|
The
History
In April of 1944, the Axis empire was surrounded. Faced with a tightening
naval and air blockade, and in desperate need of war materials,
the Nazis sought every means to exchange supplies and information
with their Japanese partners. The Japanese, in turn, were in need
of technology and instruments, manufactured in Germany, for which
they were willing to pay dearly. These commodities were traded through
the only means left: with specially-built, huge cargo carrying submarines.
In this context, the Japanese I-52 began her maiden voyage, destined
to end at the bottom of the Atlantic. The I-52 left Singapore with
a cargo of tin, medicinals, and rubber, along with a secret cache
of gold, bound for a large submarine base on the western coast of
France. The vessel, weighing 2,500 tons, was manned by a crew of
over one hundred, including a cadre of engineers and technicians.
Receiving coded messages from German headquarters, the submarine
aimed to rendezvous in the middle of the Atlantic ocean with the
U-530, a German U-boat. Unknown to the Axis vessels, the Allies
had broken German and Japanese enigma encoded messages. Hoping to
catch both submarines at once, a carrier task force, led by the
USS BOGUE, was dispatched to the scene.
|
USS Bogue heading out to sea.
On June 23rd, searching at night and in poor weather, flights of Avenger
dive bombers were launched to scour the area. Each Avenger aircraft
was loaded with depth bombs, sonabuoys, and a top secret acoustic
homing torpedo. After long hours of search, avenger pilot Lt. Commander
Jesse Taylor finally spotted the I-52. Cruising on the surface, the
crew was rushing to prepare the ship to dive following the just-completed
exchange of supplies with the U-boat. When the sound of Taylor's aircraft
reached the bridge of the I-52, it was too late. The events that followed
... propeller noises picked up by sonabouys, the exploding torpedo,
and the agonizing sounds of a ship breaking apart ... were all recorded
for history on a wireless recording device. Later the next day, the
task force ships arrived at the site, finding tons of floating rubber
and other debris. Although the U-boat escaped, the I-52 with her cargo
of gold would not be seen again for over fifty years. |
 |
Japanese
I-8 Entering
France |
|
Previous- I-52 Home
