IJN
I 168 Class Submarine
Tons
1,400
Dimensions
336 / 27 / 15
Crew
at least 100
Ship History
The
I-169, also named "Shinohara", participated in the attack
at Pearl Harbor together with her sistership I-170. During the raid she became entangled in an antisubmarine net, and was nearly lost.
Sinking History
On
April 2, 1944 it was in Truk replenishing supplies. There was a warning issue about an impending
B-24 raid. The sub submerged at 1100 hours, as was standard procedure
to sit out the raid at the bottom. This was standard procedure for submarines
at Truk because there were no submarine pens. When the sub failed to
resurface, a rescue tug and diver were dispatched.
Tragedy Strikes
A valve had either come loose, or was never
secured, flooding the control room, and the sub was not able to blow
air and surface. The rest of the had sealed off the flooded area and
were alive, and able to signal to respond to the diver's hammering.
The next day, a repair ship with a 30 ton crane was dispatched to hoist
the bow to the surface. One of the crane's cable broke, indicating that
the flooding was more extensive than estimated.
By this time, tapping responses from the crew were only coming from the aft compartment. Air hoses were next lowered and drilled into the blow and ballast tanks, but it was impossible to signal the crew to open the air valves to the ballast tanks. By 2300 hours, none of the crew responded to rescuers. All the crew members had suffocated, and nighttime B-24 raids interrupted any further investigations. Over the next six weeks, Japanese divers investigated the wreck to determine the cause of the sinking. 32 bodies were recovered. Their investigations did not reveal the reasons for the tragedy. With the threat of invasion by US forces, the wreck was bombarded with depth charges to prevent the sub's technology from falling into American hands.
Discovery
In 1971, the wreck was discovered by
divers with film equipment. They entered the sub through an engine room
hatch and filmed the interior of the submarine with the skeletal remains
of its crew. When this footage was shown in Japan, it caused much concern
and nearly $100,000 was donated to recover these remains. In August
1973, a professional diving team using a dredge located personal effects
and about 70 skulls. Photos, books, clothing, cameras and other personal
effects along with the bones were cremated as part of the Shinto rites.
The remains of nearly 100 were removed, indicating that there were more
people on the sub than the normal crew of 70. Probably the support personal
and workmen loading the sub On April 2nd were aboard when it made its
final dive. The salvage team welded the sub's hatches shut before leaving.
Shipwreck
Very little marine growth grows on the wreck. The
water quality in this area is poor. The bow and conning tower have been
heavily damaged from the depth charges that were fired to destroy it.
Wreckage and debris is strewn about, and the 3.9 inch deck gun is lying
in a pile of wreckage off to the side. The wreck is in 130 to 150 feet
of water. Hoses and cables from the rescue efforts are along the side
of the hold. The stern is also heavily damaged from depth charges. Two
divers were killed in April 1974 while exploring the wreck. One diver
drown when he became trapped in the engine room. His partner attempted
to free him, but ran out of air and was forced to surface.
