"The PT 122"

Why did the PT122 sink that night? Were the crew heroes deserving full Naval recognition for sinking the submarine?

Late 1942 on the remote New Guinea coast an American PT boat running under the cover of night and in silence mode spotted what they believed was a Japanese submarine silhouetted against the jungle background. The PT boat stalked the 1,970 standard tonne J1 type scouting submarine and when very close engaged with both torpedoes. According to the crew the submarine virtually split in half.

The PT boat and crew were originally credited with the "kill" but later this was thrown into doubt. Now the object of the PT boat's attack is seriously questioned.

Many years ago, as a salvage diver in New Guinea I studied the PT boats attack report thoroughly, and came to the conclusion that the crew of the PT boat were either incredibly brave and truly deserved full recognition for the submarine "kill", or (which is unlikely) they were collectively a bunch of liars who collaborated in a hoax.

I spent over 5 years searching for the submarine and believe I can validate the attack report. A TV style documentary has been a long-time ambition.

Projected time 6 months