BOMBS AT BIKINI 



starboard with bridge structure badly smashed. Guns 

 were visible, but the mast and other light structures 

 were missing. Observers airborne in PBM Charlie 

 found the ship lying over on her starboard side about 

 forty-five minutes after Mike Hour ; her bridge struc- 

 ture was underwater and the port side of her bottom 

 was above the surface. Later she floated bottom up for 

 a short while, and then sank. Divers reported her 

 condition as being much like that of the ANDERSON. 



The Japanese light cruiser SAKAWA, located 

 within one-half mile of the projected Zeropoint, sank 

 in mid-morning on the day after the explosion. A 

 severe fire burned in her stern for nearly twenty-four 

 hours. She showed severe structural damage topside. 

 Her hull too suffered major damage; her stern was 

 breached in several places. Water entered steadil^y, and 

 her draft increased seriously. Despite difficult radio- 

 logical conditions prevailing, the attempt was made 

 to tow her to a nearby beach. But by this time her stern 

 was awash and her stability had been reduced to the 

 vanishing point. Soon after being taken in tow she 

 keeled over to port at an angle of 85 degrees and sank 

 by the stern. 



Sinkings made headlines, but it was the surviving 

 ships which provided the largest amount of precise in- 

 formation. The light carrier INDEPENDENCE, lo- 

 cated between 1000 ft. and one-half mile from the 

 projected Zeropoint, showed perhaps the most strik- 

 ing damage. Her 600-foot long flight deck was broken 



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