B-29 Central Wing Section

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In the center of the debris pile on Saipan, the inverted wing section of a B-29 bomber stands out at 370m depth. Scour patterns are clearly visible behind the wing and around the engines. It is suspected that engine number 3 lies just behind the trailing edge of the wing near the back center of the wreckage. B-29 Superfortress bombers, manufactured in America, played a key role in bombing Imperial Japan from air bases in the Marianas Islands between November 1944 and the end of World War II. Mechanical failures led to many B-29s crashing into the ocean surrounding Saipan and Tinian, but no deep-water losses were found until 2016 when NOAA conducted an exploration cruise in the Saipan Channel. During this cruise, sonar targets in the channel between Saipan and Tinian were investigated. A large area of the seabed was covered by disarticulated wreckage from a B-29 at 370m depth. Scientists on shore used telepresence-enabled, non-invasive exploration to view live streaming video from NOAA's ship Okeanos Explorer and guide the investigation remotely.