clean en-suite, air-conditioned rooms overlooking the idyllic lagoon through the palm trees - what a delightful situation!

The showpiece of Bikini Atoll was the USS Saratoga, a huge aircraft carrier some 900 feet long built during the 1920s and a stalwart of the Pacific theatre of war. The other wrecks within the lagoon include Admiral Yamato's flagship Nagato from which he issued the infamous attack order for Japan's assault on Pearl Harbour, a pre-WW1 Dreadnought the USS Arkansas, a Liberty Ship, the US submarine Apogon, and two US Navy destroyers, the Lamson and the Anderson.

Did I mention sharks?

The shake down dive for us was conducted on the flight deck and "island" section of the Saratoga... what an amazing shake down it was too! We dropped in and descended to about 8 or 10 metres only to see sharks (plural!!!) circling below us in the gaping maw of the forward aircraft lift. 

And this dive also proved amazing in that we found ourselves on the bridge 60 years TO THE MINUTE from the moment she had finally sunk after sustaining damage from not one but two atomic explosions. And we were to see far more of "Sara" throughout the week including a dive below the decks into the aircraft hanger area where Helldivers still sit waiting deployment with bombs in their bellies and fuel in their tanks.

Sadly now diiving Bikini Atoll has become a thing of the past because in the November following our trip the bridge of the sara collapsed into the hanger and effectively rendered the main dive site out of bounds for the forseeable future. And then to finally cap the issue Roach Air became so unreliable that a group of divers were left stranded on the Atoll for the best part of two weeks until a boat arrived from distant Kwajelein and they endured a three day crossing of the mighty Pacific to get home at their own cost! Not surprisngly law suites flew back and forth and Bikini Atoll Divers faded into memory. 

The end of an all too brief era!

There is so much we could tell and we have so many memories, not least being buzzed by an aggressive Grey Reef Shark whilst hanging on a trapeze decompressing - but perhaps the photographs should do the talking instead!*

*I'm going to start with the first wreck we dived, the USS Lamson.​*






*The USS Lamson was a destroyer and like all the other wrecks in the atoll she was armed with live munitions in order to see what effect the bomb blasts would have. 
It's a little disconcerting getting down to 40 + meters and finding live depth charges sitting in the stern racks on the deck! *


*The descent to the wreck which sits in 46 metres. We had something like 20 metres visibility. *









*The stern gun points skyward now.*









*In the washrooms on the stern deck.*









*Live depth charges in the stern racks.*









*It's that word "live" again! This time it's torpedos in the tubes amidships.*







* Here is the ship's auxillary steering area and the asociated compass binnacle. *









* This shark is a tiddler compared with some we saw that week! *









* Another gun turret a little further forard. *









* All the wrecks are covered in artifacts because they were moored up and when the crew left with their personal belongings literaslly everything else was left behind. *









* It would have been lovely to bring this home and Bikini Divers actively encourage you to touch whatever you please. Trouble is, it's all radioactive. 
So although you are safe because you are shielded by the water from alpha particles it's a different matter the minute anything breaks the surface! *









* The back of the torpedo tubes. *









* Here you can see the propellor of a live torpedo still sat in it's tube ready to be fired. *









* An anti-aircraft gun. *









* TJ is illuminating a part of the bridge telegraph with her dive torch.. *





*And that's your lot for now, the aircraft carrier Saratoga will follow soon. Hope you enjoyed the pix.​*


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## UE-OMJ (Jul 25, 2012)

Amazing, amazing, amazing. I so love your posts. Thanks


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## night crawler (Jul 25, 2012)

More, More, More, pant pant :notworthy::notworthy:


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## UEP-Wales (Jul 25, 2012)

Fascinating report! I love your underwater trips, truly amazing!

Cheers for posting this up!


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## Bones out (Jul 25, 2012)

That's bang tidy that is!


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## flyboys90 (Jul 25, 2012)

Another first from the intrepid explorers,brilliant detailed report thanks for sharing.


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## RichCooper (Jul 25, 2012)

Stunning stuff thanks


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## Mike L (Jul 25, 2012)

Truk, Bikini, Hawaii. Jealous - moi?
Makes my dive trips to Bermuda, St Maartens and Saba seem a bit tame.
Great pictures and obviously some fantastic memories for you.


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## shane.c (Jul 25, 2012)

A amazing report you must have had a good time,


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## maxmix (Jul 25, 2012)

At first I thought I mis read the title, then I realised it really was Bikini Atoll!!! Superb site visit, great for us guys (who more than likely) will never get there in the flesh, thanks again buddy


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## King Al (Jul 25, 2012)

Absolutely superb! Really enjoyed seeing this TeeJF


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## perjury saint (Jul 25, 2012)

*You get yerself about a bit eh? Fair play! Very interesting that...*


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## sonyes (Jul 25, 2012)

Yet again, another great report pix!


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## TeeJF (Jul 26, 2012)

Awww, cheers folks! I haven't time to put part two up yet (USS Saaratoga) 'cos we're flying in a few hours and I'm just on a quick mooch before getting ready but I'll give you a quick taster and do the report once we're back.

Thanks again...


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## flyboys90 (Jul 26, 2012)

Nice,cant wait.


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## John_D (Jul 26, 2012)

Truly incredible post yet again.


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## bigtip (Jul 26, 2012)

*nice*

Yet another great post very interesting with some great shots thanks for sharing.


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## TK421 (Jul 28, 2012)

Wow, I really liked that mate, great write up, and superb photos, thanks for sharing this!


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## maxmix (Jul 28, 2012)

Ohhhhh, Like the look of the Diving helmet. Can't wait.......


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## Jet48 (Jul 29, 2012)

Great pictures the clarity of the water is amazing look forward to more.


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## Lucky Pants (Jul 29, 2012)

Wow ,truly epic stuff ,big thumbs up to you two .


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## heeftmeer (Aug 1, 2012)

Some great explores you did. Thanks for showing and look forward to the next.
Keep up this good work


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## strider8173 (Aug 1, 2012)

:yes::notworthy:*A.MAZE.ING!!!*


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## TeeJF (Aug 2, 2012)

Wow! Cheers folks! We're back from Europe again now so I'll get Part two up soonest! Thanks again.


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## Old Wilco (Aug 3, 2012)

Brilliant, many thanks.


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