Japanese submarine reaching France in 1942

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Panzermahn
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Japanese submarine reaching France in 1942

#1

Post by Panzermahn » 04 May 2004, 13:07

Hi,

not long ago, i saw a documentary in the Discovery Channel which shows a Japanese submarine reaching France in 1942..i have forgotten the name of the port but there are some film footage which shows a Kriegsmarine band welcoming the Japanese sailors who were standing on their sub..

can anyone proivde more info on this?


Thanks

daveh
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#2

Post by daveh » 04 May 2004, 18:06

see

http://www.combinedfleet.com/sensuikan.htm

for the I 30 which arrived in Lorient August 1942.

Othe Japanese subs making/ attempting the Far East to Europe and return voyage include the

I 8
I 29
I 34
I 52


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MAX_theHitMan
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#3

Post by MAX_theHitMan » 05 May 2004, 09:04

Sorry I don´t have any movie links available for you panzermahn
but I do have some pictures available in some books. I could scan them for you.

varjag
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#4

Post by varjag » 05 May 2004, 12:32

I.30 left Penang in July 1942 and arrived at Lorient on 5.8.42 She returned safely to 'Shonan' in October - I have no info on cargo carried.
The documentary Panzermahn saw is probably the I.30 - as she was the first Japanese submarine to make France - and got the most publicity.

I.8 sailed from Penang on 6.7.43 and arrived Brest 5.9.43 after a difficult journey through the Roaring Forties in the southern winter and 61 days at sea. The Japanese sailors were amazed at navigating into a bunker - totally protected from air attack! She carried a cargo of quinine and also the 'to be' Japanese crew of the RO. 501 - a Type VII U-boat built in Germany for the I.J.N. (The RO.501 was sunk in the Atlantic on the return journey.) The I.8 took a return load to capacity; 'even in the torpedo tubes' consisting of a.o. Flak Vierlings, torpedo-motors, aircraft cannons (MG 151/20) and chronometers in addition to 11 German passengers ranging from radar and hydrophone experts to 'silent civilians'. I.8 was the only Japanese submarine that made it all the way back to Japan from France.
I.29 left Penang late November 1943 and made it to France and almost all the way home - she was sunk by a US submarine south of Formosa only a couple of days away from her home port. Interestingly - before her departure to France the I.29 had in the Indian Ocean transferred from a German U-Boat none other that Subhas Chandra Bose - the Indian nationalist - and brought him to Shonan. (Which = Singapore, I should add)
I.34 left Shonan on 11.11.43 with a cargo of rubber,tungsten,tin and quinine - for France. But was sunk two days later off Penang Island by a British submarine (?).
I.52 was the last Japanese submarine bound for France but she was lost in the Atlantic to aircraft from the U.S.S. Bogue

Another Japanese submarine - was charged with a rendez-vous with a German U-Boat in the South Atlantic about February/March 1945 to transfer 2 VIP's. One of them - was none other than than noted Japanese warship designer and battleship expert Commander Hideo Tomonaga. Who had been recalled to Japan from Berlin in January 1945! The U-Boat never made the rendez-vous. A U-Boat surrendered in the Gulf of Mexico spring 1945 - upon examination, were found two Japanese Naval officers in uniform who had committed suicide by taking poison. Has any forum member further info on this? Which U-Boat was involved and was one of the dead officers the legendary Tomonaga?

varjag
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#5

Post by varjag » 05 May 2004, 13:11

And Lo and Behold - elsewhere on the current forum - one finds that is WAS the great Tomonaga and it was the U 234 - Skalmans - is truly a great forum.

Panzermahn
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#6

Post by Panzermahn » 06 May 2004, 08:07

Varjag..

Thanks for the information...Really appreciate it.. :D

Max, i would certainly like to see those pictures...Thanks!! :D :D

Simon Gunson
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Japanese submarine reaching France in 1942

#7

Post by Simon Gunson » 08 May 2004, 10:16

Hi Panzermahn

Now I get a chance to correct Varjag (finally). He's basically correct but the exchange of two VIPs in the Indian ocean but it was mid 1943 by U-180 which met a Japanese I-boat (possibly I-29 ?).

Also he is slightly confused I think between U242 which disappeared in the Gulf of Mexico in 1942 and U-234 which surrendered 14 May 1945 in the North Atlantic. She was taken to Portsmouth New Hampshire. When she left Kiel she had 240 tons of cargo, but when the US navy issued their own manifest it only showed 162.8 tons of cargo. There are some suggestions by a lady Velma Hunt that U-234's mine shafts were emptied at the dockyard in Portland Maine USA before reaching Portsmouth USA. This was the U-boat which carried uranium-oxide.

You can find out more online by going to:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/sensuikan.htm

http://uboat.net/ops/monsun3.htm

Also there were a couple of Italian u-boats which reached Penang before September 1943. One en-route surrendered to the Allies at Durban and was recruited crew and all into the OSS. She was the Ammeraglio Cagni.
She landed an emmisary from Roosevelt to negotiate at the Vatican with Bormann's emmisary for the secret surrender to the western powers known as Operation Sunrise. At that point however it was known as Project Shark and Operation Venona.

Those stuck at Penang were taken over by a German crew and some of her Italian sailors who remained. They became UIT 23/24/25 and were very useful shuttles for U-boat cargoes from Singapore or Djakarta to Japan. They used Enigma machines shared with the Japanese using a cypher key known as Sumatra and a later one called Java. I think you will find that when I-29 sank her cargo included Enigma machines for the Japanese navy. They were very primative ones without steckkerboards and only three rotors.

There were also a number of surface blockade runners, but these had almost ceased by 1944. The submarine transport scheme was kown as the Yanagi scheme which was a suppliment to the Axis agreement.

Varjag this will answer your question about Tomonaga. It was U-234.

http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-234.htm

This is about Subhas Chandra Bose and U-180:

http://www.bengalonthenet.com/php/celeb ... ?linkid=22

varjag
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#8

Post by varjag » 08 May 2004, 12:42

Kia ora to you Simon, and thanks for the exciting link about the transfer of Chandra Bose to I-29 (I-29, sourced from SUNK/Hashimoto). Was Tomonaga's corps found aboard U 242 or 234? Oh - and I like the 'finally' because I'm still learning...and learning...rgds,Varjag

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MAX_theHitMan
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#9

Post by MAX_theHitMan » 08 May 2004, 17:40

Here is a small scan of the I-8 japanese submarine coming into port in France during world warII.

A bigger picture, as well as very informative articles on U-boats can be found in the wonderful book by David Miller "U-Boats: History, development and equipment, 1914 - 1945". I highly recommend it 8)

Cheers
MAX-theHitMan
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