This 610-foot Cleveland class light cruiser (CL-103) was launched in 1943 and her armament consisted of twelve 6-inch guns, twelve 5-inch guns and a battery of 40 20-mm anti-aircraft guns. The Wilkes Barre saw quite a bit of action during World War II where she first screened aircraft carriers in 1945 as their planes bombed Tokyo. This air raid was only a diversion for the American invasion of Iwo Jima. Soon after she was called in to assist in the shore bombardment of Iwo Jima. She quickly responded by destroying pillboxes, ammunition dumps, fortified caves, and turned back one Japanese counter attack. Steaming east of Okinawa, gunners on the Wilkes Barre bagged her first enemy aircraft, a Judy dive bomber. On Easter Sunday, the Wilkes Barre supported the largest American amphibious assault in history, the invasion of Okinawa where she shot down a Val dive bomber and three Zeke fighters. She also participated in the fire-fighting efforts aboard the fleet carrier USS Bunker Hill after two kamikazes had crashed into the carrier's deck starting an inferno that enveloped the entire after deck. In 1946, the USS Wilkes Barre sailed for the United States where she had received four battle stars for her World War II service and was decommissioned in 1947. In 1972, this fine ship was used as the subject for underwater explosive tests. The explosion broke the ship in two and her stern sank quickly, but her forward section needed an additional scuttling charge to send it to the ocean's floor. The cruiser now serves as an artificial reef and both bow and stern sections remain intact. Her stern sits on an even keel and her bow rests on its starboard side. Her superstructure can be reached at 145-foot and this huge wreck abounds with marine life, artifacts and a fascinating history. Because of her deep resting spot, the Wilkes Barre should only be penetrated by very experienced technical divers with proper training, experience and equipment.