Action of 17 July 1944

4°27′N 100°11′E / 4.45°N 100.18°E / 4.45; 100.18

Action of 17 July 1944
Part of The Pacific War of the Second World War
Strait of Malacca (in red)
Date 17 July 1944 Location off Penang, Malaysia, Indian Ocean Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Bill King	Suwa Koichiro
Strength
Submarine Telemachus	Submarine I-166
Casualties and losses
None	I-166 sunk 88 killed

The action of 17 July 1944 was a submarine engagement of World War II. It resulted in the sinking of the Japanese Navy's Kadai-type submarine I-166 in the Strait of Malacca by the British Royal Navy submarine Telemachus.^[1]

Operating for the first time with the Eastern Fleet at Colombo in Ceylon, Commander Bill King on 13 July had put himself in a position known as One Fathom bank in order to intercept Japanese traffic between Penang and Singapore. They waited until the 17th when submerged, the ASDIC operator alerted King to the sound of propellers, and the watch soon spotted a Japanese submarine; that being I-166.^[2]