Lost and Spy

The transportation route has finally been opened!

On March 1945, 3, the first batch of supplies that Meng Shaoyuan had been waiting for successfully arrived at the Port of Manila.

This was escorted by Gan Ning himself.

All the while being cautious.

Therefore, the first shipment of supplies was not large.

It contains two tons of gold, some platinum and works of art.

Meng Shaoyuan was very careful.

In his plan, it was not appropriate to launch large-scale transportation even if Spabanios was no longer hindered.

First of all, this is so eye-catching.

Secondly, if any problem occurs again, you will suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, his decision was to transport it in batches.

The goods are controlled to an appropriate quantity every time.

In this way, even if problems arise again, the losses incurred will be completely acceptable.

What they lack most now is time.

It is expected that if there are no obstacles, all the goods will be loaded by mid-April at the latest.

Forty tons of gold, ten tons of platinum, a large number of cultural relics and valuables.

This is a dizzying amount of wealth.

As soon as the two tons of gold arrived at the Port of Manila, Meng Shaoyuan immediately organized manpower to transport it all to the designated warehouse, but did not immediately transport it to the "Miami Soaring".

Gan Ning breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Staying at the port for a long time will not only arouse suspicion, but also may be temporarily requisitioned by the military. Therefore, after three days, the 'Miami Soar' will transport a batch of timber and leave, and return to the Port of Manila in about twelve days .”

Meng Shaoyuan said in a low voice: "So, take advantage of this period to transport all the materials to the Port of Manila. When the 'Miami Soar' comes back, organize the shipment immediately. By then, all personnel, including you and Xu Zhu, will Evacuate Manila."

"Boss, where are you?" Gan Ning couldn't help but ask.

"Old rule, I am the last batch to evacuate." Meng Shaoyuan smiled: "Don't forget, I am still a lieutenant colonel in the US military. I have to continue to do my job as a lieutenant colonel to ensure that no mistakes are exposed."

Gan Ning did not continue to persuade.

According to the current situation in the Philippines, the boss has no big problem here.

Moreover, with the boss's brains, he can still find a way to break the situation even if he encounters an unexpected situation.

You don't have to worry about him at all.

"Everything is done, stay safe." Li Zhifeng came whistling.

Despite the unpleasant incident of Colonel Dillon, life in Manila was generally very pleasant.

"Is there any news about Lieutenant Colonel Cushing?" Meng Shaoyuan asked.

"Not yet." Li Zhifeng shook his head: "Anyway, he is definitely not in Manila Port."

"If Cushing wants to leave, Manila Port is his only way out." Meng Shaoyuan pondered for a moment: "Although whether Cushing can be caught or not has little to do with us, it is related to Lao Qi, so this matter is still You have to help him do it."

……

On March 1945, 3, the behemoth "Awa Maru" on the sea reached the end of its voyage in Sumatra.

For Japan, which has exhausted its sea power, the "Awa Maru" is their ace transport ship. The Japanese government is not willing to just use it to transport relief supplies, which laid the foundation for the future "Awa Maru" disaster.

On the premise of obtaining the so-called safe pass from the United States, it secretly installed 6000 tons of ammunition and other war materials before departure, which violated the agreement between the two sides from the very beginning.

The Japanese began to transport large quantities of supplies to the ship.

However, what is puzzling is that as soon as the "Awa Maru" arrived in Sumatra, it entered a state of strict confidentiality.

Only when night fell, under the surveillance of Japanese military police, was the cargo transported to the cabin.

While the "Awa Maru" moved south, the U.S. military launched a northward offensive.

Every day it sailed, it passed by American planes attacking the Japanese mainland.

With this promise, the "Awa Maru" became the only Japanese giant ship that could travel safely in the Pacific Ocean, and it was also Japan's only hope for transporting materials and personnel in the Pacific Ocean.

A large number of Japanese people hope to board this giant ship of the Sea King.

This is their only hope to leave this hellish place.

At this time, Japan-controlled areas such as Singapore and Jakarta were besieged from all sides. Therefore, senior Japanese officials and generals in Southeast Asia, wealthy businessmen, and their families were vying to board the ship and compete for the last hope of survival.

"Too much."

Lieutenant General Masazumi Inada, who is responsible for the safety of the "Awa Maru", held a thick list in his hand and said worriedly: "The 'Awa Maru' can only carry 236 passengers, but now, the number of passengers has exceeded 2000."

