Author: Mo Guyan
In August 1976, the Ministry of Communications and the Naval Command jointly convened the "Joint Meeting on Maritime Rescue Work". There was only one item to study, and that was whether to salvage the "Awa Maru" that has been sunk for 30 years. No.
Participants finally reached a consensus that there are at least three benefits to salvaging the "Awa Maru": one is to salvage the remains of the dead and return it to Japan, which is conducive to enhancing Sino-Japanese relations; second, it is said that a large number of ships are loaded on the ship. Rare metals have great economic value; third, you can take this opportunity to train our divers and accumulate experience in salvage at sea.
After the consensus on salvaging " Awa Maru" was formed, the Shanghai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Communications formally reported to the Ministry of Communications and put forward salvage recommendations, that is, the Ministry of Communications, Fujian, Fuzhou Military Region, East China Sea Fleet and other units coordinated Cooperation, the specific construction is mainly based on the first engineering team (Hujiu 3) of the Shanghai Salvage Bureau, with the participation of the East China Sea Fleet, and the military-civilian cooperation for joint salvage. Ye Fei, then Minister of Transportation, believes that although this proposal is a bit rough and lacks understanding of difficulties, it can be considered a feasible solution. He asked the relevant departments of the Ministry of Communications to formulate a salvage plan, and the salvage would be carried out after the state approved it.
Ye Fei, then Minister of Transportation
What is the origin of this "Awamaru", and it is necessary for the country to go so far? This question is quite complicated, so let's briefly review it here.
During the Pacific War, Japan detained a total of 160,000 prisoners of war and foreign nationals from the United States, Britain, Canada and other countries. The United States sent a note to Japan through a neutral country, requesting relief supplies for these prisoners of war and foreign nationals, and guaranteed that the US military would never drive on the prescribed waterways. Japanese cargo ships launched an attack to ensure the safety of relief ships.
"Awa Maru" is a 10,000-ton passenger and freighter of the Japan Yusen Company, which was requisitioned to transport relief supplies. On February 17, 1945, "Awa Maru" loaded 2,000 tons of relief materials and set sail from Japan, and arrived at the destination Jakarta a month later.After unloading the supplies, they arrived in Singapore, where they were filled with returning personnel and set sail for returning home on the 28th.
"Apo Maru" restoration map
On the night of April 1, when "Apo Maru" was traveling to the sea east of Niushan Island in Fujian, it was discovered by the submarine "Queen Fish" of the US Navy. The fog was filled, and the American captain mistakenly thought it was a Japanese destroyer and ordered four torpedoes to be fired at the ship. "Awa Maru" was blown into two pieces and sank into the sea 3 minutes later. All the people on board were killed in 2008 except for a cook who was rescued.
Since the "Awa Maru" incident, there has always been a mysterious legend about the ship carrying a large number of gold and silver treasures. Japanese private researchers said that the ship loaded 9,800 tons of cargo in Singapore, including rubber, tin, aluminum, rice, medicine, and a special vault for gold coins and diamonds. The American newspaper's statement is even more eye-catching, saying that the ship is equipped with 40 tons of gold, 12 tons of platinum, 150,000 carats of diamonds, 40 boxes of various crafts and gems, plus countless banknotes and securities, with a total value of 5 billion US dollars.
U.S. Navy Empress Fish submarine
Regarding these legends about the huge wealth carried on the "Awa Maru", the Japanese side neither affirms nor denies it, but only announces that the ship has sunk in the high seas. Party retains the ownership of the ship. The ambiguous attitude of the Japanese side added to the mystery of the incident. There were many people who tried to salvage the ship and completely solved the mystery. Many non-governmental organizations in Japan, the United States, Hong Kong and other places put forward requests to salvage the sunken ship. , Were rejected by the Chinese side.
Among all the legends about the "Awamaru", the most sensational news was revealed during US President Nixon's visit to China in 1972, that the fossils of the skulls of the "Peking Man" may be on this ship. The source of this news is secretive, but Nixon can say so, there must be his basis.
The discovery of the "Peking Man" skull fossil is undoubtedly one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.This cultural relic is invaluable, and Japan has long coveted it. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the fossils were transferred to the Union Hospital opened by the Americans for protection, and the Japanese were helpless. As the situation escalated, the fossil was in a precarious state. After many discussions, it was decided to transfer to the United States for protection. So in early December 1941, the US Marine Corps escorted to Qinhuangdao, preparing to take a ship to the United States. Who knows, at this time the Pearl Harbor incident broke out, the United States and Japan declared war, and the US Marine Corps was raided by the Japanese army. The fossils they escorted disappeared from the world and disappeared, leaving behind an eternal mystery.
After the 1970s, the international call for salvaging the "Apo Maru" became more and more loud, and Ye Fei was quite anxious about this. He is a military commander, considering that the scope of the sinking involves national interests and military secrets, he must not allow foreign salvage teams to intervene. If salvage is to be carried out, it must be carried out by our country. For this reason, the joint meeting mentioned above was convened.
In March 1977, the state formally approved the salvage plan. This project was named "Project 7713" and was jointly organized and implemented by the Ministry of Communications and the Navy. Zhu Shaoqing, deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, served.
According to the project construction plan, the Ministry of Communications will mobilize 148 divers from the three salvage bureaus in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Yantai, salvage 2 engineering ships, 7 auxiliary ships, navy mobilizes 132 divers, salvage engineering ships, and auxiliary ships. 7 ships form a joint salvage team. In order to provide military cover, the Fuzhou Military Region mobilized aircraft and naval vessels for patrol cover, and deployed antiaircraft artillery units on the shore to form a three-dimensional cover system by sea, land and air, and block the sea area of the operation site. The operational policy formulated at that time was that all naval and air force patrols were restricted to the specified salvage operation area and did not stimulate the opposite shore. But if Taiwan conducts reconnaissance and interference with me, it will resolutely fight back.
The ship clock on the Awamaru
The investigation of the salvage of the "Awamaru" shipwreck began in March 1977 and lasted more than three years. The salvage in 1977 was in the trial fishing stage, mainly to determine the location of the sunken ship, and officially entered the salvage stage in 1978.
In late April 1978,"Hujiu 3" used underwater lighting and blasting cutting technology to uncover a 15-square-meter deck in one fell swoop, demonstrating the role of new technology and new equipment, which greatly accelerated the shift from manual salvage to machinery. schedule.
In July 1980, the salvage of the sunken ship reached its final stage. The large-scale floating crane introduced from Japan "Dali" played an important role, hoisting the entire front section of the sunken ship out of the sea in one fell swoop. The diver tried various methods in five cargo holds 60 meters underwater, digging three feet to search, and finally did not find the legendary gold diamond, nor the "Beijing" skull, even the safe was not found. .
The salvaged bow
This news is undoubtedly depressing. The Japanese media lamented that "the tragic Awamaru has no treasure". Regarding the question of why the legendary valuables were not found, Ye Fei analyzed three possibilities in his memoirs. One is that there are no such treasures at all, and all legends have no evidence, which are purely false; the second is that Japan used other ships to pull the valuables away, and "Awa Maru" was used as a substitute for the dead; third, the US army was sinking "Awa". The salvage was already carried out after the Maru. With the technical capabilities of the United States at that time, it was not impossible to do so.
The bones recovered from the "Awa Maru"
Of course, Ye Fei also said that these are some of his personal guesses, and in fact they have no basis. The truth is probably a permanent mystery.
[Deeply cultivate the history of war, promote positive energy, welcome contributions, private messages must be replied]
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