I-168 was a Kaidai class submarine

Kaidai class submarine

The was a type of 1st class submarine operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. The type name, was shortened to . All Kaidai class submarines originally had a two digit boat name, from I-51 onwards. On 20 May 1942, all Kaidai submarines added a '1' to their name. For...

 (KD6 Type) of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 (IJN) during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. At the Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

 she sank two American

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 warships: the aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

  and the destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 . At that time she was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe.

Early career

The submarine was completed at the Kure Dock Yard on July 31, 1934. She was originally designated I-68. On November 23, 1941, I-68 and the rest of Submarine Squadron 3 were stationed near Hawai'i to perform reconnaissance duties in preparation for the impending attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

. Still on station near Hawai'i on December 13, I-68 was subjected to 21 separate depth charge attacks. The last attack damaged her batteries and flooded the aft torpedo tubes. After undergoing repairs at Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

, I-68 conducted several uneventful patrols in the Pacific, before being redesignated I-168 on May 20, 1942 as part of a general submarine re-numbering program undertaken by the IJN.

Battle of Midway

I-168 was one of 13 submarines forming the Advance Expeditionary Force of the Japanese attack on Midway. Under the command of Tanabe Yahachi, she steamed south of Midway as far as Kure Island during her approach on 31 May 1942. The American aircraft carriers had passed through the area of the submarine patrol line before the submarines arrived on their patrol stations. I-168 spent the first three days of June observing Midway's southern horizon through the periscope by day and through binoculars at a range of five miles at night. I-168 observed and reported heavy aircraft activity indicating the island anticipated the Japanese attack. She made periscope observations during the first Japanese air attack on Midway. I-168 commenced shelling Midway with its 10-cm (4-inch) deck gun at 0130 5 June; but submerged when illuminated by shore searchlights after firing only 6 rounds.

Attacking and sinking Yorktown

I-168 was unsuccessfully attacked by aircraft on 5 June; and upon surfacing after the attack, received orders to sink the damaged American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. Lookouts detected Yorktown, and the destroyer Hammann along side her at 0530 6 June. I-168 closed the range from 11 miles at six knots, and then slowed to three knots for the final approach through Yorktowns destroyer screen. Over-cautious use of the periscope resulted in getting too close to the carrier on the initial approach, so the submarine circled to starboard to increase the range and then fired a salvo of four torpedoes at 1330 from a range of 1200 yards. After observing the torpedo hits, I-168 descended to 200 feet and slowed to three knots directly under Yorktown. American destroyers Gwin

USS Gwin (DD-433)

USS Gwin , a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the 3rd ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander William Gwin, an American Civil War officer who commanded river boats against Confederate forces in Alabama....

, Hughes

USS Hughes (DD-410)

USS Hughes was a World War II-era in the service of the United States Navy, named after Commander Edward Merritt Hughes.Hughes was laid down on 15 September 1937 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched on 17 June 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Edward M...

, and Monaghan

USS Monaghan (DD-354)

USS Monaghan was the last ship built of the Farragut class destroyers. She was named for Ensign John R. Monaghan. The Monaghan was laid down 21 November 1933 at Boston Navy Yard, and launched 9 January 1935. She was sponsored by Miss Mary F. Monaghan, niece of Ensign Monaghan and commissioned 19...

 dropped 60 depth charges before damaging I-168 at 1530. A depth charge exploding near the bow put out the lights, damaged the forward battery room, sprung the hatches to No. 1 torpedo tube and reduced the submerged depth to 60 feet. All unoccupied crewmen grabbed sacks of rice from forward storage and moved astern to trim the submarine because of the flooding forward. After a few hours of relative quiet, I-168 surfaced an hour before sunset and ran west at 14 knots to charge batteries and ventilate interior spaces. Two American destroyers spotted her at a range of 11000 yards and commenced firing from a range of 6500 yards about 30 minutes later. I-168 submerged and evaded the approaching destroyers.

Her Return

After conducting emergency repairs, Tanabe and his crew limped back to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 using only two engines, a journey of twelve days. Following full repairs at Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

, I-168 was placed under the command of Lieutenant Commander Katsuji Watanabe and reassigned to cargo transportation missions to the beleaguered Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

 and Kiska

Kiska

Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...

.

Her Sinking

On July 27, 1943, I-168 engaged the American submarine USS Scamp

USS Scamp (SS-277)

USS Scamp , a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scamp, a member of the Serranidae family....

 in the Steffen Strait

Steffen Strait

Steffen Strait is a strait near Selapiu Island, generally between New Hanover and New Ireland, at ....

 near New Hanover Island

New Hanover Island

New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...

. After crash-diving his boat under an incoming torpedo, Lieutenant Commander Walter Ebert returned fire, sinking I-168 with all hands.