Japanese submarine I-52
Encyclopedia
I-52, code-named Momi (樅, Japanese for "evergreen" or "fir tree") was a Type C-3 cargo submarine
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
used during World War II
for a secret mission to Lorient
, France
, then occupied by Germany, during which she was sunk.
and technology. There has been speculation that a peace proposal to the Allies was contained onboard the I-52 as well, but this is unlikely on two counts: there is no evidence of the Japanese government being interested in peace proposals or negotiated settlements at this stage in the war, and the Japanese kept an open dialogue with their diplomatic attachés via radio and diplomatic voucher through Russia, and had no need for long and uncertain transfer via a submarine bound for a Nazi-controlled area of western Europe.
Also interesting is that 800 kg of uranium oxide
awaited I-52 for her return voyage at Lorient
according to Ultra
decrypts. It has been speculated that this was for the Japanese to develop a radiological weapon
(a so-called "dirty bomb
") for use against the United States (the amount of unenriched uranium oxide would not have been enough to create an atomic bomb, though if used in a nuclear reactor
it could have created poisonous fission products).
She was also to be fitted with a snorkel
device at Lorient.
Corporation, between 1943 and 1944, as cargo carriers. They were quite long and carried a crew of up to 94. They also had a long cruising range at a speed of 12 knots (24 km/h). The Japanese constructed only three of these submarines during World War II (I-52, I-53 and I-55), although twenty were planned. They were the largest submarines ever built at that time, and were known as the most advanced Japanese submarines of their time.
The keel of I-52 was laid on 18 March 1942, and she was commissioned on 28 December 1943 into the 11th submarine squadron. After training in Japan she was selected for a Yanagi (exchange) mission to Germany.
' Tripartite Pact
to provide for an exchange of strategic materials and manufactured goods between Germany, Italy and Japan. Initially, cargo ships made the exchanges, but when that was no longer possible submarines were used.
Only five other submarines had attempted this intercontinental voyage during World War II: I-30
(April 1942), I-8
(June 1943), I-34
(October 1943), I-29
(November 1943), and German submarine U-511
(August 1943). Of these, I-30 was sunk by a mine
, I-34 by the British submarine Taurus
, and I-29 by the United States submarine Sawfish
(assisted by Ultra
intelligence).
via Sasebo
for Singapore
. Her cargo from Japan included 9.8 tons of molybdenum
, 11 tons of tungsten
, 2.2 tons of gold
in 146 bars packed in 49 metal boxes, 3 tons of opium
and 54 kg of caffeine
. The gold was payment for German optical technology. She also carried 14 passengers, primarily Japanese technicians, who were to study German technology in anti-aircraft guns, and engines for torpedo boats.
In Singapore she picked up a further 120 tons of tin
in ingots, 59.8 tons of caoutchouc (raw rubber) in bales and 3.3 tons of quinine
, and headed through the Indian Ocean
, to the Atlantic Ocean
.
On 6 June 1944, the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin, Rear Admiral Kojima Hideo, signaled the submarine that the Allies had landed in Normandy, thus threatening her eventual destination of Lorient on the coast of France. She was advised to prepare for Norway
instead. She was also instructed to rendezvous with a German submarine on 22 June 1944 at 21:15 (GMT) at the co-ordinates 15°N 40°W. I-52 responded with her position, being 35°N 23°W. The message was intercepted and decoded by US intelligence; I-52 had been closely watched all the way from Singapore. Guided by the F-21 Submarine Tracking Room and F-211 "Secret Room" of the Tenth Fleet which was in charge of the Atlantic section, a hunter-killer task force was targeted towards her.
On the night of 22 June 1944 about 850 nautical miles (1,574 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa, I-52 rendezvoused with U-530
, a Type IXC/40 U-boat commanded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Lange. U-530 provided her with fuel, and also transferred a Naxos
FuMB 7 radar detector, and an Enigma
coding machine, along with two radar operators, Petty Officers Schulze and Behrendt, and German liaison officer for the trip through the Bay of Biscay
.
and five destroyers, en route to the United States
from Europe, was ordered to find and destroy the Japanese submarine. This task force departed from Casablanca
on 15 June 1944, and was commanded by Captain Aurelius B. Vosseller. It also had 9 FM-2 Wildcats
and 12 TBF-1C Avenger
of VC-69 on board. The task force, on its way from Hampton Roads
to Casablanca
, had sunk another Japanese submarine, the Type IX RO-501 (formerly U-1224) on 13 May 1944. This was a very effective force, sinking 13 German and Japanese submarines between February 1943 and July 1945.
