A German submarine war grave from World War II which has been seeping deadly poisons into the North Sea is finally set to be raised.
The wreck of the U-864, which was sunk by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Venturer in 1945, has been leaking her cargo of highly poisonous mercury into the seabed off the west coast of Norway in an area fished by Scottish trawlermen.
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The U-864 was on a secret mission to Japan, carrying Messerschmitt jet engine parts and 65 tonnes of toxic mercury, used for making weapons.
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The U-864 has gone down in history as the only submarine to be sunk by another submarine while underwater.
The wreck was discovered in 2003 in two pieces 500ft beneath the sea and in 2006 it was found that the 1,857 canisters holding the mercury were corroding.
Since then, locals and fishermen have pleaded for the wreck to be raised but the authorities refused, claiming it was too risky.
See here for more about U-864, and here for more about HMS Venturer.
1 comment:
Found your profile on another blog. I like this one. Topic matter differs from mine but all the same I may blog list you.
Cheers fellow shipmate...I am a retired Radioman myself.
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