ISBN 1-55750-811-9
250 pages

Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Author's Note; photos; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Appendix: U-234's Uranium Oxide

   Abundant myths pervade the stories of the last U-boats dispatched from Germany, and gullible readers can easily find mysterious tales about Hitler's secret escape by submarine, about cargoes of Nazi gold, and even about fantastic SS bases in Antarctica.
   Joseph Scalia writes history, not fantasy, and he provides hard-headed facts about the final mission of U-234. Fortunately, the simple truth about U-234 makes a fascinating book.
   The author begins with a review of German-Japanese cooperation and an outline of the previous Axis-to-Axis voyages by surface ships and submarines. As Allied control of the oceans grew tighter and tighter, options for transportation between Germany and Japan narrowed. Despite some planning for non-stop flights across Soviet territory to carry documents, important passengers, and critical but lightweight cargo, the Japanese vetoed such flights due to the desire not to antagonize the Soviets, with whom they wished to maintain a strict neutrality. Although, as Scalia points out, the sum of all the cargo carried by submarines between the two Axis partners was less than the equivalent of a single surface shipload, there was eventually no alternative for transport except by U-boat.
   Scalia then details the preparations for the long voyage and describes the selection of the skipper and crew, the outfitting and loading of the boat, and the difficulties with getting safely to sea in the waning days of the war. Damaged during a collision with another U-boat, U-234 underwent hurried repairs in Norway. To conceal his plans, the boat's skipper transmitted his intention of departing from Norway on 16 April 1945, but slipped away a day earlier.
   While at sea in the North Atlantic, U-234 learned of Germany's surrender and Doenitz's orders to abandon operations. Among the U-boat's passengers were two Japanese officers. Apprised of the necessity for surrendering the boat to the Allies with whom their nation remained at war, the Japanese officers committed suicide and were buried at sea. Meanwhile, despite being in the Canadian surrender zone, the U-boat skipper elected to make his way south and surrender to the Americans.
   Unknown to the Germans, thanks to signals intelligence the Americans were thoroughly aware of the presence of U-234, its mission, its passengers, and its cargo. In what would qualify as a clear slap at its erstwhile allies, the US Navy jammed Canadian radio transmissions and in effect hijacked U-234 into the American zone so that the United States could take possession of the boat and its valuable cargo.
   Once in American hands, the pirated goods and German experts proved to be a valuable haul. Among the booty taken by the USN:

• one ton of diplomatic and personal mail
• technical drawings and blueprints for advanced combat weaponry
• plans for construction of jet aircraft factories
• anti-tank weapons
• advanced bombsights and fire-control systems
• airborne radar
• an Me 262 jet fighter
• additional jet engines
• 560 kilograms of uranium oxide

   And among the military and civilian experts taken into American custody:

• Luftwaffe General Ulrich Kessler, on his way to become German air attache in Tokyo
• Luftwaffe Lieutenant Colonel Fritz von Sandrart and Lieutenant Erich Menzel, experts in air communications, airborne radar, and AA defenses
• Four Kriegsmarine officers, including a naval aviation expert, an AA expert, a naval construction engineer, and a naval judge (whose job would be to finally stamp out the last vestiges of the Sorge spy ring)
• August Brinewald and Franz Ruf, experts in the technology and construction of jet aircraft whose mission was to begin production of Me 262 jet fighters in Japan
• Dr. Heinz Schlike, a specialist in radar and infrared technologies

   Chapters are devoted to each of these men and their missions, placing their technical skills in the context of German advances in war-related technology and explaining what the Japanese expected to gain from these men and their knowledge. In almost every case, it was expected that the passengers and cargo of U-234 could be exploited to permit rapid deployment of new, state-of-the-art defenses against Allied invasion forces. While some of the anticipated results were far-fetched—it seems unlikely that even a war-expedited program could have constructed an entire jet aircraft factory with Me 262 fighters rolling off the production line in time to stave off defeat—allowing the technology and technicians to reach Japan could not have helped the Allied cause.
   U-234's cargo and passengers proved of immense value to the United States, both in uncovering the state of Japanese technology and defenses for the planned invasion of the Home Islands and in the ensuing Cold War years. Several of the German experts made a swift transition from POW status to military and industrial employees in the US. Prototypes and blueprints hastened development and improvement of many critical American weapons systems, including jet aircraft and ballistic missiles.
   Scalia devotes a lengthy appendix to the uranium oxide transported by U-234. There have been many theories and much speculation about that part of the cargo, and Scalia does a good job of demystifying the facts of the matter.
   Indeed, the author dispels a variety of myths:

   U-234 carried Hitler and/or other high-ranking Nazis who were attempting to escape from Germany. Wrong. Although U-234 carried some officers and civilian as passengers, there were no political leaders aboard.

   U-234's destination was Argentina or some secret German base. Wrong. The U-boat was undertaking a long, non-stop voyage to Japanese waters.

   U-234 carried a load of stolen gold and looted art treasures. Wrong. Although loaded with prototypes, documents, raw materials, and technical experts, U-234 was not a sea-going Fort Knox or underwater museum.

   The uranium oxide aboard U-234 was refined at Oak Ridge and became part of an atomic bomb dropped on Japan. Wrong. Although the exact disposition of the uranium remains hazy, Scalia demonstrates the unlikelihood of the German ore going into an American bomb dropped on Japan.

   A factual, highly readable account of an interesting mission. Scalia is a little careless about failing to annotate (and disprove) some of the material he quotes from interrogations of the captured Germans from U-234 (such as the purported incident in which a dozen Me 262's shot down an entire formation of thirty Allied bombers in thirty-five minutes, and the fanciful account of sixty Flying Fortresses destroyed by rammings by German suicide pilots) but otherwise this is the definitive and very enjoyable story of U-234's last voyage. Recommended.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Naval Institute Press.
   Thanks to NIP for providing this review copy.