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WWII Remnants on Wotje: Part II

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In our blog post “WWII Remnants on Wotje: Part I” we discover loads of anti-aircraft guns, coastal defense guns, a cannon, Betty Bomber engines and propellers and more.  But we had discovered so many more artifacts in Wotje that we spit it over two blog posts.  In Part II, we will show you more WWII buildings, artifacts and Japanese signage.

We found this fallen water tank in the jungle, along with an exploded shell, and a cannon sticking straight up into the sky.  One of the things we noticed is that the WWII remnants on Wotje are in far greater disarray than those on its neighboring island of Maloelap.

We were not sure what this WWII building used to be but it was some type of manufacturing plant based on the machinery inside.  It was way too dilapidated to risk going inside.

WWII Defense Bunkers

We walked the entire perimeter of the island (about 7.5 miles).  There were several places that had 1.5m tall walls made of concrete and stone.  Of course, they were not 100% in tact, but they were still standing.  About every 15m they had a gun placement hole.

The shoreline was full of these defense bunkers.  As you can see most are in complete shambles, but then again, they are 80 years old.  We did find two gun placement attachments in the widows (lower right photos) which was a first find for us.

We also discovered some new types of defense bunkers (top right and bottom right).  These are new versions to us as we did not see anything like this on Maloelap.  Wonder why they had wide open windows?  It seems to leave them pretty exposed.

Japanese Signs from WWII

Another new find on Wotje was this bunker which still had two, original Japanese signs inside.  The top right says “danger flammable’s” loosely translated.  The other sign above the door could not be translated as too many characters were faded.  So, inside this large bunker is another locked room with a massive steel door.  This is where Matt is standing.  They stored their ammunition in this room.

Another defense bunker with a Japanese sign. Unfortunately it is illegible and we were unable to translate it.

Making the Best out of the Wreckage

The building in the top left used to be the Seaplane Command center.  Wotje built a seaplane dock and had dozens of seaplanes coming and going at any given time.  The Japanese used these seaplanes to scout out the enemy.  Today, this building is used as a storage building for drums of fuel (top right).  The middle right and bottom photo are both WWII buildings that have been converted into homes for the locals. Look at the bottom photo with its huge steel door for both the window and the front door.

We found several pieces of machinery that we could not figure out their original purpose.  We have guesses…but who knows.  The top left photo might be some type of coral grinding machine for making cement.  The top middle photo is a NAK 3DM engine powering a pump of some sort….maybe to pump water from the sea to a generator?

We hope you have enjoyed coming on this walk through WWII history.  It was a great learning process for us, but also truly tragic and heartbreaking to think of all the lives lost.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred during the 2nd week of November 2024.  Be sure to catch Part I of WWII Remnants on Wotje.

WWII Remnants on Wotje: Part I

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We reluctantly leave the beautiful Maloelap atoll for a new adventure.  A short 84 miles north is the atoll called Wotje (pronounced whoat jay) which is known as the “Garden Atoll.” Wotje, like its neighbor Maloelap, was a major Japanese base during World War II. We look forward to continuing our search for these relics.

This fairly large atoll is home to the island chain high school called Northern Islands High School and the college which are attended by students from nearby atolls. It also has a small power station, managed by the Marshalls Energy Company so all of the homes are equipped with electricity. 

The local police station proudly displays several shell casings in front of their building. There are 4 policemen who work on this island, but they have no jail and rarely have any problems.

Wotje WWII History

Wotje military development began quietly in the 1930’s with a major airbase construction starting in 1939.  The war came swiftly on February 1, 1942 with two raids by the U.S. Carrier aircraft.  The air-raid totaled 23 aircraft with 58 bombs, leaving behind a deadly legacy of destruction.

However, by mid-1943 the Japanese had developed Wotje into a major base with the construction of 2-runways, hangers, repair facilities, barracks, and living quarters.  Defense weapons were installed around the island, a large dock with a crane and a seaplane dock were built, and two runways (3500′ and 5000′).  Wotje was given 13 vessels as a guard force and seaplanes made regular visits and reconnaissance missions. At peak strength in December 1943, the atoll consisted of 3,300 men: 2,103 Navy, 770 airmen, and 429 Army personnel.

