Where is the largest concentration of sunken ships in the world, and what caused these ships to sink?

mibmob

"...perhaps the greatest concentration of sunken ships in the world-the passage of water off Guadalcanal known as Ironbottom Sound. It was here from August 1942 to February 1943 that some of the greatest naval battles of World War II were fought". Will this get me a yay? Dec 18 03, 8:09 AM

lothruin

Mallows Bay in Baltimore? Before and during WWI, Baltimore's ship-building industry was shoved into high gear, but the ships were poorly built and many never left Baltimore. At this time, a "mile-long phalanx against eroding northerly gales between Sledds and Leading Points, a score of great wooden ships lie sunken head to tail." And these aren't all of those ships sunken in the Bay. These are just the ones they put to a purpose. Dec 18 03, 9:05 AM

McGruff

Scores of warships were sunk at Bikini atoll in the northern Marshall Islands in 1946 in the world's first nuclear weapons test. Dec 18 03, 10:05 AM

Gimboid

CHUUK LAGOON’S LOST FLEET CHUUK, MICRONESIA On February 17, 1944, American Task Force 58 engaged in Operation Hailstone, dropping over 500 tons of bombs on the Japanese navy. Today, Chuuk Lagoon (also called Truk Lagoon) holds the wrecks of 60 Japanese ships, the largest concentration of sunken ships in the world. The 433-foot Fujikawa Maru is the most famous, an aircraft carrier that sits upright in 30 to 112 feet of water, a gaping torpedo hole in her side. A combination of warm water, prolific marine life, and lagoon currents has acted as an incubator, transforming the WWII hulks—their guns, trucks, silverware, and sake bottles left undisturbed—into artificial reefs. Details: Most air connections to Chuuk are via Guam. Stay at the Blue Lagoon Dive Resort. Doubles from $130; 011-691/330-2727, fax 011-691/330-2439, www.bluelagoondiveresort.com. Dive operator: Blue Lagoon Dive Shop. Two-dive boat trip, $95 per person; 011-691/330-2796, fax 011-691/330-4307. Best times: January to April. Dec 18 03, 10:22 AM

mibmob

I also find: "The countless number of shipwrecks in Lake Huron draws thousands of scuba divers yearly, especially to the Alpena, Michigan region, which holds an underwater park preserve". It depends on what you look up really. Dec 18 03, 10:31 AM

Gimboid

But does it claim to be the largest concentration of sunken ships, as opposed to "countless". Dec 18 03, 10:58 AM

mibmob

"Countless" must, by definition, be more than 60 - we can all find many sites which all claim that they have the highest concentration of sunken ships is my point. Dec 18 03, 11:00 AM

lothruin

Hmm.... Sable Island, Nova Scotia appears to have at least 350 RECORDED wrecks. The island, or rather sandbar, is 44km long, and the wrecks are scattered all around it, but most occured directly on the island. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/Sable.html http://users.accesscomm.ca/shipwreck/index5.htm http://collections.ic.gc.ca/sableisland/english_en/history_hi/index_hi.htm Chuuk Lagoon's wrecks, which include both ships and aircraft, are scattered over about 800 square miles of sea, reef and islands. Dec 18 03, 11:24 AM

DerekT

Have we got the correct answer yet? I can't tell. If not, how about Pearl Harbour (American fleet) or Scapa Flow (German fleet)? Dec 18 03, 12:50 PM

bloomsby

Possibly the former Royal Naval base at Scapa Flow where the Germans scuttled their fleet in 1919 rather than handing it over to the British. It's one those places where some companies even managed to make profit retrieving bit and pieces from the sunken wrecks. Dec 18 03, 6:54 PM

McGruff

This might be one of those "it depends" type of questions, as it does not specify what size of an area we're talking about. Is 60 ships in a 40-mile wide lagoon more "concentrated" than say, the 130-odd vessels in the mile-long cove of Mallows Bay? Does the type of vessel make any difference? Mallows Bay sounds more concentrated to me, given these statements, but we don't really know how the ships are arranged in Chuuk Lagoon. "Scores of warships" doesn't tell us how many or in what proximity at Bikini Atoll, and "perhaps" in the Ironbottom Sound reference makes that a bit of an uncertainty. Wanted to add this interesting site on Mallows Bay. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/naturalresource/winter2001/ghostship.html Dec 19 03, 2:54 AM

sequoianoir

At one time wouldn't the answer have been the Suez Canal. This was littered end to end with ships that had been "sunk" to prevent its use I seem to remember. Lots of ships and not a lot of water must make the "concentration" rather high. Dec 20 03, 10:16 AM