The Mystery Explosion


On November 4, 1937, the battle of Shanghai was almost over. Japanese forces were closing in on the Chinese defenses in and around the city, and it was considered a question of time before the Chinese Army had to withdraw west towards Nanjing.

On that day, C. M. Robertson, a former US Marine and now the owner of Shanghai Auto Service, accompanied by Lam Wing Yan, a prominent Chinese technician and Hong Kong auto dealer (pictured second from left in photo above), left the Shanghai city center for what was described as a hazardous undertaking in the Pudong district across the Huangpu, Shanghai’s main river.

The two never returned. Eyewitnesses later reported that they had been killed in a huge explosion near Yee Tsoong Tobacco’s building in Pudong. Some also stated that the explosion had been caused by a Japanese bomb dropped from the air.

American diplomats arranged an expedition to the site about a week later and found a large crater in the ground where the explosion had taken place. They did not uncover any remains of the two people, and basically had to return empty-handed.

More than 80 years later, mystery surrounds the incident. Eugenie Lam, Lam Wing Yan’s granddaughter, links it to attempts to develop a torpedo that could sink the Japanese flag ship Izumo, anchored in the Pudong River, where its powerful guns were a major nuisance for Chinese military efforts in the city.

“My grandfather, who was trained as an engineer, was asked by the governor of the province to assist in the building of a torpedo to target the Izumo. The torpedo project was leaked to a Japanese informant. Subsequently, the warehouse where the torpedo or bomb was being built was destroyed, killing my grandfather. All that was retrieved was his pocket watch.” she said.

“I would also be interested in finding out whether the torpedo project was leaked to a Japanese informant – my father’s version of the story, he was a child of 5 in 1937 – or whether the torpedo detonated due to a malfunction or other reason.”

If any readers have knowledge about this topic, we would be very interested to hear from you. Leave your message in the comments box below!

Categories: War, Witnesses

Leave a Reply