The five destroyers were:
Arriving in the area of the meeting, the carrier began launching flights of Avengers at around 23:00 GMT to search for the submarines. U-530 escaped undetected.
At approximately 23:40 on 23 June, Ed Whitlock, the radar
operator in Lieutenant Commander Jesse D. Taylor's Avenger, detected a surface contact on his malfunctioning radar (only the right half of its sweep was working). Taylor immediately dropped flares, illuminating the area, and attacked. After his first pass, he saw the depth charge explosions just to starboard of the submarine — a near miss — and the submarine diving. Taylor dropped a purple sonobuoy
, a newly-developed device that floated, picked up underwater noise, and transmitted it back. A searching aircraft usually dropped these in packs of five, named purple, orange, blue, red and yellow (POBRY); the operator was able to monitor each buoy in turn to listen for sounds emitted by its target.
Taylor then began a torpedo
attack, dropping a Mark 24 "mine" torpedo
. That term was used for what was code-named "Fido": the first Allied acoustic torpedo, developed by the Harvard Underwater Sound Lab, which homed in on the sounds of the submarine. Fido was designed to be a "mission kill
" weapon — it would damage the submarine so badly it would have to surface, rather than destroying it completely. Within minutes, the sonobuoys transmitted the sounds of an explosion and mechanical break-up noises.
As Commander Taylor's watch ended, the operators on Bogue and Taylor all thought he had sunk the sub. However, as Taylor's patrol ended, he was relieved by Lieutenant (junior grade) William "Flash" Gordon, accompanied by civilian underwater sound expert Price Fish. They arrived on the scene just after midnight, and circled with Taylor for some time. At about 01:00 on 24 June 1944, Fish reported hearing some faint propeller noise in the area.
Captain Vosseller ordered a second attack; Gordon checked with Taylor about the exact position of the sonobuoy, and dropped another "Fido" torpedo where he believed the submarine to be. Taylor departed from the area at 01:15, but Gordon stayed to circle the area and listen for any sign of activity. He heard nothing, and was relieved by Lieutenant (junior grade) Brady, who continued to watch and listen, but no further activity was reported. Next morning, Janssen reached the site (15°16′N 39°55′W) and found flotsam: a ton of raw rubber, a piece of silk, and even human flesh.
The sonobuoy recording of the last few moments of I-52's sound still survives in the US National Archives in Washington D.C. in the form of two thin film canisters marked "Gordon wire No. 1" and "Gordon wire No. 2" dated 24 June 1944. The wire from Taylor's attack has not been found; however, a set of 78 rpm vinyl recordings that include segments of Taylor's wire recordings has been located. These records were produced during the war for training pilots. On the wire and vinyl recordings Lieutenant Gordon can be heard talking to his crew, along with the sound of a torpedo exploding, and metal twisting. Subsequent to the discovery of the wreck (see below), analysts at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, experts in analyzing modern submarine sounds, studied these recordings and concluded that the I-52 was sunk by Taylor. The propeller sounds heard by Gordon were actually from the U-Boat, nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) away, reaching Gordon's sonobuoys through a "surface duct". This quirk of underwater sound propagation traps sounds in a channel near the surface and can transmit them for many miles. At the time, the Navy credited the sinking of the I-52 to both Gordon and Taylor, as it was uncertain whether the ship was sunk on the first attack.
