The I-169

Japan's submarine fleet was expected to play a significant role in the war, and the I-169 was very active. To some extent, the I-169 can be used as a generic example to illustrate Japan's submarine program because her experience was typical of the way that Japan's boats were utilized in WWII.

She was a big, fast boat in her time. Launched in the mid-1930s, the I-169 had good surface speed and range, characteristics which made her in ideal boat for the vast Pacific. However, like most Japanese boats, she was noisy and had a very limited operating depth. As the war progressed, the US Navy learned about anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic, fighting Hitler's U-boats. The tactics learned in the Atlantic were deadly against boats like the I-169. None of her type survived the war.

The I-169 participated in the "Hawaii Operation", as the Japanese call the Pearl Harbor strike. She was deployed off Oahu with orders to rescue the crews of the Japanese midget submarines that were expected to infiltrate Pearl Harbor and torpedo US warships. None of the midget submarine crews returned, however, and the I-169 ended up tangled in an anti-submarine net1. The crew of the I-169 nearly ran out of air and died before the boat could be surfaced. She would continue to have bad luck during her operational career.


No known photograph of the I-169 exists. She's identical to the I-168, shown here.
Photo credit: National Archives.

According to her Tabular Record of Movement, or TROM, the I-169 participated in actions including Midway, Guadalcanal and the Aleutians campaign. Her only confirmed score was the Dutch freighter Tjinegara.

The I-169 was lost by accident, long after the Hailstone raids. She was taking on supplies while riding her anchor when a US Army Air Force bombing raid was detected. The boat dived before watertight integrity was restored and she flooded. Rescue operation were unsuccessful and the crew either drowned immediately or suffocated as air ran out. The boat was demolished by depth charges before the war's end.

Diving the I-169

The I-169 lies on a sloping bottom, with a 130fsw maximum depth. She would be a popular dive execpt for the fact that:

  1. The water quality where she went down is marginal.
  2. The Japanese purposly wrecked her to prevent her capture.
Item no.2 is especially heartbreaking because the boat was so obsolete compared to the submarines of the US Navy. The USN could salvage nothing of value from her wreck, so the decision to depth-charge her was a waste of effort for the Japanese. Had the boat been left intact, she would be a much more interesting dive.

She is a good dive, however. The I-169 is a historic and interesting wreck that would be very popular anywhere else in the world, but at Truk she has competition from so many world-class wrecks that she's often overlooked. The wreck is close to Moen Island and an easy ride from the dive shop. The demolition was most effective at the boat's bow, so the most intact section is the stern.


My brother Matt and myself at the I-169's after escape hatch.
Photo credit: Dan Bailey.

The wreck lies in three parts. The bow section has been reduced to a debris field. The mid-ships conning tower lays off to the side of the wreck. Her stern is upright with a list to port. There are artifacts from the failed rescue efforts alongside the boat, such as parted lifting cables and air hoses. A single tank of air results in a bottom time of about twenty minutes, which is just about enough time to explore the I-169.

Note 1. There is some indication that the I-169 was actually entangled in the anchor chains of a mine field.

 

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