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Japanese submarine I-168
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Japanese submarine I-168
I-68, later renumbered I-168, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai–type cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class commissioned in 1934. She served in World War II, operating in support of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and taking part in the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, and the Aleutian Islands campaign before she was sunk in 1943. She is best known for her achievements during the Battle of Midway when, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe, she sank the only United States Navy warships lost in the battle: the already badly damaged aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Hammann.
Built by the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan, I-68 was laid down on 18 June 1931 and launched on 26 June 1933. She was completed and commissioned on 31 July 1934.
Upon commissioning, I-68 was attached to the Kure Naval District. When Submarine Division 12, previously deactivated in 1929, was reactivated on 8 October 1934 and subordinated to the Kure Naval District, I-68 and her sister ship I-69 were assigned to the division.
Submarine Division 12 was assigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, on 15 November 1935. On 13 April 1936, I-68 got underway from Fukuoka, Japan, in company with the other two submarines of her division — I-69 and I-70 — for a training cruise off China in the Qingdao area, which the submarines completed with their arrival at Sasebo, Japan, on 22 April 1936. The three submarines departed Mako in the Pescadores Islands on 4 August 1936 for a training cruise in the Amoy area off China, returning to Mako on 6 September 1936. Submarine Division 12 was placed in the Third Reserve in the Kure Naval District on 15 December 1938, then was attached directly to the Kure Naval District on 1 May 1939.
Submarine Division 12 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 3 in the 2nd Fleet on 15 November 1939. I-68 departed Okinawa on 27 March 1940 in company with I-69, I-70, and the submarines I-73, I-74, and I-75 for a training cruise in southern Chinese waters, completing it when the six submarines arrived at Takao, Formosa, on 2 April 1940. On 11 October 1940, I-68 was one of 98 Imperial Japanese Navy ships that gathered along with more than 500 aircraft on the Japanese coast at Yokohama Bay for an Imperial fleet review — the largest fleet review in Japanese history — in honor of the 2,600th anniversary of the enthronement of the Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor.
I-68 was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 19 October 1940. While she was inactive, Submarine Squadron 3 was reassigned to the 6th Fleet on 15 November 1940. She returned to active service on 25 July 1941.
By 11 November 1941, Submarine Squadron 3 had been assigned to the 6th Fleet's Advance Force. That day, the 6th Fleet's commander, Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu, held a meeting with the commanding officers of the submarines of the squadron aboard his flagship, the light cruiser Katori, and his chief of staff briefed them on plans for Operation Z, the upcoming surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack would begin the Pacific campaign and bring Japan and the United States into World War II.
As Japanese military forces began to deploy for the opening Japanese offensive of the war, I-68 departed Saeki Bay on the coast of Kyushu on 11 November 1941 in company with the submarines I-8, I-69, I-70, I-71, I-72, and I-73 bound for Kwajalein Atoll, which she reached on 20 November 1941. Assigned to support Operation Z, I-68 got underway from Kwajalein on 23 November 1941 and set course for the Hawaiian Islands. While she was en route, she received the message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese: Niitakayama nobore 1208) from the Combined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with the Allies would commence on 8 December 1941 Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Hawaii.
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Japanese submarine I-168
I-68, later renumbered I-168, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai–type cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class commissioned in 1934. She served in World War II, operating in support of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and taking part in the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, and the Aleutian Islands campaign before she was sunk in 1943. She is best known for her achievements during the Battle of Midway when, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe, she sank the only United States Navy warships lost in the battle: the already badly damaged aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Hammann.
Built by the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan, I-68 was laid down on 18 June 1931 and launched on 26 June 1933. She was completed and commissioned on 31 July 1934.
Upon commissioning, I-68 was attached to the Kure Naval District. When Submarine Division 12, previously deactivated in 1929, was reactivated on 8 October 1934 and subordinated to the Kure Naval District, I-68 and her sister ship I-69 were assigned to the division.
Submarine Division 12 was assigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, on 15 November 1935. On 13 April 1936, I-68 got underway from Fukuoka, Japan, in company with the other two submarines of her division — I-69 and I-70 — for a training cruise off China in the Qingdao area, which the submarines completed with their arrival at Sasebo, Japan, on 22 April 1936. The three submarines departed Mako in the Pescadores Islands on 4 August 1936 for a training cruise in the Amoy area off China, returning to Mako on 6 September 1936. Submarine Division 12 was placed in the Third Reserve in the Kure Naval District on 15 December 1938, then was attached directly to the Kure Naval District on 1 May 1939.
Submarine Division 12 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 3 in the 2nd Fleet on 15 November 1939. I-68 departed Okinawa on 27 March 1940 in company with I-69, I-70, and the submarines I-73, I-74, and I-75 for a training cruise in southern Chinese waters, completing it when the six submarines arrived at Takao, Formosa, on 2 April 1940. On 11 October 1940, I-68 was one of 98 Imperial Japanese Navy ships that gathered along with more than 500 aircraft on the Japanese coast at Yokohama Bay for an Imperial fleet review — the largest fleet review in Japanese history — in honor of the 2,600th anniversary of the enthronement of the Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor.
I-68 was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 19 October 1940. While she was inactive, Submarine Squadron 3 was reassigned to the 6th Fleet on 15 November 1940. She returned to active service on 25 July 1941.
By 11 November 1941, Submarine Squadron 3 had been assigned to the 6th Fleet's Advance Force. That day, the 6th Fleet's commander, Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu, held a meeting with the commanding officers of the submarines of the squadron aboard his flagship, the light cruiser Katori, and his chief of staff briefed them on plans for Operation Z, the upcoming surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack would begin the Pacific campaign and bring Japan and the United States into World War II.
As Japanese military forces began to deploy for the opening Japanese offensive of the war, I-68 departed Saeki Bay on the coast of Kyushu on 11 November 1941 in company with the submarines I-8, I-69, I-70, I-71, I-72, and I-73 bound for Kwajalein Atoll, which she reached on 20 November 1941. Assigned to support Operation Z, I-68 got underway from Kwajalein on 23 November 1941 and set course for the Hawaiian Islands. While she was en route, she received the message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese: Niitakayama nobore 1208) from the Combined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with the Allies would commence on 8 December 1941 Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Hawaii.
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