Imperial Submarine 1-52:
An attempt to raise the World War II imperial Japanese submarine 1-52 from its position in mid Atlantic will commence in November this year. 1-52 was sunk by an Avenger on 25 July 1944 (one year before Japan surrendered) enroute from Japan to Germany and is thought to have been on a mission of peace. Rumour has it she was carrying offers of a cease fire to be relayed to the Americans via Switzerland. She also carried a shipment of gold bullion to pay the Germans for special armaments (optical gunsights). It would seem there are three separate parties interested in 1-52 and each one for a different reason . (1) The salvage company seeks the gold (2) the Japanese government want the submarine and crew and (3) the US State Department want the diplomatic pouches. They (the State Department) are on record as saying "it's possible they contain the peace offer". One has to wonder why the Americans are so interested unless it is to inject into history a change of thinking in that perhaps the Nipponese were not such bad fellows after all. The US State Department is known for its bizarre behaviour and it's just possible they could come up with something like this.
The commander of 1-52 was Captain Uno Kameo who earlier as commander of submarine 1-175 caused the Australians so much agitation with his sinkings along their East coast. He carried out five successful war patrols against the Americans in the Pacific and was rewarded with command of the 1-52 and its secret mission that cost him his life. Captain Uno Kameo was a true war hero as distinct from the executed war criminals that Prime Minister Koizumi continues to honour. Perhaps it's time that someone explained to him that there is a difference.
Prince of Dzun