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Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

USS Saratoga (CV-3)

Typical depth

50m

Type
Wreck
Typical depth
50 m
Level
Technical
Visibility
20–30 m
Water temp
28–30 °C
Current
Mild
Access
Liveaboard only
Min cert
Trimix or CCR. Flight deck sits at ~50 m and the hangar deck at ~30 m, but the dives are typically run as multi-stage tec profiles to make the most of bottom time on aircraft and the bridge.
  • Wreck
  • Deep Wreck
  • Trimix
  • CCR Recommended
  • Penetration
  • Liveaboard Only
  • Historic
  • Permit Required
  • Aircraft Carrier
  • Overhead Environment

When to dive

BestAvoidOK

Bikini operates as a liveaboard-only destination on a chartered season. Lagoon is sheltered, so weather is rarely the constraint — logistics, charter availability, and Marshall-Islands government access permits are.

11.5833° N, 165.5167° E

Notes

Lexington-class aircraft carrier sunk in the 1946 Operation Crossroads Baker atomic test. Flight deck at ~50 m, hull to ~55 m.

Marine life

Other
aircraft remains in the hangar deck — Helldivers, Avengers
Corals
hard coral colonising the flight deck and superstructure
Sharks
grey reef shark, silvertip
Pelagics
tuna, jacks
Reef fish
snapper, grouper

Wreck

Vessel
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
Class
Lexington-class aircraft carrier
Origin
United States
Sunk
1946 — sunk by underwater atomic test (Operation Crossroads, Test Baker), 25 Jul 1946
Length
271 m
Penetration
Possible — with training

Dive clubs that visit this site

Sources

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