The USS Saratoga is the centrepiece of Bikini's dive programme and one of the most extraordinary wreck dives anywhere in the world. She was a Lexington-class aircraft carrier — 270 metres long, displacing 33,000 tonnes — and she survived the first Crossroads test (the aerial detonation) only to be sunk by the underwater Baker shot on 25 July 1946. She settled upright on the sandy lagoon floor at around 52 metres, with her flight deck at roughly 27 metres and her island superstructure accessible from about 22 metres. That combination of manageable depth and enormous scale makes her uniquely diveable among aircraft carriers anywhere on earth.
The interior is largely intact. Divers can penetrate the hangar deck, pass through the engine rooms, and explore the passageways under torch light. Aircraft parts and ordinance remain visible. The hull and deck are heavily encrusted with hard and soft coral; clouds of anthias and glassfish hover around the superstructure while grey reef sharks patrol the perimeter. The propellers are a popular focus — each blade is taller than a diver. On deck, a gun turret that swung from the same pivot seventy years ago still points toward the sky.
The Saratoga requires advanced open-water qualifications and ideally wreck and deep specialties before attempting the interior sections. Most live-aboard operators include at least three or four dives on her during an expedition, typically beginning with orientation dives on the exterior before progressing into the hull.