The U.S. returned late in 1943 and destroyed all Japanese aviation here, sunk all ships in the harbor, and the atoll was left to starve.  The atoll was continually bombarded until 1945. By the end of the war, over 60% of the garrison had died leaving only 1,244 survivors.  Casualties occurred from air raids, diseases, accidents, and suicides, but mainly from starvation.

The local church has defense weapon on their grounds.  This gun was removed from the large, steel, cargo ship, the Toyotsu Maru that sunk at the neighboring island of Egmedoi. 

Wotje’s Deadly Weapons

The perimeter of the island, especially the ocean side, was full of guns, which were a mixture of British and Japanese manufacture: six coastal defense guns, and six twin-mount dual purpose guns. The Japanese Army had brought an additional five field artillery guns. In addition, two 120 mm ship guns were emplaced as coastal defense guns.  The top is an anti-aircraft gun and the bottom two are coastal defense guns.

This bad boy with 5 barrels lived on a family’s property, right next to their home!  I appreciate the historical value of these WWII remnants but I cannot imagine living next to this horrid reminder of the war.

We almost walked right by this cannon which is almost completely covered in vegetation.  We just happened to be walking back from a bunker and spied it in the trees. Look how huge the gun hole is compared to Matt’s hand!

It is amazing to see the condition of these deadly weapons.  They are still standing, pointing off into the horizon looking for the enemy.  Matt was able to put his entire head in the gun hole!

WWII Aircrafts

During the war two squadrons of planes were temporarily stationed here, namely torpedo bombers (“Kate” & “Val”) and patrol bombers (“Nell” & “Betty”). At the beginning of the war the plane contingent of the 801st squadron, consisted of between 6 and 12 Kawanishi H6K flying boats (“Mavis”), which were later replaced by the larger H8K flying boats (“Emily’). We were not able to find the sunken planes in the lagoon, but we did find this massive propeller, from a Betty Bomber, right outside the local bank and post office.   This came from an extremely large aircraft as it has 14 pistons!

Inland, we found this Betty Bomber graveyard with (3) engines and propellers.  These are simply massive.  Right next to the engines was a large cannon that was fully intact (lower right photo).

Toyotsu Maru Sunken Ship

The Toyostu Maru is a gunboat warship that measured over 305′ long, 45′ wise, and 26′ deep weighing in at almost 3,000 tons!  She had two masts, one of which still lays across the deteriorating steel.  She was struck on the port side which beached her, but then she was used as target practice for many months leaving her virtually unrecognizable. 

This should be spelled Toyotsu Maru.

This should be spelled Toyotsu Maru.

Today, at low tide you easily see huge sections of the once enormous boat.  You can see her anchor chain all piled up (bottom right photo), her mast sticking out like a cannon, the gooseneck of one of her booms and other assorted boat parts.

The anchor chain is visible from above the water and yet it still piles 2 meters high below the water as well.

We return on another day to snorkel the wreck at low tide.  Top left is the spreader of the aft mast which can be seen in the photo above.  We also find a portion of its massive anchor which was well over 2 meters long and several cleats.

The rudder and prop were still intact.  Each rudder blade was over 2m long. And the writing was still on one of the prop blades.

This shipwreck has become a very active and flourishing coral reef with dozens of schools of fish.  Coral is growing all over the ship and its parts making it a truly fun place to discover.

A Rare Memorial

So many soldiers were lost with the sinking of the Toyotsu Maru that the Japanese erected a war memorial in their honor.

This bereavement memorial is located on the southern end of the  Wotje island. The memorial describes the vessel and its losses.  There were two memorials right next to each other. One was still standing and intact.  However, the 2nd one has fallen over and lays on its side next to its podium.  Unfortunately the writing is incredibly faded making it impossible to translate.

