Maritime record MHG28431 - HMS X22: Pentland Firth

ND18SE 8001 1936 8308
N 58 43.7 W 3 18

Quality of fix = PA
Horizontal Datum = OGB

Circumstances of Loss Details
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The experimental midget submarine X22 was completed on 31 October 1943, by Vickers Armstrong [Barrow]. It was involved in a towing exercise which continued during gale force winds. A man, believed to be the Officer of the Watch, was washed overboard in the heavy seas, from the towing submarine HMS SYRTIS. In a bid to rescue him, SYRTIS turned immediately, colliding with the X craft, which sank at once, with the loss of all 4 crew members. The engine: 1 shaft diesel/electric giving 6.5/5.5knots [surface/underwater].
Sources; Warships of World War II by Colledge, Beneath the Waves by Evans.

Surveying Details
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The collision position is give as 58 43 42n, 003 18 00W.
Source; Board of Trade Enquiry.

28 July 1970. A request to purchase has been received M A Halls.

1 August 1977. A request for permission to locate and salvage the wreck of X22 has been made by the Projects Officer Rayleigh Sub Aqua Club in a letter dated 24 June 1977.

21 January 1985. The site was not found (nor referred to) in the survey by BUE Subsea.

Hydrographic Office, 1995.