The U.S. Navy has officially confirmed the identity of a World War II submarine wreck discovered off the coast of Japan, solving a decades-old mystery surrounding the fate of USS Herring (SS-233), a vessel lost with all 83 crew members during combat operations in 1944.
The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) announced that the wreck site, located near Matsuwa Island in the Kurile Islands chain, has been positively identified as USS Herring. The confirmation comes exactly 82 years after the submarine was lost on June 1, 1944, during its final wartime patrol.
Resting more than 300 feet (91 meters) below the surface, the submarine remains largely intact and sits upright on the seafloor. Investigators found visible battle damage around the conning tower and evidence of grounding at the bow, both of which closely match historical accounts of the vessel’s final engagement.
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the identification was made using data collected by the Russian Geographic Society during expeditions conducted in 2017 and 2022. The information was subsequently analyzed by two American volunteer researchers and a Japanese researcher, whose findings enabled the Navy to formally confirm the wreck’s identity.
The wreck was first discovered in 2017 during a joint expedition by the Russian Geographic Society and the Russian military. Researchers at the time suspected it was USS Herring because of its location and general appearance, but a definitive identification had not yet been established.
A follow-up expedition returned to the site in 2022 to document the wreck and honor the crew. During that mission, participants placed a commemorative plaque at the site.
The submarine lies near Matsuwa Island, an isolated volcanic island located in the central Kurile chain between Japan and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. During World War II, the Japanese heavily fortified the island and operated an air base there.
USS Herring was a Gato-class submarine launched in January 1942 and commissioned in May of the same year. Throughout the war, it conducted eight combat patrols across both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
By May 1944, Herring had departed Midway Atoll for its eighth and final patrol.
According to Navy records, the submarine sank two Japanese cargo vessels near Matsuwa Island before meeting with USS Barb on May 31 to coordinate patrol areas. It was the last confirmed contact with American forces.
In the early hours of June 1, Herring attacked again, sinking two additional Japanese cargo ships anchored near the island. Historical Japanese records indicate that shore batteries subsequently spotted the submarine after it apparently grounded while maneuvering near the coastline. Coastal artillery batteries opened fire and reportedly scored two direct hits on the submarine’s conning tower as it attempted to withdraw into fog cover.
The newly confirmed wreck appears to support that account. Researchers found damage consistent with artillery impacts near the conning tower as well as evidence that the vessel had run aground before sinking.
Meanwhile, sailors aboard USS Barb reported hearing distant explosions and depth-charge detonations during the same period, believing they may have been associated with an attack on Herring. The submarine never returned from patrol and was officially presumed lost after failing to report back to Midway in July 1944.
USS Herring is credited with sinking seven enemy vessels during its wartime service and received multiple campaign awards, including the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Today, the wreck is protected under U.S. law as a sunken military craft and remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy. Navy officials emphasized that the site represents the final resting place of 83 sailors who lost their lives during the war and should be treated as a war grave.
While non-intrusive research activities such as remote sensing and documentation are permitted, any action that could disturb the wreck requires authorization from the Naval History and Heritage Command.
More than eight decades after USS Herring disappeared beneath the Pacific, the confirmation of its location provides a clearer picture of the submarine’s final moments while ensuring that the crew’s sacrifice is permanently documented in the historical record.
Kaif Shaikh is a journalist and writer passionate about turning complex information into clear, impactful stories. His writing covers technology, sustainability, geopolitics, and occasionally fiction. A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, his work has appeared in the Times of India and beyond. After a near-fatal experience, Kaif began seeing both stories and silences differently. Outside work, he juggles far too many projects and passions, but always makes time to read, reflect, and hold onto the thread of wonder.
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