Dramatic explosion as USS Greenfish (SS-351)‘s torpedo sinks U-234 off Cape Cod, Mass, 20 November 1947.
U-234 was a Type XB U-boat built as a
long-range cargo submarine with missions to Japan in mind. She left Germany in the last days of the war in Europe with
a dozen high-level officers and advisors, technical drawings, examples
of the newest electric torpedoes, one crated Me 262 jet aircraft, a
Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb and 1,210 lbs of uranium oxide. She never
made it Japan as her skipper decided to make for Canada instead after
the fall of Germany. Two Japanese officers on board committed suicide
and were buried at sea while the sub– packed with her very important
glow in the dark stuff– surrendered to the destroyer escort USS Sutton south of the Grand Banks, Newfoundland on 14 May, a week after VE Day.