for the project and an extensive search, by March 1995 the search had proved to be a failure (Hamilton-Paterson 1998). Very shortly afterwards, however, in the spring of 1995 Paul Tidwell, working with the ocean exploration company Meridian Sciences, Inc. (later renamed Nauticos Corp.) located the wreck 5,240 meters deep, mostly upright. The vessel was found nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) from the datum quoted by the U.S. Navy at the time of the sinking, but within 1/2 mile of the coordinates computed by Meridian. Meridian's analysts used historical ship logs from the U.S. task force as well as from the German U-Boat to reconstruct the events of the battle and correct navigation errors using a process called "re-navigation," or RENAV. Her conning tower
is intact and her hull number
is still visible. The bow is broken up, probably due to impact on the bottom and a large hole, undoubtedly caused by one of the torpedoes, is aft of the conning tower. Debris was scattered over a large area. Plans were made to raise the sub and recover the gold. The Japanese government objected, indicating that they considered the wreck site a grave. Tidwell worked on the proper procedures with the Japanese government and received the approval of the war graves authorities in Japan. Tidwell's team took down a Japanese naval ensign and affixed it to the wrecked submarine. A metal box from the debris field was brought to the surface in the hope that it would contain some of the sunken gold (then worth US$25 million), but when opened, the salvors were disappointed to find not gold, but opium
. It was dumped overboard.
The plan was to recover the entire conning tower, diplomatic pouches, gold, coding equipment, (Japanese and German) and more. The recovered items would be taken to New Orleans for cleaning, conservation, and corrosion treatment to prepare for an exhibition. Mandalay Bay Casino had offered $20 million for the exhibition. After three years in Las Vegas everything except the gold would be returned to Japan to be placed at the city of Kure
in a permanent exhibition.
There are no full-size Japanese World War II submarines on display anywhere in the world; however, captured Japanese midget submarine
s are on display at the Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg
, Texas
, at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
, close to Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, and at the Australian War Memorial
, Canberra
.
The Japan Times
reported that Tidwell intended to return to the site and raise the submarine in November 2005 or May 2006. However, as of 2008, Tidwell's plans have not been fulfilled.
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for a secret mission to Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, then occupied by Germany, during which she was sunk.
Valuable cargo
She is also known as Japan's "Golden Submarine", because she was carrying a cargo of gold to Germany as payment for matérielMateriel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
and technology. There has been speculation that a peace proposal to the Allies was contained onboard the I-52 as well, but this is unlikely on two counts: there is no evidence of the Japanese government being interested in peace proposals or negotiated settlements at this stage in the war, and the Japanese kept an open dialogue with their diplomatic attachés via radio and diplomatic voucher through Russia, and had no need for long and uncertain transfer via a submarine bound for a Nazi-controlled area of western Europe.
Also interesting is that 800 kg of uranium oxide
Uranium oxide
Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.The metal uranium forms several oxides:* Uranium dioxide or uranium oxide * Uranium trioxide or uranium oxide...
awaited I-52 for her return voyage at Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
according to Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
decrypts. It has been speculated that this was for the Japanese to develop a radiological weapon
Radiological weapon
A radiological weapon or radiological dispersion device is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive material with the intent to kill, and cause disruption upon a city or nation....
(a so-called "dirty bomb
Dirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
") for use against the United States (the amount of unenriched uranium oxide would not have been enough to create an atomic bomb, though if used in a nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
it could have created poisonous fission products).
She was also to be fitted with a snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
device at Lorient.
Type C-3 submarines
This class of submarines was designed and built by MitsubishiMitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
Corporation, between 1943 and 1944, as cargo carriers. They were quite long and carried a crew of up to 94. They also had a long cruising range at a speed of 12 knots (24 km/h). The Japanese constructed only three of these submarines during World War II (I-52, I-53 and I-55), although twenty were planned. They were the largest submarines ever built at that time, and were known as the most advanced Japanese submarines of their time.
The keel of I-52 was laid on 18 March 1942, and she was commissioned on 28 December 1943 into the 11th submarine squadron. After training in Japan she was selected for a Yanagi (exchange) mission to Germany.
Yanagi missions
These were missions enabled under the Axis PowersAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
' Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
to provide for an exchange of strategic materials and manufactured goods between Germany, Italy and Japan. Initially, cargo ships made the exchanges, but when that was no longer possible submarines were used.
Only five other submarines had attempted this intercontinental voyage during World War II: I-30
Japanese submarine I-30
I-30 was a Type B1 submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. After operating in the Indian Ocean she participated in a Yanagi mission, aimed at connecting Japan and Nazi Germany by submarine. She was the first Japanese submarine to reach Europe, arriving at Lorient, France in...
