Companion TV documentary to the National Geographic Magazine article "The Last Dive of I-52" - October 1999 issue; Pages 114-135. Written by Priit Vesilind and photography by Jonathan Blair.
Book related to 1998 I-52 Oceanographic Expedition - "Battleground Atlantic: How the Sinking of a Single Japanese Submarine Assured the Outcome of World War II" by Richard N. Billings; ISBN 0451217667 (Hardcover); NAL Caliber; April 2006. ISBN 0451217667 (Paperback); NAL Caliber; April 2007.
In June, 1944, U.S. Navy warplanes sank a Japanese submarine called the I-52 in the Atlantic, an event of enormous strategic importance. For the I-52 was to return to Japan with the lethal ingredients of a doomsday weapon - a radiological bomb - which remained a government secret for years. The I-52's resting place became public in 1995. Author Richard N. Billings worked with Paul Tidwell - who discovered the I-52 and is attempting to salvage its precious gold cargo-in bringing this long-classified mission to light. Finally, this is the story of how the I-52 mission may have influenced President Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In June, 1944, U.S. Navy warplanes sank a Japanese submarine called the I-52 in the Atlantic, an event of enormous strategic importance. For the I-52 was to return to Japan with the lethal ingredients of a doomsday weapon - a radiological bomb - which remained a government secret for years. The I-52's resting place became public in 1995. Author Richard N. Billings worked with Paul Tidwell - who discovered the I-52 and is attempting to salvage its precious gold cargo-in bringing this long-classified mission to light. Finally, this is the story of how the I-52 mission may have influenced President Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Additional reading - "Three Miles Down: A Firsthand Account of Deep Sea Exploration and A Hunt for Sunken World War II Treasure" by James Hamilton-Paterson; ASIN: B01F9QXNT4 (Hardcover); The Lyons Press; April 1999. ISBN 0156012715 (Paperback); Harvest Books; May 2000.
Companion 8 perf/70mm film (the deepest large-format footage ever recorded) also shot during the 1998 expedition for a then in-development Giant Screen Film entitled "Secrets of the I-52." The film's directing duties were being split between veteran large-format film writer / director Kieth Merrill and cinematographer Jeff Simon. Merrill was also co-producing the planned film with expedition principal Guy Zajonc. A five minute large-format teaser was shown at the Large Format Cinema Association (LFCA) conference in Los Angeles, CA (May 19-21, 1999) as well as the Giant Screen Theater Association (GSTA - now GSCA) conference in New York, NY (September 11-15, 1999).