? 65 tons of mercury? How? Why? What?
According to decrypted intercepts of German naval communications with Japan, U-864’s mission was to transport military equipment to Japan destined for the Japanese military industry, including approximately 67 tons of metallic mercury in 1,857 32 kg steel flasks stored in her keel.
Good point! That is 130,000 pounds of mercury and I doubt the sub weighs that much?
My first thought is that it was related to the German nuclear weapons program in WWII. But Wikipedia says...
“According to decrypted intercepts of German naval communications with Japan, U-864’s mission was to transport military equipment to Japan destined for the Japanese military industry, including approximately 67 tons of metallic mercury in 1,857 32 kg steel flasks stored in her keel. That the mercury was contained in steel canisters was confirmed when one of the canisters containing mercury was located and brought to the surface during surveys on her wreck in 2005. Approximately 1,500 tons of mercury was purchased by the Japanese from Italy between 1942 and Italy’s surrender in September 1943. This had the highest priority for submarine shipment to Japan and was used in the manufacture of explosives, especially primers.”
“There was some speculation as to whether U-864 was carrying uranium oxide, as was U-234, which was captured by the US Navy in the Atlantic on 15 May 1945, but Det Norske Veritas (DNV) concluded that there was no evidence that uranium oxide was on board U-864 when she departed Bergen. During the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s investigation of the wreck of U-864 in 2005, radiation measurements were made but no traces of uranium oxide were found.”