A new virtual-reality experience brings to life the wreck of a WWII Japanese submarine that almost met its demise twice; after the Allies sank it in 1942, the sub was then bombed with explosives 30 years later by an angry salvager who wanted its scrap metal. The VR video is based on a recent survey of the site.
The wreck of the I-124 submarine, on the seafloor about 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest of the Australian city of Darwin, is protected as a war grave — roughly 80 crewmen were on board when it was sunk by Allied forces in 1942.
That designation means that most divers are forbidden from visiting the wreck, with such access being strictly controlled; so the new VR experience is a rare chance for people to see what the wreck now looks like, maritime archaeologist John McCarthy of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, said in a statement.
