On 24 September 1944 the third air group of the American Task Force 38 located a Japanese support fleet that had hidden among the islands of the bay. Twenty-four Helldiver dive bombers, escorted by ninety-six Hellcat fighters, destroyed it in a matter of minutes. Resting there today are, among others, the Akitsushima, the Okikawa Maru, the Irako, the Kogyo Maru, the Olympia Maru, the Taiei Maru, the Kyokuzan Maru, the Terukaze Maru and the gunboat Lusong. The range runs from the gunboat Lusong, which breaks the surface and serves for snorkelling, to the Irako, the deepest recreational wreck, lying at around 43 m.
Depth
10–40 m
Recommended level
Advanced Open Water
Average visibility
15 m
It was the longest-range carrier-launched air strike up to that date: the aircraft took off at 5:50 in the morning from 340 miles away, arrived at 9:00 and had barely fifteen minutes to spare before fuel would have prevented their return. The advanced level the area demands comes not from the current — the bay is usually calm — but from the depth, the overhead environment and the silt that billows up the moment a fin brushes a hold.
Sources consulted: DIVE Magazine; Wikipedia (Coron Bay); X-Ray Mag; Scubaverse; philippinedives.com
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Same country: Philippines
Same country: Philippines
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Water temperature
28 °C
Current
Weak
Access
Boat
Best season
October-June
Recommended certification
Wreck Diver
Approx. price
50 USD / dive
Same country: Philippines