Critically EndangeredGiant Clam
Tridacna gigas
The first aircraft carrier in the world designed as such from the keel up, delivered to the Royal Navy in 1924. On 9 April 1942, with no air cover and no aircraft aboard, she was spotted by a Japanese reconnaissance plane off Batticaloa and attacked by a formation of Aichi D3A dive bombers launched from Nagumo's carriers. She took some forty direct hits and sank in under an hour. 307 men died, among them Captain Richard Onslow. She lies capsized on her port side.
Depth
44–55 m
Recommended level
Technical (mandatory decompression)
Current
Usually gentle, occasionally strong
Designated British war grave; it is listed in Sri Lanka's National Shipwreck Database
It is an almost unique wreck: very few aircraft carriers have sunk in such shallow water, and of the accessible ones (Saratoga, Oriskany, Graf Zeppelin) none was sunk in combat. It was inaccessible during the civil war and could not be dived normally until after 2009. Sources disagree on the breakdown of casualties (19 officers and 282 or 288 ratings) and on the exact depth, between 44 and 55 m depending on whether the hull or the seabed is measured.
Sources consulted: Wikipedia (HMS Hermes 95) · Base Nacional de Pecios de Sri Lanka (Marina de Sri Lanka) · X-Ray Mag · PADI · Tech Asia · Rushkult
Which other dive sites are like this one?
Same country: Sri Lanka
Same country: Sri Lanka
Same country: Sri Lanka
Based on what we already know about this dive site.
Access
Boat from Batticaloa (45-60 minutes)
Best season
May to October
Same type of dive: Wreck
Sri Lanka
Cyprus