The vast Pacific Ocean holds countless secrets from World War II, including thousands of military aircraft lost during training missions and combat operations. In this compelling Expedition Unknown investigation, Josh Gates joins forces with Project Recover, a dedicated non-profit organization that uses cutting-edge technology to locate and identify missing servicemen from these tragic wartime incidents.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions, covering approximately 165,250,000 square kilometers—roughly 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area. Stretching from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, and bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east, the Pacific contains the deepest known point on Earth: the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, reaching a depth of 10,929 meters. During World War 2, thousands of military aircraft were lost in training accidents and combat operations across this vast ocean. Gates investigated these waters in collaboration with Project Recover, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding and identifying missing servicemen, specifically searching for a training plane that crashed 75 years earlier with three Navy pilots aboard.
World War 2 Pacific Theater operations result in thousands of aircraft losses, both in combat and training accidents
U.S. Navy Avenger training plane crashes during exercises, leaving three pilots missing
Project Recover begins systematic search for lost World War 2 aircraft and missing servicemen
Gates joins Project Recover expedition to locate the lost Avenger (Expedition Unknown S09E02)
Project Recover represents a collaboration between scientists, oceanographers, archaeologists, and military historians dedicated to finding the estimated 80,000 Americans still missing from World War 2, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. The organization uses advanced technology including side-scan sonar, remotely operated vehicles, and magnetometers to search vast oceanic areas where aircraft went down during training and combat operations. During World War 2 alone, thousands of aircraft were lost in the Pacific Theater, with many training accidents occurring far from combat zones as pilots prepared for deployment.
The search for individual aircraft in the Pacific Ocean presents extraordinary challenges due to the ocean's immense size and depth. The Pacific's mean depth of approximately 4,000 meters makes many wreck sites inaccessible to traditional diving operations, requiring specialized equipment and extensive survey work. Historical records from the 1940s often lack precise coordinates, forcing search teams to reconstruct flight paths, interview surviving witnesses, and conduct systematic searches across wide areas. Each successful identification can provide DNA evidence and personal effects that bring closure to families who have waited decades for answers.
Gates' episode with Project Recover illustrated both the technological sophistication and the deeply personal nature of these searches. The organization's work goes beyond historical curiosity—each aircraft potentially contains the remains of servicemen whose families deserve recognition and proper burial. While the episode documented the search process and the challenges of locating a single aircraft in millions of square kilometers of ocean, it emphasized that Project Recover's mission continues across the Pacific, with hundreds of cases still under investigation.
The broader context of World War 2 losses in the Pacific underscores the scale of the conflict and the human cost of both combat and training operations. Many young pilots died in accidents during the urgent push to train enough aviators to sustain the war effort, their aircraft lost in remote waters far from the famous battle sites. Organizations like Project Recover ensure these lesser-known losses are not forgotten, methodically working through historical records and oceanographic data to locate and identify missing servicemen seventy-five years after their final flights.
The Pacific Ocean covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.
The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest known point on Earth, reaching a depth of 10,929 meters—deep enough to submerge Mount Everest with more than 2 kilometers to spare.
The Pacific contains both the deepest point in the Northern Hemisphere (Challenger Deep) and the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere (Horizon Deep in the Tonga Trench at 10,823 meters).
The Pacific Ocean is informally divided by the International Date Line, creating the East Pacific and West Pacific, and is further subdivided by the equator into the North Pacific and South Pacific.
The Pacific Ocean is accessible from countless coastal locations across multiple continents, though the specific search areas for lost aircraft are typically in remote open waters requiring specialized vessels and equipment. Project Recover's fieldwork is conducted by professional teams and is not open to public participation, though the organization shares updates on its investigations and identifications through its website and media partnerships.
Varies by specific search location; Pacific search areas may be accessed from coastal cities including Honolulu, San Diego, Tokyo, Sydney, or other major ports depending on the investigation site.
Ocean conditions in the Pacific vary enormously by region and season, with tropical areas experiencing monsoons and typhoon seasons, while northern latitudes face winter storms and ice. Deep-water search operations require calm seas and favorable weather windows.
Atlantic Ocean crash site (White Bird)
Atlantic Ocean crash site involves a similar deep-water search for a lost aircraft, requiring comparable oceanographic search techniques and historical research methods.
Florida Waters
Florida Waters demonstrates Gates' pattern of investigating underwater sites and lost vessels using advanced sonar and submersible technology similar to the Pacific search operations.
Best time to visit: Pacific Ocean expeditions are best conducted during calmer weather seasons, typically avoiding major storm periods when sea conditions are most favorable for underwater operations.
Travel tip: Due to the remote international waters location and specialized nature of underwater archaeological work, this type of investigation is only accessible through organized research expeditions with proper permits and equipment.
Historical data sourced from Wikipedia