The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
|
| Previous: Hung Tsu-nan | Table of Contents | Next: Hunt II Class, British Escort Destroyers |
Hungnam (127.632E
39.844N) is a port on the east
coast of northern Korea. The Japanese extensively developed the port, which had access to abundant hydroelectrical power from Fusenko and other projects. Japan
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Corporation (Nichitsu) constructed an enormous industrial complex at Hungnam that produced most of the Japanese Navy's explosives
and much of its advanced aeronautical fuels. This included the NA
plant, the "jewel of the Japanese navy" (quoted by Grunden 2005), for
iso-octane; the ND plant, for acetaldehyde; the NB plant, for butanol;
and the NZ plant, for hydrazine hydrate and hydrogen peroxide as rocket
fuel.
Heavy water was produced as a byproduct, but in quantities far too small for a viable nuclear weapons program. There have nonetheless been various conspiracy theories published claiming that significant nuclear technology was developed here that allowed Japan to test a nuclear device in the last days of the Pacific War, or was captured by the Russians to speed their own nuclear program, or formed the basis for the present North Korean nuclear program. These theories have little basis in historical fact.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2013 by Kent G. Budge. Index
