Video and Photos of U.S. Navy seaplane lost in Pearl Harbor attack

Images of a U.S. Navy airplane that was sunk in the early minutes of the attack at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Dec. 7, 1941, have been released by University of Hawaii archaeologists and NOAA, according to a release.

The plane was part of a strike on the U.S. Naval Air Station conducted minutes before the Japanese Imperial Navy aircraft reached the ships of Pearl Harbor.

There have been previous attempts to look at the seaplane. In 1994, a University of Hawaii dive team tried to take photos of the wreck of one of the planes, a Catalina PBY-5, but the waters were too murky for visibility. In 2008 a sport diving group called Hawaii Underwater Explorers also was unable to obtain good underwater photos, the release noted.

In June, students from the University of Hawaii Marine Option Program benefited from improved camera equipment and better underwater visibility and were able to do an archaeological survey. They were led by Hans Van Tilburg, who is a maritime archaeologist working with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The exact identify of the plane photographed is unknown, but it is in three large pieces at 30 feet below the surface. It is protected by the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004-under this, any disturbance of military planes or vessels owned by the U.S. government or foreign military craft within U.S. waters, is illegal, as the release noted.

"This sunken flying boat is a window into the events of the attack, a moment in time that reshaped the Pacific region," June Cleghorn, senior archaeologist at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said in the release. "Understanding this site sheds light on the mystery of the lost PBY (plane)s and honors the legacy of the Navy and Marine Corps Base in Hawaii."

To see video and other photos, go here.  

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