Subhas Bose was a mercurial leader who had escaped to Berlin to enlist the support of Hitler in the war against the British to free India. But by Jan 43 he had realized that Hitler preoccupied with The Russian campaign could not spare any forces for an assault on India.
The Japanese after some dilly dallying accepted to receive Bose in Tokyo. The initial plan was to send him by air, but as the axis powers were fast losing air superiority, it was decided to transfer him by sea to Japan. A look at the world map will show you the sea distance involved, but the Japanese and Germans finally approved the plan to transport Bose by sea.
Thus on 8 Feb 1943 Bose set sail in a German U boat U -180 from Kiel. The submarine was commanded by Commander Werner Mussonberg. The total voyage took 93 days and it is a tribute to the German navy that they succeeded in transferring Bose to the Indian Ocean. The voyage itself was perilous as British and allied intelligence was tracking Bose whom they desperately wanted to catch.
After a long voyage the German submarine reached the sea close to Madagascar and searched for the Japanese submarine. The Japanese submarine I-29 was commanded by Commander Juichi Isu and also had a senior flotilla commander of the Imperial navy in the form of Captain Mesao Teraoka.This showed the importance the Japanese attached to Subhas Bose.
The submarines made contact on 26 April 1943 at a point estimated about 400 nautical miles off the coast of Madagascar. But when the submarines contacted each other the sea became rough and the transfer of Bose and his companion could not be effected. In addition the submarines maintained radio silence making the task even more difficult.
The sea continued to be rough even on 27 April. But two swimmers from the German U boat made it to the Japanese submarine and informed that the German submarine was running low on fuel. Thus it was decided to carry out the transfer the next day. Though the sea remained rough Bose and his companions were transferred to the Japanese submarine by a rubber raft which was attached to the submarines by a rope.
This transfer to the Japanese submarine deserves our admiration. As the logistic problems were gigantic and yet the Germans and Japanese navies achieved the impossible. There is no doubt that this episode will rank as one of the great romantic tales of the Second World War. To go from Germany in a U boat to the middle of the Indian Ocean and have a rendezvous with Japanese submarine is what legends are made off. All credit must go to Bose who showed that Indians do not lack courage and strength in doing the impossible.