This is a translation of an old article about U804, that is believed to contain a cargo of platinum. That may or may not be true, but anyhow it is a good story. The U804 was found be swedish divers i 1974, and this article from the danish newspaper Jyllandsposten is about them. If the name of the newspaper sounds familiar it’s probably because they published the famous drawings of mohamed, that almost started World War III in 2005.

If you prefer the to read the original article in danish,  just click the picture:

Six sports divers from the club Halmstad scubadivers have found the German submarine U804, which in several years has been intensively searched for in several years. U804, along with U843 and two torpedo boats, was sunk by British Mosquito fighters off Tjörn near Marstrand, Sweden.

While the Norwegian Einar Hoevding in the early 50′s succeeded to raise U843 which was loaded with tin, rubber, and mercury, he could not find the U804, which sailed with a cargo of platinum with a value of 45 million Swedish kroner.
Now, the six young Swedes found the submarine. It lies at 40-70 meters of water somewhere between Halmstad and Gothenburg. The Swedish naval staff confirms that the position could be correct.

Cargo was for the V-weapons program
Both submarines came from Norwegian ports shortly before World War II ended. Their valueable cargo was to ensure Hitler’s so-called V-weapons program – retaliatory weapons. Their cargoes were vital for the chemical industry and weapons industry. The Allies feared that Hitler would win the race for the nuclear bomb, why all German warships bound for German ports was bombed in fear that they could transport uranium or heavy water from Norway.

Platinum came from South America
U804s platinum came from South America, and was transferred to U804 in a Norwegian port. The German director F. Hermann tells Jyllandsposten that U804 left Kiel port on the 4.th of April 1945 in a northerly direction. The Commander onboard was Herbert Meyer (age 34). U804 was sunken on the 9.th of April off the coast of Sweden south while on a southern course.

Building a socalled Seadragon
In Halmstad the sport divers Paul Tevely (33), Gunnar severinsson (28), Dan Berntsson (26), Lars Kårdahl (28), and Captain in the Swedish Air Force Bertil Andersson (32) and business manager Hans Sjunnesson (27) are preparing to dive down to the U804 to take pictures in three or four months time. In the meantime they are based at the school where Paul Tevely is a teacher. Here they are building the socalled seadragons which will be used when diving down to the U804.

Paul Tevely have been a sports diver for 12 years and has taught several of his friends to dive. He owns sport diving schools in Halmstad, Malmö and Lund.

- We do not dare to sail out to the submarine now after it has been leaked that we have found U804, Paul Tevely says.

We have been diving on wrecks for several years. We started diving three or four years ago by Anholt, where we among other things, found a major German troop transport ship. It was a sad sight to see the bodies of the soldiers. There was only the skeleton and metal items, weapons, rings, metal buckles and so on. Uniforms and the body was just a soft mass.

U804 was found three months ago
We stopped diving for fun, and started a systematic search for submarines. We studied all available material on the U804 and worked with a small vessel from our sport diving club and a depthsonar and a Decca. Nearly three months ago, we found the U804. Several times competitors were on the heels of us. One day some German divers were approximately 40 meters from the submarine but they didn’t discover it because the visibility even under very good conditions is only 3-4 meters.

Diving down to the submarine in the spring
We know there are at least ten competitors who are trying to take away our finding from us. So we are very careful about what we do, and in the meantime we just prepare to dive to the U804 in the spring. Among other things, we also need to make clear who owns the submarine. It lies in international waters. We will have protection from the Swedish authorities when the ownership is made clear.

Wants 75 % of the cargo
Platinum currently costs 23,000 Swedish crowns per kilo, and we may claim 75% of the load. When the submarine is being raised, we need a lot of money, and therefore we started to look after investors who want a share of the business. We have already received the first inquiries from England, Norway and Sweden. Paul Tevely and his comrades refuse to tell on which days and what time they found U804 because they fear that some of their competitors in this way can locate the submarine’s position.
- We have already invested 30,000 Swedish crowns in the search and further 25,000 to build the seadragons that will take us down to shoot pictures of U804, says Paul Tevney.

Among the experts who have commented on the ownership U804 is professor of maritime law at Gothenburg University, Kurt Grönors: – The six sports divers will probably have ownership of U804, but it depends on where it lies. If it’s in international waters, the German State, then the question is who the heir after the Third Reich – East or West Germany? Which of the two German States can claim the precious cargo?

Decca strip is in a bank safe deposit
Paul Tevely: We consult with legal experts and are waiting for an answer from both German countries. No matter how it ends, we are keen on U804 and will try to get it raised.

Paul Tevely and his companions are sure that no one gets the exact position of the submarine. It is only available on our Decca recording, which is the key to the wreck and none of us can get it from the safe alone. It can only be retrieved by us all six at once. In that way, there is no danger that any of us can earn an extra penny, if I may put it this way, he says.