Chief of Staff Major General Shimokawa smiled bitterly: "Your Excellency, everyone wants to leave here. If we are not soldiers, maybe we will leave with the 'Awa Maru' this time. Let them go, it will allow more people of the empire to live. It’s good to go down. Besides, there are many distinguished people on this list.”

Lieutenant General Inada Masazumi nodded silently.

What can be done?
His mission is to be responsible for the safety of the "Awa Maru" here, and then let it leave here safely.

leftover?
Then it's none of your business.

I hope that the fate of this ship will not be the same as this one.

Lieutenant General Masazumi Inada knew very well that they were at the end of their rope.

Now, it's just a death struggle.

The empire has no tomorrow.

……

August 1945, 3, night.

The "Awa Maru" cargo ship was originally designed to carry 236 passengers, but 2009 people were crammed on it!
Among them are important officials and their family members, including Japan's top official in Myanmar, Kogo Hikoichiro, and chief of staff of Japan's secret forces in Southeast Asia, Iwahashi Kazuo.

In the early morning of May 1945, 4.

When the "Awa Maru" sailed to the waters east of Niushan Island, Pingtan County, FJ Province, it was discovered by the USS "Queenfish" and other submarines patrolling the waters. At 21:15, the "Queenfish" was patrolling on the sea surface about 8 kilometers northeast of Niushan Island. At this time, thick fog filled the air and the surrounding area was dark.

Captain Laughlin realized that this kind of weather was very likely to be exploited by his opponents, and all he could rely on at this time was experience and sonar.

At 22:15, sonar showed that a Japanese warship appeared about [-] kilometers southeast of the "Queenfish".

At 22:25, the "Sea Fox" reported the discovery of a Japanese warship.

Laughlin gave the order to approach and attack.

At 23:1100, when the "Queenfish" was about 3 meters away from the target ship, it launched three torpedoes.

The torpedoes launched exploded one after another. At 23:05, the sonar showed that the enemy ship signal disappeared.

More than 10 minutes later, the "Queenfish" arrived at the scene of the wreck.Only one unconscious survivor was rescued from the sea filled with heavy oil and rubber.

The successful attack brought no glory to Laughlin.For a long time after that, he kept telling various people:

On a foggy night at sea with extremely low visibility, when his men finally rescued the Japanese prisoner who had narrowly escaped death, he realized that what he might have hit was not a warship.

The name of the sunken ship is "Awa Maru"!
The giant "Awa Maru" on the sea sank!
The sinking of this giant ship is also full of huge doubts.

When reviewing the logbook of the Queenfish submarine, people discovered that there were many suspicious things about the Awa Maru.

First of all, within an hour from the discovery to the sinking, the Queenfish issued several warnings, but the "Awa Maru" ignored it and made no reply. From this, the Queenfish determined that it was most likely a ship in a state of combat readiness. warship.

Secondly, the "Awa Maru", a giant ship weighing 3 tons, quickly sank into the sea in only [-] minutes after being hit by a torpedo, without even an "SOS" emergency call being issued.It is generally believed that its sinking was not entirely caused by a torpedo explosion.

Once again, the people who fell into the water refused the Queenfish's rescue, so only one of the 2009 people on board survived, and this person was rescued in a coma.

The only survivor is named Kanichiro Shimoda.

After the attack, many Japanese surfaced, but they refused rescue by American submarines and perished with the ship.

2008 people have since sunk into the deep sea. There are war criminals with numerous crimes, senior professional and technical personnel, as well as the elderly, women and babies.

Kanichiro Shimoda also refused to recall things related to the "Awa Maru".

Why did the "Awa Maru" do so many suspicious things?

Regarding this attack, in the U.S. military court, Laughlin defended: Due to the thick fog at the time, the visibility was almost zero. Judging from the signal displayed by the sonar, it was a warship.

In addition, the "Sea Fox" had just attacked an enemy transport ship nine hours ago, so it was thought that the Japanese army was going to retaliate.

The Japanese side believes that the "Awa Maru" traveled according to the prescribed route. This was a deliberate attack and should compensate Japan for all losses.

In the end, the U.S. government admitted responsibility for sinking the Awa Maru.

Regarding the compensation issue, the U.S. government hopes to resolve it as a victorious nation after the war in order to gain more initiative.

