The Japanese NYK liner Asama Maru left San Francisco carrying German merchant sailors who planned to travel through Japan and across Asia, possibly via Russia, to reach Germany. Their skills made them useful to Germany during the war. Britain learned about the group, perhaps through intelligence officers in the still-neutral United States or through friendly American personnel. Britain decided to act while the liner crossed the Pacific, leading to the interception at the center of the story.
Chapter · 0:44-2:04
Asama Maru leaves San Francisco with German sailors
The story begins with Asama Maru's January 1940 departure and Britain's discovery that German merchant sailors were aboard.