(April 1942), I-8
Japanese submarine I-8
The Japanese submarine I-8 was a World War II Junsen Type J-3 Imperial Japanese Navy submarine, famous for completing a technology exchange mission to German-occupied France and back to Japan in 1943....
(June 1943), I-34
Japanese submarine I-34
I-34 was a Kaidai Junsen Type B1 class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During World War II, while on a Yanagi mission between Japan and Germany carrying strategic raw material and information, she was sunk by the British submarine HMS Taurus using Ultra intelligence.-Commissioning:Her keel...
(October 1943), I-29
Japanese submarine I-29
I-29, code-named Matsu , was a B1 type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy used during World War II on two secret missions with Germany, during one of which she was sunk.-Type B Submarines:...
(November 1943), and German submarine U-511
Unterseeboot 511
German submarine U-511 was a Type IXC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 February 1941 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Hamburg, launched on 22 September 1941, and commissioned on 8 December 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Friedrich...
(August 1943). Of these, I-30 was sunk by a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
, I-34 by the British submarine Taurus
HMS Taurus (P399)
HMS Taurus was a Second World War British T class submarine, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow.-As HMS Taurus:The submarine was laid down on the 30th of September 1941, and launched on 27 June 1942. She served in the Mediterranean and the Pacific Far East during the Second World War...
, and I-29 by the United States submarine Sawfish
USS Sawfish (SS-276)
USS Sawfish , a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the sawfish, a viviparous ray which has a long flat snout with a row of toothlike structures along each edge...
(assisted by Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
intelligence).
Fatal voyage
On 10 March 1944, on her maiden voyage, I-52 (Commander Uno Kameo) departed KureKure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
via Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Her cargo from Japan included 9.8 tons of molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
, 11 tons of tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
, 2.2 tons of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
in 146 bars packed in 49 metal boxes, 3 tons of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
and 54 kg of caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
. The gold was payment for German optical technology. She also carried 14 passengers, primarily Japanese technicians, who were to study German technology in anti-aircraft guns, and engines for torpedo boats.
In Singapore she picked up a further 120 tons of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
in ingots, 59.8 tons of caoutchouc (raw rubber) in bales and 3.3 tons of quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
, and headed through the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
On 6 June 1944, the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin, Rear Admiral Kojima Hideo, signaled the submarine that the Allies had landed in Normandy, thus threatening her eventual destination of Lorient on the coast of France. She was advised to prepare for Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
instead. She was also instructed to rendezvous with a German submarine on 22 June 1944 at 21:15 (GMT) at the co-ordinates 15°N 40°W. I-52 responded with her position, being 35°N 23°W. The message was intercepted and decoded by US intelligence; I-52 had been closely watched all the way from Singapore. Guided by the F-21 Submarine Tracking Room and F-211 "Secret Room" of the Tenth Fleet which was in charge of the Atlantic section, a hunter-killer task force was targeted towards her.
On the night of 22 June 1944 about 850 nautical miles (1,574 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa, I-52 rendezvoused with U-530
Unterseeboot 530
German submarine U-530 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Navy during World War II.U-530 was commissioned on 14 October 1942, and served with 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, then 10th U-boat Flotilla from 1 March 1943 to 30 September 1944, and 33rd U-boat Flotilla from 1 October 1944 to 8...
, a Type IXC/40 U-boat commanded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Lange. U-530 provided her with fuel, and also transferred a Naxos
Naxos radar detector
The FuG 350 Naxos radar warning receiver was a World War II German countermeasure to SHF band centimetric wavelength radar produced by a cavity magnetron...
FuMB 7 radar detector, and an Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
coding machine, along with two radar operators, Petty Officers Schulze and Behrendt, and German liaison officer for the trip through the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
.
US Task Force
A US task force assembled as a submarine hunter-killer group, consisting of the escort carrier USS BogueUSS Bogue (CVE-9)
USS Bogue was the lead ship in the Bogue-class of escort aircraft carriers in the United States Navy during World War II. She was originally classified AVG-9, but was changed to ACV-9, 20 August 1942; CVE-9, 15 July 1943; and CVHP-9, 12 June 1955.Bogue was laid down on 1 October 1941 as Steel...
and five destroyers, en route to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Europe, was ordered to find and destroy the Japanese submarine. This task force departed from Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
on 15 June 1944, and was commanded by Captain Aurelius B. Vosseller. It also had 9 FM-2 Wildcats
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
and 12 TBF-1C Avenger
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
of VC-69 on board. The task force, on its way from Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, had sunk another Japanese submarine, the Type IX RO-501 (formerly U-1224) on 13 May 1944. This was a very effective force, sinking 13 German and Japanese submarines between February 1943 and July 1945.
