Cenderawasih Bay · Indonesia · Wreck
Rouw Island P-38 Wrecks
Three P-38 fighters in two metres of water
Area photo: Rogistira · CC BY-SA 4.0
Three downed American P-38 fighter bombers lie together in just 2 metres of water off Rouw Island, in the Auri Islands at the southern end of Cenderawasih Bay. At that depth it is a snorkel rather than a scuba dive: the aircraft can be read in full daylight from the surface, with no decompression concern at all.
Where it is and how deep
2.1536° S, 134.7413° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a surface swim more than a dive. The three P-38 fighter bombers sit in about 2 metres of water off Rouw Island, shallow enough that the whole cluster can be looked over from the surface and reached on a single breath. Snorkellers and freedivers get more out of it than anyone on a tank, who would spend the session grounded and blowing silt off the airframes.
Work the three aircraft one at a time and keep well off the bottom. In water this shallow, fin wash lifts sediment fast, and a stirred-up airframe stays unreadable for the rest of the visit, so a slow approach and a still fin pay for themselves. Two metres also means daylight reaches everything and there is no depth penalty on how long you stay.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Three P-38 fighter bombers
- Type
- WWII American fighter bomber
- Cause
- Downed during the Second World War
- Lies
- Together in about 2 metres of water off Rouw Island
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Cenderawasih Bay: Whale sharks feed at the bagans all year; most liveaboards visit from June to October, when rough weather around Raja Ampat pushes routes into the sheltered bay.
Know before you go
- At 2 metres there is no clearance under a swell; on any chop, surge can put a snorkeller onto the airframes, so visit on a calm day.
Questions divers ask
Can you scuba dive the Rouw Island P-38 wrecks?+
The aircraft lie in roughly 2 metres of water, and the site is visited as a shallow snorkel rather than a scuba dive.
Sources
- Cenderawasih Bay Diving Sites — Dive The World
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