Everything about Japanese Aircraft Carrier Sh Kaku totally explained
Shōkaku (
Japanese: 翔鶴
shōkaku meaning "flying crane") was an
aircraft carrier of the
Imperial Japanese Navy, the
lead ship of her class. Along with her sister ship
Zuikaku, she's most famous for taking part in many key engagements of the World War II Pacific Theatre, including the battles of
Pearl Harbor and
the Coral Sea.
Design
Shōkaku was laid down at
Yokosuka Dockyard on
December 12,
1937, launched on
June 1,
1939, and commissioned on
August 8,
1941. The
Shōkaku class were part of the same program that also included
Yamato-class battleships. With an efficient modern design, a displacement of about 30,000 tons, and a top speed of 34 knots (63 km/h),
Shōkaku could carry 70 to 80 aircraft. Her enhanced protection compared to contemporary Allied aircraft carriers enabled
Shōkaku to survive serious battle damage during Coral Sea and Santa Cruz, although she met her end from submarine torpedoes.
Shōkaku and her sister ship
Zuikaku, forming the Japanese 5th Carrier Division, acquired their aircraft shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack and were ready just in time for it. Her aircraft complement consisted of 15
Mitsubishi A6M fighters, 27
Aichi D3A dive bombers, and 27
Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers.
WWII service
With
Zuikaku,
Shōkaku joined the
Kido Butai (Pearl Harbor attack force) and participated in Japan's series of early wartime naval offensives, including an
attack on Rabaul in January 1942, and the
Battle of the Coral Sea in May.
In the
Indian Ocean raid of March 1942, she joined the aircraft carriers
Akagi,
Zuikaku,
Sōryū, and
Hiryū in raiding
Colombo. There Admiral
Chuichi Nagumo succeeded in extensively damaging support facilities.
That task completed, the task force found and sank the British carrier
Hermes, and two cruisers (
Cornwall and
Dorsetshire), prior to moving on to the Coral Sea. Here she helped to sink
USS Lexington, but was herself severely damaged by
USS Yorktown's aircraft in return.
After repairs,
Shōkaku took part in two further 1942 battles, both in concert with her sister: the
battle of the Eastern Solomons, where they damaged
USS Enterprise, and the
battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where they sank
USS Hornet but
Shōkaku was once again seriously damaged by dive bombers.
In 1943 under the command of Captain
Matsubara Hiroshi, she resumed her role as one of the Japanese Navy's most important fleet carriers. She was assigned to a counter-attack against the
Aleutian Islands, but the operation was cancelled after the Allied victory at
Attu. For the remainder of 1943 she was based at
Truk.
Fate
In 1944 she was based at
Lingga near
Singapore. On
15 June 1944 she departed with the Mobile Fleet for Operation A-Go, a counterattack against allied forces in the
Mariana Islands. During the
Battle of the Philippine Sea on
19 June 1944 she was hit at 11:23 by three (possibly four)
torpedoes from the U.S. submarine
Cavalla (Commander Herman J. Kossler). As
Shōkaku had been in the process of refueling aircraft and was in an extremely vulnerable position, the torpedoes started fires that proved impossible to control. At 14:08 an aerial bomb exploded, detonating aviation fuel.
Shōkaku sank quickly at position
, killing 1,272 men. The
Yahagi,
Urakaze,
Wakatsuki, and
Hatsuzuki rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men.
Commanding Officers
Gallery
Image:Carrier_shokaku.jpg|Planes from the Shōkaku preparing for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Image:Jap plane leaves Shokaku-Pearl Harbor.jpg|Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" leaves the Shōkaku for Pearl Harbor.
Further Information
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