The five destroyers were:
- USS Francis M. RobinsonUSS Francis M. Robinson (DE-220)USS Francis M. Robinson , a of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Commander Francis M. Robinson , who was a recipient of the Navy Cross....
, Lieutenant J. E. Johansen. - USS HaverfieldUSS Haverfield (DE-393)USS Haverfield was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.She was named in honor of Ensign James...
, Commander T. S. Lank, TF 51 commander. - USS SwenningUSS Swenning (DE-394)USS Swenning was an built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys....
, Lieutenant R. E. Peek. - USS WillisUSS Willis (DE-395)USS Willis is an , the first United States Navy ship so named. This ship was named for Ensign Walter Michael Willis . He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a seaman 2d class at Minneapolis. Willis received an appointment as reserve aviation cadet on 22 December 1939...
, Lieutenant Commander G. R. Atterbury. - USS JanssenUSS Janssen (DE-396)USS Janssen was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.She was named in honor of Lieutenant Ralph...
, Lieutenant Commander H. E. Cross.
Arriving in the area of the meeting, the carrier began launching flights of Avengers at around 23:00 GMT to search for the submarines. U-530 escaped undetected.
At approximately 23:40 on 23 June, Ed Whitlock, the radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
operator in Lieutenant Commander Jesse D. Taylor's Avenger, detected a surface contact on his malfunctioning radar (only the right half of its sweep was working). Taylor immediately dropped flares, illuminating the area, and attacked. After his first pass, he saw the depth charge explosions just to starboard of the submarine — a near miss — and the submarine diving. Taylor dropped a purple sonobuoy
Sonobuoy
A sonobuoy is a relatively small expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research....
, a newly-developed device that floated, picked up underwater noise, and transmitted it back. A searching aircraft usually dropped these in packs of five, named purple, orange, blue, red and yellow (POBRY); the operator was able to monitor each buoy in turn to listen for sounds emitted by its target.
Taylor then began a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
attack, dropping a Mark 24 "mine" torpedo
Mark 24 FIDO Torpedo
The Mark 24 Mine was a US air-dropped passive acoustic homing anti-submarine torpedo used during the Second World War against German and Japanese submarines. It entered service in March 1943 and continued in service with the US Navy until 1948...
. That term was used for what was code-named "Fido": the first Allied acoustic torpedo, developed by the Harvard Underwater Sound Lab, which homed in on the sounds of the submarine. Fido was designed to be a "mission kill
Mission kill
A mission kill is the result of an attack or damage inflicted by a weapon that does not destroy a military vehicle but results in it taking no further part in its intended mission.-Examples:...
" weapon — it would damage the submarine so badly it would have to surface, rather than destroying it completely. Within minutes, the sonobuoys transmitted the sounds of an explosion and mechanical break-up noises.
As Commander Taylor's watch ended, the operators on Bogue and Taylor all thought he had sunk the sub. However, as Taylor's patrol ended, he was relieved by Lieutenant (junior grade) William "Flash" Gordon, accompanied by civilian underwater sound expert Price Fish. They arrived on the scene just after midnight, and circled with Taylor for some time. At about 01:00 on 24 June 1944, Fish reported hearing some faint propeller noise in the area.
Captain Vosseller ordered a second attack; Gordon checked with Taylor about the exact position of the sonobuoy, and dropped another "Fido" torpedo where he believed the submarine to be. Taylor departed from the area at 01:15, but Gordon stayed to circle the area and listen for any sign of activity. He heard nothing, and was relieved by Lieutenant (junior grade) Brady, who continued to watch and listen, but no further activity was reported. Next morning, Janssen reached the site (15°16′N 39°55′W) and found flotsam: a ton of raw rubber, a piece of silk, and even human flesh.
