The airplane graveyard of Kwajalein Atoll, a vast lagoon in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, is an eerie yet mesmerising underwater world.
Here, in the warm, dappled light, the skeletal remains of around 150 World War II aircrafts rest in silent slumber.
Dumped in the lagoon in the wake of the war, the bombers and fighters have been reclaimed by the ocean, their corroded fuselages entwined with delicate sea fans. Schools of vibrant reef fish flit through the hollowed-out cockpits, while moray eels lurk in the shadows of rusting wings.
- Vast marine sanctuary declared in the Marshall Islands
- How underwater statues can help marine wildlife
Over decades, coral polyps have crept across the metal, transforming the war machines into thriving reefs.
Sharks patrol the remains, their sleek forms gliding effortlessly past fractured propellers, while sea turtles pause to rest upon decaying bomb bays.
Many of the wrecks lie in relatively shallow, clear waters, making them popular dive sites for history enthusiasts and underwater photographers.
In pictures: Kwajalein Atoll airplane graveyard
Main image: B-25 WWII Airplane, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Credit: Getty
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
- An expedition team were filming in a remote kelp forest in Patagonia when this happened
- Bewitching glass octopus rarely seen alive filmed near remote Pacific islands
- “A rare look" – scientists put a camera inside a shark egg and were spellbound by what they saw
- When a colossal iceberg broke free from Antarctica, scientists found something staggering beneath it
