Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Riley
Actually...I DID see a documentary a while ago on the Military Channel (part of History Channel on Sky) about a nuclear project going on in Japan.If I remember rightly towards the very end of the war or maybe even after it I cant remember,a German UBoat carrying secret documents,materials and a small number of high ranking Japanese scientists set sail from Germany to Japan.Suffice to say they never made it,and I think the allies captured an amount of Plutonium,and hard water harvested in Norway,and I think there were a number of vials of mercury salvaged too.
The Japanese plan was to send balloons across the Pacific with a rudimentary nuclear payload attached,and...good night N.York and Washington.
Then shortly after the Americans did the reverse and nuked Japan.
Ahh,the controversies of history  |
It was the U-234 and was a type XB sub.
It was carrying 2 ME-262 Jet fighters (actually parts)
560 Kg of U3O8 (Uranium Oxide)
Assorted technical documents on advanced torpedoes
and, 12 passengers including the aforementioned two Japanese Officers
The U-234 surrendered to American forces on 14 May 45. The two Japanese Officers committed suicide, the scientist passengers we recruited via Operation Paperclip.
The transportation of U3O8 has caused some debate over the years. At first it was thought to be a delivery to the Japanese Nuclear Program. However U3O8 is also used in the production of synthetic fuels such as Methanol.
560kg of U3O8 is not a lot when it comes to Uranium Enrichment, especially when the Japanese were using a Thermal Diffusion process. However 560 KG of U3O8 is a significant amount as a catalyst in the fuel process.
A most interesting subject.