The gun displayed by the main church was reportedly removed from the Toyotsu maru.  Not sure why they removed the gun and placed it next to the church but here she sits.

We found so many WWII remnants that we had to break it up into 2 blog posts. So, be sure to check in with us for part II of this post.

Some cool links on Wotje’s WWII history:

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred during the 2nd week of November 2024.  Be sure to see the true beauty of Maloelap in our last blog post “Maloelap’s Beautiful Motus.”

Maloelap’s WWII Remnants Part II

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In Part I of our Maloelap’s WWII Remnants we explore Japanese bunkers, anti-aircraft guns, coastal defense guns, the command center, two ammunition depots and more.  In this blog post we will share with you several airplanes including a zero and parts of a Betty Bomber.

Arry, our tour guide, first takes us to a field where the land owners literally tossed airplane remnants in a pile.  It is such a shame as it would have been nice to see them where they landed.  But then who would want that reminder of past relatives horrific demise?  You can see several props sticking out of the vegetation and the body of a Zero in the top left photo. 

Airplane Grave Yard

It was a little tricky walking in the airplane graveyard as there are iron and metal parts strewn all over, hidden under the tall grass and coconut shells.  We find the tail of a Betty Bomber (we think) in the top right photo, several props (top left with white arrows), and a few cockpits from different zero airplanes.

WWII Buildings

We are not 100% certain what this facility was used for but it is a huge long square building with immensely thick walls.  The door and wall had to be close to 1 meter thick!

Several buildings are now buried and or they were built below ground.  You never know if you are walking on solid ground or the roof of a dilapidated building (unnerving, yes). The laundry facilities (where they watched items for over 3,000 people) is partially underground.  Just outside are 3 large boilers.

Torishima Maru

The Torishima Maru (also spelled Terushima Maru) was built in the late 1920s and started its life as a transport freighter.  This ship was approximately 90 meters long, 10 meters wide and sits upright in about 12 meters of water off the shores of Taroa in Maloelap.  She was outfitted with anti-aircraft guns when she was converted for military action during WWII. 

Torishima Maru was the last supply ship to arrive in the Marshall Islands.  She was hit and was able to barely limp to Maloelap where she was bombed again and sank in the shallow waters in 1943.  The troops spent 1 ½ years without reinforcements or supplies, leading to disease & starvation.

One of her two masts stands tall to this day indicating where the shipwreck is in the lagoon.

The entire ship sits upright in the water with the stern being relatively intact.  However, the bow is a mangled mess of metal. On deck we find a few cool boat parts including a windlass, rope guide, and cleats. 

Matt dives down and finds the massive prop and rudder.  We also find a staircase the used to lead up to the pilot house.  The aft mast is still standing up, albeit crooked.  The aft mast fell a few decades ago and lies on the bottom of the sea bed.

Pretty amazing how the sea just takes over and provides homes for millions of fish and new sea life.

Random WWII Relics

Surely someone knows what these buildings are?  Maybe a WWII pillbox?  We found several along the coast.  They are round with 1 meter thick windows and flat rooves.  We went inside and there used to be a gun that popped up out of the roof. It had a 360 radius.  Below the gun was a locked, round room for the ammunition (bottom left two photos).  The pulleys that raised and lowered the steel plate that covered the windows were intact (bottom right photo).

On the southern end of Taroa were lots of these pillboxes.  A pillbox is a type of blockhouse or concrete guard post with small windows which defenders can fire weapons. Typically they are camouflaged and raised for better aim.  We assume these were much higher onshore but due to erosion they are now on the reef.

We found a random coastal defense gun off the beach covered in vegetation.  An old bomb shell and a pillbox on the shore.  In addition, we discover the crater remnants of the hospital (bottom right picture).

I found a really great blog post that help confirm the type of artifacts we were looking at and viewing.  It is a cruiser who visited awhile ago, visit Nothing Unknown.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We did the WWII tour on Taroa, Maloelap in early November 2024.  Be sure to read WWII Part I where we find bunkers, ammunition depots, anti-aircraft gun, coastal defense gun, the command center and more.