Researchers are baffled: What was a Ford car doing among the sunken remains of a World War II aircraft carrier?
Researchers dropped a camera into the depths below, but what they found was not what they expected.
When scientists at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association dropped a camera into the Pacific Ocean, they expected to be ticking members of marine life off their lists.
Exploring the USS Yorktown, researchers then came across something completely unexpected: a Ford car was laying on the seabed among the wreckage of the World War II aircraft carrier’s hangar. Despite several expeditions to the ship, which Japanese forces struck with torpedoes after the pivotal Battle of Midway in June 1942, the scientists had never seen the Ford before.
The mission itself came as part of a wider scientific project in Papahanaumokuakea, 583,000 square miles of ocean near the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The cameras on the remotely operated vehicle picked up that it was a black 1940-41 Ford Super Deluxe, known as a “Woody”, with the license plate “SHIP SERVICE ___ NAVY”. When watching the footage during the moments of discovery, a scientist on the team can be heard exclaiming “that is just amazing!”
It raises the question of why the car was stored on the hangar deck in the first place, especially when the ship’s officers were fully aware they were bound for Midway and likely headed into combat. Even more puzzling is why the vehicle wasn’t jettisoned along with the anti-aircraft guns and aircraft in a desperate attempt to stabilize the ship after it suffered heavy damage during the fighting.
After contemplating these questions, scietists theorised that it could be the car of Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher.
Animal life was found living inside the car, which the scientists decided to visit again, the following day after it was initially spotted by the ROV. As well as the Ford, three bomber planes were also found on the ship’s hangar deck.
The 28-day exploration began on April 8 and is set to end on May 5. The expeditions are regularly streamed online with marine biologists guest starring to provide viewers with extra information about the life that thrives in the depths below.
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