Japanese Submarine Victory at Midway

田辺弥八

It was on this day in 1942, at the end of the Battle of Midway, that a certain Japanese submarine struck a heavy blow against the United States Navy and elevated one Japanese sub commander to the status of an underwater ace. The man was Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe and his boat was the Kaidai class, series 6, submarine I-168. Deployed to the island of Midway, the I-168 circled in from the south and first only observed the island from a distance, taking note of the air defenses and overall state of readiness. On the night of June 5, the I-168 surfaced near Midway and fired six shells from her deck gun at the island before being spotted and forced to submerge again. American aircraft were quickly dispatched to sink the I-168 but their attacks were unsuccessful. The submarine surfaced and on June 6 received orders to close in and attack the crippled American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5). It was the order to carry out the attack that would prove to be the most successful strike by a Japanese submarine during the war.

伊号第一六八潜水艦

The USS Yorktown had already been damaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which had been a tactical victory for Japan, but the emergency of the Battle of Midway forced her back into action. During the battle, Yorktown was hit by Japanese dive bombers but kept the damage under control and was able to continue on. Then, the massive ship was hit by torpedo planes and suffered extensive damage and the crew were ordered to abandon ship. However, it was expected that it could be salvaged, repaired and return to the fight in the future. American destroyers prowled all around the carrier, picking up the crew and making preparations to pull the ship back to Hawaii for repairs. That, however, is when they were spotted by Lt. Commander Yahachi Tanabe on the bridge of I-168. He had orders to finish off the carrier so that it could not threaten Japan again and he was determined to carry out those orders successfully. The approach alone would take a great deal of skill and nerve even for a veteran sailor in order to get into a favorable firing position but Commander Tanabe was more than equal to the task.

雷撃されたヨークタウンとハマン（再現）

Lieutenant Commander Tanabe Yahachi was a native of Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku Island who graduated from the naval academy in 1928 and he had been through extensive torpedo and dive training. I-168 submerged and slowly crept forward toward the massive American aircraft carrier. All the debris in the water from the battle made it very dangerous but it also helped I-168 to hide itself as none of the American destroyers noticed the submarine approaching. Commander Tanabe passed right underneath the cordon of destroyers and positioned himself in just the right spot with the USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Hammann right in his sights. Taking careful aim through the periscope, he fired off a spread of four torpedoes, sending two into the Yorktown (a third missed) and one into the Hammann. The Hammann shuddered under the massive explosion and sank in less than five minutes. The Yorktown was mortally wounded but was so tough a ship that it still lasted until the following day when it finally sank beneath the waves. This was the biggest success of the otherwise unfortunate Battle of Midway for Japan and it left the United States with only two aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean at the time.

Of course, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, the I-168 came under fierce attack by the other American destroyers that had been guarding the Yorktown. Three US Navy destroyers pounded the I-168 with more than sixty depth charges, inflicting some serious damage. However, the crew were able to keep it under control and the submarine escaped. Later, after being able to come to the surface, I-168 was spotted and fired on by American ships but, once again, managed to escape. The submarine limped back to Japan but arrived to a hero’s welcome. Ultimately, like all the other boats of her class, the I-168 did not survive the war but was sunk in 1943 with all hands off the island of New Hanover by an American destroyer. However, Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe was lucky enough to survive the war. He was promoted to Commander, made an instructor and worked in company management after the war until his retirement. He died on April 29, 1990 at the age of 84 but he will always be remembered as one of the greatest Japanese submarine commanders in history for his stunning attack on the last day of the Battle of Midway.