The sonobuoy recording of the last few moments of I-52's sound still survives in the US National Archives in Washington D.C. in the form of two thin film canisters marked "Gordon wire No. 1" and "Gordon wire No. 2" dated 24 June 1944. The wire from Taylor's attack has not been found; however, a set of 78 rpm vinyl recordings that include segments of Taylor's wire recordings has been located. These records were produced during the war for training pilots. On the wire and vinyl recordings Lieutenant Gordon can be heard talking to his crew, along with the sound of a torpedo exploding, and metal twisting. Subsequent to the discovery of the wreck (see below), analysts at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, experts in analyzing modern submarine sounds, studied these recordings and concluded that the I-52 was sunk by Taylor. The propeller sounds heard by Gordon were actually from the U-Boat, nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) away, reaching Gordon's sonobuoys through a "surface duct". This quirk of underwater sound propagation traps sounds in a channel near the surface and can transmit them for many miles. At the time, the Navy credited the sinking of the I-52 to both Gordon and Taylor, as it was uncertain whether the ship was sunk on the first attack.
Aftermath
- On 30 August 1944, the KriegsmarineKriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
officially declared I-52 sunk in the Bay of BiscayBay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
as of 25 July 1944, with all crew. - The Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-52 missing on 2 August 1944, and struck her from service on 10 December 1944 as sunk.
Recent salvage operations
In late 1994, a salvage operation named Project Orca was launched to try to locate the I-52 and retrieve her valuable cargo of gold. Despite the commissioning of the Russian research ship Akademik KeldyshAkademik Mstislav Keldysh
The R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh is a 6,240 ton Russian scientific research vessel. It is best known as the support vessel of the Mir submersibles. The vessel has made over 50 voyages, is owned by the Moscow-based Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Science and is...
for the project and an extensive search, by March 1995 the search had proved to be a failure (Hamilton-Paterson 1998). Very shortly afterwards, however, in the spring of 1995 Paul Tidwell, working with the ocean exploration company Meridian Sciences, Inc. (later renamed Nauticos Corp.) located the wreck 5,240 meters deep, mostly upright. The vessel was found nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) from the datum quoted by the U.S. Navy at the time of the sinking, but within 1/2 mile of the coordinates computed by Meridian. Meridian's analysts used historical ship logs from the U.S. task force as well as from the German U-Boat to reconstruct the events of the battle and correct navigation errors using a process called "re-navigation," or RENAV. Her conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
is intact and her hull number
Hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type....
is still visible. The bow is broken up, probably due to impact on the bottom and a large hole, undoubtedly caused by one of the torpedoes, is aft of the conning tower. Debris was scattered over a large area. Plans were made to raise the sub and recover the gold. The Japanese government objected, indicating that they considered the wreck site a grave. Tidwell worked on the proper procedures with the Japanese government and received the approval of the war graves authorities in Japan. Tidwell's team took down a Japanese naval ensign and affixed it to the wrecked submarine. A metal box from the debris field was brought to the surface in the hope that it would contain some of the sunken gold (then worth US$25 million), but when opened, the salvors were disappointed to find not gold, but opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
. It was dumped overboard.
The plan was to recover the entire conning tower, diplomatic pouches, gold, coding equipment, (Japanese and German) and more. The recovered items would be taken to New Orleans for cleaning, conservation, and corrosion treatment to prepare for an exhibition. Mandalay Bay Casino had offered $20 million for the exhibition. After three years in Las Vegas everything except the gold would be returned to Japan to be placed at the city of Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
in a permanent exhibition.
There are no full-size Japanese World War II submarines on display anywhere in the world; however, captured Japanese midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
s are on display at the Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Texas
Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census estimate, the city had a population of 10, 530...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
USS Bowfin (SS-287)
USS Bowfin , Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bowfin, a voracious, predatory fish native to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi valley, and nearby waters...
, close to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
reported that Tidwell intended to return to the site and raise the submarine in November 2005 or May 2006. However, as of 2008, Tidwell's plans have not been fulfilled.
Media coverage
- In 2000 the National Geographic Society commissioned and produced a documentary called, Submarine I-52: Search for WWII Gold, on the I-52 and Tidwell's salvage effort.
- The October 1999 issue of the National Geographic featured an article on the I-52 sinking and salvage.
- Short video clip of the I-52 from the National Geographic Special. Mid way down the page - http://www.floridafilmvideo.com/