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| Crew from the USS Sutton board the U-234 in May, 1945 |
In the wake of Hitler’s suicide, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz assumed the position of head of state. Among his first orders was a radio broadcast for all submarines to surface and surrender.
“My U-boat men, six years of war lie behind us… you have fought like lions… U-boat men, unbroken and immaculate, lay down your arms after a heroic fight…”
Few knew the impact his simple statement made in the war against Japan.
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| U-234 being 'tugged' into Portsmouth, USA |
The only objection to their surrender came from two Japanese Naval officers, Lieutenant Commanders Hideo Tomonaga and Shoji Genzo, who re-stated the U-boats mission; to sail to Japan and deliver essential cargo and weapons. To the Japanese officers, surrender was not an option. The German guards found the two officers on their bunks in full uniform; they had taken poison.
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| U-234 being 'tugged' into Portsmouth, USA |
- A fully functional ME 262; the world’s first jet fighter.
- A Henschel HS 293 guided missile; the world’s first cruise missile.
- Parts for building a V-2; the world’s first intercontinental missile.
- Several tons of blueprints for every weapon built, designed and considered by Germany.
- 1200lbs of Uranium 235 (about 20% of the amount required for an atomic bomb).
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| ME-262, the fastest plane in the world |
Unknown to most of the world, the war had taken a sharp and decisive turn.
As far back as July 1943, the Japanese had one stumbling block to their own Nuclear-bomb project; they could not get enough U-235 to provide them with ‘critical mass’ (the phrase used to denote the amount of Uranium needed to create the chain reaction powering the explosion). Three Japanese submarines had almost got back to Japan with their crucial U-235 cargo, but all were sunk in the attempt.
After the surrender of the U-234, and hearing of its strangely-labeled cargo, Robert Oppenheimer himself searched the Submarine.
The US Uranium enriching plant was situated at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Here, the German uranium was processed, and included in the Manhattan Project’s critical mass.
Three months later, in August 1945, the Americans bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In a material so rare on the earth, it is inconceivable that German Uranium, once destined for Japan's own nuclear program, was not used in the American bombs.
History…. You just can’t make this stuff up.
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Ian Hall's latest series, Avenging Steel, is available in paperback, and in eBooks of all formats. The streets of Edinburgh were his home... this is WW2 alternative history written from the heart.
