mangda
26 November 2006, 18:37
They better raise it quick before the hoards of weekenders find it and strip what there is.
Missing Japanese World War II submarine found off Australia
AFP, SYDNEY
Saturday, Nov 25, 2006, Page 5
A mystery over a Japanese midget submarine that went missing after attacking a ship in Sydney Harbour during World War II has finally been solved, an Australian television station claimed yesterday.
The submarine was one of three that slipped into the harbor on the night of May 31, 1942, after being launched from a fleet of five larger Japanese submarines offshore.
Two of the midget vessels were spotted and attacked, leading the two-man crews to commit suicide, Australian national archives record.
The remains of those subs were recovered and a rebuilt composite is on display at the Australian War Memorial in the country's capital.
But the third midget submarine fired two torpedoes at the US heavy cruiser USS Chicago, one of which exploded beneath an Australian depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors.
The submarine then slipped out of the harbor, its mission complete, according to the national archives, but historians have long argued about whether it managed to make a complete escape.
Yesterday, Australia's Channel Nine announced that the submarine had been found by scuba divers in deep waters off the coast. It said pictures of the vessel would be shown in its 60 Minutes program tomorrow night.
"The sub is in amazingly good shape. It is sitting up on its keel on the sand and instantly identifiable as a submarine," the station told the Australian newspaper.
It acknowledged that a documentary aired by the History Channel last year claiming to have found the missing submarine was later found to be incorrect, but said this was "the real McCoy."
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: There is no doubt that that is an A-type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. And they only brought three to Australian waters, according to their own war diaries, and two of them were sunk in Sydney Harbour and the other one went missing from Sydney Harbour. And so it can only be the M24.
LIAM BARTLETT: As a naval historian, did you always expect that this would be found eventually?
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: You would say so. 70-90-foot submarines don't necessarily disappear forever. But it's extraordinary that some amateur divers have come up with this remarkable find. Not many people understand just how significant this will be to the Japanese. It's an honourable thing that you gentlemen have done.
LIAM BARTLETT: As seven weekend divers mark their unlikely place in history, spending time with the commander unravels more bits of the puzzle.
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: We think he might have suffered battle damage, and perhaps one of the reasons why his shots missed from relatively close range was that he had to fire using his own eyesight from the conning tower itself, 'cause his periscope was probably destroyed by, um... … uh, gunfire or whatever.
LIAM BARTLETT: And this could be the evidence to explain what eventually crippled the submarine. On top of the hull, the divers find what looks like bullet holes — possibly fired from the USS Chicago.
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: They were firing not only large-calibre weapons — five-inch guns, for example — but they're also machine guns throughout — 20mm guns — and that hole actually looked like a 20mm.
Missing Japanese World War II submarine found off Australia
AFP, SYDNEY
Saturday, Nov 25, 2006, Page 5
A mystery over a Japanese midget submarine that went missing after attacking a ship in Sydney Harbour during World War II has finally been solved, an Australian television station claimed yesterday.
The submarine was one of three that slipped into the harbor on the night of May 31, 1942, after being launched from a fleet of five larger Japanese submarines offshore.
Two of the midget vessels were spotted and attacked, leading the two-man crews to commit suicide, Australian national archives record.
The remains of those subs were recovered and a rebuilt composite is on display at the Australian War Memorial in the country's capital.
But the third midget submarine fired two torpedoes at the US heavy cruiser USS Chicago, one of which exploded beneath an Australian depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors.
The submarine then slipped out of the harbor, its mission complete, according to the national archives, but historians have long argued about whether it managed to make a complete escape.
Yesterday, Australia's Channel Nine announced that the submarine had been found by scuba divers in deep waters off the coast. It said pictures of the vessel would be shown in its 60 Minutes program tomorrow night.
"The sub is in amazingly good shape. It is sitting up on its keel on the sand and instantly identifiable as a submarine," the station told the Australian newspaper.
It acknowledged that a documentary aired by the History Channel last year claiming to have found the missing submarine was later found to be incorrect, but said this was "the real McCoy."
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: There is no doubt that that is an A-type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. And they only brought three to Australian waters, according to their own war diaries, and two of them were sunk in Sydney Harbour and the other one went missing from Sydney Harbour. And so it can only be the M24.
LIAM BARTLETT: As a naval historian, did you always expect that this would be found eventually?
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: You would say so. 70-90-foot submarines don't necessarily disappear forever. But it's extraordinary that some amateur divers have come up with this remarkable find. Not many people understand just how significant this will be to the Japanese. It's an honourable thing that you gentlemen have done.
LIAM BARTLETT: As seven weekend divers mark their unlikely place in history, spending time with the commander unravels more bits of the puzzle.
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: We think he might have suffered battle damage, and perhaps one of the reasons why his shots missed from relatively close range was that he had to fire using his own eyesight from the conning tower itself, 'cause his periscope was probably destroyed by, um... … uh, gunfire or whatever.
LIAM BARTLETT: And this could be the evidence to explain what eventually crippled the submarine. On top of the hull, the divers find what looks like bullet holes — possibly fired from the USS Chicago.
COMMANDER SHANE MOORE: They were firing not only large-calibre weapons — five-inch guns, for example — but they're also machine guns throughout — 20mm guns — and that hole actually looked like a 20mm.