Wartime History
The I-22 served as the flagship of the Special Attack Unit, accompanied by submarines I-16, I-18, I-20 and I-24. During the attack on December 7, 1941, the I-22 launches a midget submarine outside Pearl Harbor.

On December 15, 1941 Johnson Island was shelled by I-22.

This submarine also guarded the Japanese invasion force during the capture of Tulagi on May 3, 1942.

On May 30-31, 1942, the I-22 participated in the midget submarine attack against Sydney Harbor, launching Type A Midge Submarine (M22), this midget was spotted, attacked and destroyed before it could fire its torpedoes. This midget sub was salvage a week later, and today is displayed at Australian War Memorial (AWM).

Sinking History
Another source lists a PBY Catalina claiming the sinking of I-22 near Indispensable Strait in the Solomons on October 5, 1942.

Japanese records presume the submarine to be lost in the Solomons as of December 12, 1942.

PT-122 attacked a submairne claimed to be I-22, off the Kumusi River on the night of December 23-24, 1942:
"2310 sighted a large enemy sub surfaced also sighted dark object to the left and beyond believed to be another sub. 2321 fired after torpedoes at approx 1000 yards range, course 216 T. Starboard torpedo hit after part of sub causing large geyser of water and small flash, sub did not sink. 2325 fired forward torpedoes at approx 500 yards range. Starboard torpedo hit amidships and exploded. This was followed almost immediately by a second violent explosion. Sub broke in half and sank. At 2334 maneuvered to avoid four torpedoes fired from second sub."

Reportedly, PT-122 claimed this submarine sunk near the mouth of the Kumusi River near Gona at approximate position, S 08 degrees 32', E 148 degrees 17'.

Shipwreck
The wreck has never been found. The mouth of the Kumusi River is a larget delta four miles wide, whose waters empty into Holnicote Bay.

Fritz Herscheid recalls in The Last New Guinea Salvage Pirate:
"Month after month, I would make a detour into the fringes of Holnicote Bay to check the clarity of the water. If it was dirty, as it usually was, I would just continue on my way. Then one day, the weather conditions were perfect. The water was crystal clear. From the masthead, I could see what was a hunk of iron or a semi-circular two-tiered railing that looked exactly like the conning tower of a German submarine. Bearing in mind that the report clearly states the sub broke in half, it was possible we were looking at nothing more than the mangled remains that resembled the conning tower of a German submarine."

References
The Last New Guinea Salvage Pirate, pages 400 - 402
Japanese Submarines at Pearl Harbor - notes I-22 sunk on October 5, 1942 near Indispensable Strait, Solomons

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009