 I-68 in March 1934.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | I-68 |
| Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan |
| Laid down | 18 June 1931 |
| Launched | 26 June 1933 |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1934 |
| Decommissioned | 15 December 1938 |
| Recommissioned | 1 May 1939 |
| Decommissioned | 19 October 1940 |
| Recommissioned | 25 July 1941 |
| Renamed | I-168 on 20 May 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk by USS Scamp, 27 July 1943 |
| Stricken | 15 October 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | KD6 Kaidai-type submarine |
| Displacement | 1,400 (1,785 maximum) tons surface, 2,440 tons submerged[1] |
| Length | 322 ft 10 in (98.40 m) |
| Beam | 26 ft 11 in (8.20 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin shaft Kampon 9,000 bhp (6,700 kW) two-stroke diesel engines |
| Speed | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) diesel/8.2 knots (15.2 km/h; 9.4 mph) electric[1] |
| Range | 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi)[1] |
| Test depth | 230 ft (70 m) |
| Complement | 60–84 |
| Armament |
|
I-68, later renumbered I-168, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai–type cruiser submarine[1] 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 (CV-5) and the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412).