Lot 307

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Description:

THE SINKING OF JAPANESE SUBMARINE I-52
Amazing archive of original documents surrounding the June 24, 1944 sinking of the I-52, a Japanese type C-3 cargo submarine which sailed from Japan to Lorient on March 10 with a cargo which included 9.8 tons of molybdenum, 11 tons of tungsten, 2.2 tons of gold bullion and three tons of opium. Unbeknownst to the vessel's crew, the U.S. had intercepted radio messages and trailed the vessel, and a task force initiated an aerial attack late on June 23, 1944. Lt. Cmdr. Jesse D. Taylor's Avenger dropped depth charges on the sub after radar contact was established at 2340, and after he saw he had made a near miss, he dropped a sonobuoy. Hearing propeller sounds, he then dropped an acoustic torpedo on the vessel. As Taylor's patrol ended, he was relieved by Lt. William Gordon who, hearing faint propeller noises, dropped a second acoustic torpedo. A search the following day found some of the cargo and human remains. The Navy has credited both Taylor and Gordon with the sinking of Japan's "Golden Submarine". Offered here are original signed after-action battle reports, almost all marked "TOP SECRET", likely prepared aboard the escort carrier USS BOGUE immediately after the sinking by Gordon, the acoustics specialist flying with him, wing men, and gunners. Included is Gordon's 4pp. 4to. likely self-typed draft of his narrative of the battle. He describes his arrival on the scene and monitoring of smoke and sonobuoys. He describes dropping additional sonobuoys and smoke lights to mark the perceived location of the submarine. Hearing stronger propeller noises, he describes his approach and the drop of the torpedo (called a "mine"). At 0212 he writes that he heard a "tremendous explosion" at the sonobuoy sending the greatest signals, and propeller noises ended two minutes later. He then describes dropping more smoke lights and sonobuoys and being relieved by Lt. Francis Brady. Also present are two signed and numbered compilations of statements of participants in the attack, taken aboard the BOGUE by a Navy interrogator, each including Gordon's narrative, his statement, a condensed form of the narrative, signed by him, as well as signed statements by his acoustics technician Price Fish, gunner Quentin Kelso, Gordon's radio operator I. E. Martin, wing man Arthur Hirsbrunner, Hirsbrunner's radioman Donald P. Knox, and relied pilot Francis Brady. The two reports also list the 3,127 lbs. of wreckage debris picked up and a schematic showing Gordon's attack. Also present: a nearly complete third set of signed reports; a 21pp. 4to. copy of Report of Operations of Composite Squadron 69, the task force sent to destroy I-52; handwritten notes on firing armaments; and a group of ephemera from the Naval Air Combat Information School including identification of aircraft, photos of Japanese planes, etc. and five Flak Information Bulletins, Oct., 1944 - Apr., 1945. A National Geographic video on the search for the gold aboard the submarine is included.

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February 18, 2014 11:00 AM EST
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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