Wreck of HIJMS I-176

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, submarine

Laid down at the Kure Navy Yard as the lead ship in her class of Submarines in June 1940, HIJMS I-176 commissioned into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy on August 4th, 1942 assigned to Submarine Division 11. After training and exercises lasting a little less than a month, the I-176 departed Kure for Truk where she began her war against the United States and her Allies.

Though originally slated for patrols of the Marshall Islands, the American Invasion of Guadalcanal and the battle raging for control of the island saw the I-176 reassigned to Patrol Group A and departed for her first war patrol on September 18th bound for the Coral Sea. Less than a month later, she found herself in prime location to catch a group of American Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers crossing her bow and promptly sent a torpedo into the Starboard side of the USS Chester (CA-27) before she was chased off by Destroyers. Though her first combat did not result in a kill, the Chester was out of action for almost a year under major repair in the United States. Returning to Truk after her maiden patrol, the I-176 was ordered to begin clandestine supply runs to reinforce the Japanese Army forces on Guadalcanal, and began her operations as part of the "Tokyo Express" in November 1942 which she continued up to the evacuation of Guadalcanal by Japanese forces in February 1943.

Continuing her operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea areas through late March 1943, the I-176 was heavily damaged by strafing while offloading supplies in Lae harbor on March 19th and was forced to return to Japan for repairs lasting until July. Returning to Rabaul, the I-176 continued her supply and patrol operations between Rabaul and Lae through November of 1943, often coming under attack by American aircraft but emerging with minimal damage and notching her name in the history books for her sinking of the USS Corvina (SS-226) on November 16th, the first and only time a Japanese Submarine destroyed one of her American counterparts during the Second World War. Returning to Japan for a scheduled overhaul, her crew were received as hero's for their historic first kill.

Emerging from the yard in March 1944 assigned to Submarine Squadron 1, the I-176 sailed for Truk where she loaded supplies for a transport run to Buka Island, North of Bougainville, and departed on May 10th with a stated ETA of May 18th. Two days out of Truk the I-176 was sighted but not attacked by an American aircraft which relayed the course and speed of the surfaced submarine to American Destroyers operating in the Treasury Islands. Four days later, the I-176 ran straight into a four-ship picket line of Destroyers USS Franks (DD-554), USS Haggard (DD-555), USS Hailey (DD-556) and USS Johnston (DD-557) during the evening and despite her best effort to remain silent in deep water she was picked up by sonar operators aboard the USS Haggard who initiated a sustained depth charge attack at 2213hrs along with the USS Franks.

Continuing for the next two hours, the I-176 and her crew endured five separate depth charge attacks before a heavy rippling explosion was heard from the depths aboard the American ships. Echolocating the source of the sound, the USS Franks dropped a 15-depth charge spread directly onto the heavily damaged I-176 which sank her with all 103 hands at this location at 0015hrs on May 16th, 1944.

www.combinedfleet.com/I-176.htm