In April 1945, the U.S. military began the Battle of Okinawa, and Japan's southern gate was opened.

On August 8, five days before Japan announced its unconditional surrender, the Japanese government filed a claim for compensation against the United States:
The cash compensation was US$72, and similar ships were compensated to Japan to replace the "Awa Maru".

Amid the bargaining and the loud bang of the atomic bomb, World War II ended. On August 8, Japan announced its unconditional surrender.

The defeated Japanese economy was on the verge of collapse.

However, on April 1949, 4, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida signed the agreement on behalf of the Japanese government, announcing that he would formally abandon various demands arising from the sinking of the "Awa Maru".

Japan not only gave up its right to claim compensation, but also paid its own money to provide compensation to the families of the victims.

Laughlin was immune from prosecution because the "Awa Maru" defaulted on loading strategic materials, and he later became commander of the Navy.

Kanichiro Shimoda, the only survivor of the "Awa Maru" incident, has always remained silent about the truth of what happened that night.

There are too many doubts.

At midnight on April 1945, 4, as a Japanese 1-ton giant ship with Allied security guarantees, what reason did it have to sail at full speed in this dark and dangerous sea?

According to the agreement between Japan and the United States, the drawings of the "Awa Maru" have been notified to the US military in advance, and the "Awa Maru" turned on its night navigation lights at that time. What reason did Laughlin have to judge that it was a Japanese warship about to launch an attack?
Laughlin's report mentioned that the torpedoes that attacked the "Awa Maru" were fired from the torpedo tubes at the stern of the boat, which meant that if the "Queenfish" chased the "Awa Maru" from behind, it would need to turn around to attack. , is this logical?
The submarine "Queenfish" was the most ferocious alpha wolf in the US military's wolf-pack tactics during World War II.With its rich experience in many battles, how could it make errors in judgment?

The "Awa Maru" incident is far from being as simple as it appears in the documents.

That night, the only thing Kanichiro Shimoda described was this:

On the "Awa Maru", Captain Hamada reported the voyage to the Allies.

In the cabin, everyone was celebrating the new baby. After a busy day, chef Kanichiro Shimoda walked to the deck to take a breath.

Just then, the attack happened.According to his recollection, as soon as the "Awa Maru" left Singapore, US military aircraft flew at low altitudes, and US submarines began to follow it the next day.

If his words are true, Loughlin's explanation is unconvincing.

During World War II, the intelligence department provided unified intelligence when performing missions on U.S. submarines, and the captain commanded independently.

On March 1945, 3, the "Queenfish" and the companion boat "Sea Fox" performed an attack patrol mission to the Taiwan Strait.However, it did not attack any ship for half a month until April 10, when the "Sea Fox" attacked a Japanese transport ship in the Niushan waters.

Subsequently, the "Queenfish" submarine attacked the "Awa Maru".Is this all a coincidence?

In March 1973, former Army Lieutenant General Masazumi Inada, the top officer in charge of the Awa Maru transporting cargo and passengers in Southeast Asia and a Japanese Class B war criminal, provided an important clue:
The "Awa Maru" had already been equipped with a self-explosion device when it sailed from Japan to Singapore, and received instructions that in the event of an attack, "jade crushing" measures must be taken at the cost.

Then, why did the "Queenfish" attack the "Awa Maru"?
No one can answer.

According to the cargo list obtained by the United States afterwards, the "Awa Maru" carried 40 tons of gold, 12 tons of platinum, more than 15 carats of industrial diamonds, as well as industrial products such as rubber and tin ingots. As for Japanese currency, gems and works of art There are countless more.

Information provided by Japanese civil society includes: 3000 tons of tin, 3000 tons of raw rubber, plus antimony, tungsten, and mercury, totaling 9812 tons.

Not only that, the US military intelligence agency believes that there are signs that the "BJ skull" that disappeared a few years ago is also on this ship.

Decades later, the salvage of the "Awa Maru" began.

But something strange happened. No so-called gold or silver was found anyway, not even a single piece. However, 300 skeletons were found, as well as some glass, rubber, mica and other items, but they were not of high value.

What about gold?
Is there any gold on the "Awa Maru"?

……

April 1945, 4, Manila Port.

Meng Shaoyuan looked at the night in the distance and murmured to himself:

"Let's start, let all this become a mystery of history forever!"