WI: U-864 survived

The Title essentially explains it all.

What if the HMS Venturer ignores the rumbling of the U-864's engine as one of the local fishing trawlers?
What would this affect be upon the War?
What would happen to the Mercury* and other chemicals onboard?


*One thing I would like to say is that if it got away, the Mercury it contained would not poison local fish in Norway.:D
 
It would probably have minimal impact, at best (or worst). 67 tons of mercury is a fair bit, but the main Japanese problems were lack of fuel and food, not explosives or industrial compounds. It just eliminates one interesting incident from the history books...
 
Though I agree partially with the above comment, the presence of German fighter plans and engineers also onboard might lead to more resources being allocated to build Japanese jet fighters.
 
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