The Ghost Fleet Truk Lagoon — Japan's Pearl Harbor

Operation Hailstone in February 1944 was a two-day American attack on Japan's primary naval base at Truk Lagoon (modern-day Chuuk) in the Central Pacific. The assault sank 12 warships, 32 merchant ships, and over 275 aircraft — effectively destroying Japan's forward naval presence in a single operation. The Japanese had considered Truk their 'Gibraltar of the Pacific' — an unsinkable fortress with underground tunnels, a submarine base, and an airfield. The Americans learned that Truk was largely empty of its major warships (the Japanese fleet had already departed), but the lagoon still held a massive concentration of supply ships, destroyers, submarines, and aircraft. The lagoon floor now contains over 60 shipwrecks, making it one of the world's premier wreck diving sites. The sunken Fujikawa Maru, a seaplane tender, still has its original Zero fighters sitting in the hold. The Fuso Maru hospital ship was marked with red crosses but was carrying military cargo and was sunk in the attack. Over 4,500 Japanese personnel and civilians died, and the attack permanently eliminated Japan's ability to resupply its forces in the Central Pacific.