Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku
Encyclopedia
Shōkaku (Japanese
: 翔鶴 "Flying Crane") was an aircraft carrier
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, the lead ship
of her class. Along with her sister ship
, she took part in several key naval battle
s during the Pacific War
, including the attack on Pearl Harbor
, the Battle of the Coral Sea
and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
before being torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine at the Battle of the Philippine Sea
.
. No longer restricted by the provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty, which expired in December 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy was free to incorporate all those features they deemed most desirable in an aircraft carrier, namely high speed, a long radius of action, heavy protection and a large aircraft capacity. Shōkaku was laid down at Yokosuka Dockyard on 12 December 1937, launched on 1 June 1939, and commissioned on 8 August 1941.
With an efficient modern design, a displacement of about 32000 LT (32,513.6 t), and a top speed of 34 kn (66.6 km/h; 41.4 mph), Shōkaku could carry 70-80 aircraft. Her enhanced protection compared favorably to that of contemporary Allied aircraft carriers and enabled Shōkaku to survive serious battle damage during Coral Sea and Santa Cruz
.
, though with a 35.3 m (115.8 ft) longer overall length, 4.6 m (15.1 ft) wider beam and a larger island. As in Hiryū, the forecastle was raised to the level of the upper hangar deck to improve seakeeping. She also had a wider, more rounded and heavily flared bow which kept the flight deck dry in most sea conditions.
The carrier's forefoot was of the newly developed bulbous type, sometimes referred to informally as a Taylor pear, which served to reduce the hull's underwater drag within a given range of speeds, improving both the ship's speed and endurance. Unlike the larger bulbous forefoots fitted to the battleships Yamato
and Musashi
, however, Shōkakus did not protrude beyond the ship's stem.
Shōkaku was 10,000 tons heavier than the Sōryū-class carriers, mainly due to the extra armor incorporated into the ship's design. Vertical protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) on the main armor deck over the machinery, magazines and aviation fuel tanks while horizontal protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) along the waterline belt abreast the machinery spaces reducing to 150 mm (5.9 in) outboard of the magazines
Unlike British carriers, whose aviation fuel was stored in separate cylinders or coffer-dams surrounded by seawater, all pre-war Japanese carriers had their aviation fuel tanks built integral with the ship's hull and Shōkaku was no exception. The dangers this posed, however, did not become evident until wartime experience demonstrated these were often prone to cracking and leaking as the shocks and stresses of hits or near-misses to the carrier's hull were inevitably transferred to and absorbed by the fuel tanks. Following the debacle at Midway
in mid-1942, the empty air spaces around Shōkakus aviation fuel tanks, normally pumped full of inert carbon dioxide, were instead filled with concrete in an attempt to protect them from possible damage. But this did little to prevent volatile fumes spreading to the hangar decks in the event damage did occur, particularly demonstrated when Cavalla torpedoed and sank her. Shōkaku normally stowed 150,000 gallons of AvGas for operational use.
The flight deck and both hangars (upper and lower) were serviced by three elevators, the largest being the forward one at 13 m (42.7 ft) by 16 m (52.5 ft). All three were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to 5000 kilogram and raising or lowering them took approximately 15-20 seconds.
Shōkakus nine Type 4 electrically operated arrester wires followed the same standard arrangement as that on Hiryū, three forward and six aft. They were capable of stopping a 6000 kilogram aircraft at speeds of 60-78 knots. A third crash barrier was added and a light collapsible wind-break screen was installed just forward of the island.
Hangar space was not greatly increased in comparison to the Sōryū-class carriers and both Shōkaku and Zuikaku could each carry just nine more aircraft than Sōryū, giving them a normal operating capacity of seventy-two plus room for twelve in reserve. Unlike on Sōryū, the reserve aircraft did not need to be kept in a state of disassembly, however, thereby shortening the time required to make them operational.
After experimenting with port-side islands on two previous carriers, Akagi and Hiryū, the IJN opted to build both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku with starboard-side islands.
In September 1942, a Type 21 air-warning radar was installed on Shōkakus island atop the central fire control director, the first such device to be fitted on any Japanese carrier. The Type 21 had a "mattress" antenna and the initial prototypes were light enough that no major structural modifications were necessary. Later versions, however, were bulkier and required eventual removal of the fifth fire control director in order to accommodate the larger and heavier antenna.
Initially, light AA defense was provided by twelve triple-mount 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in) AA guns. Further mounts were added in 1943.
s, 27 Aichi D3A
1 "Val" dive bomber
s, and 27 Nakajima B5N
1 or -2 "Kate" torpedo bomber
s.
Shōkaku and Zuikaku joined the Kido Butai ("Mobile Unit/Force", the Combined Fleet
's main carrier battle group
) and participated in Japan's early wartime naval offensives, including Pearl Harbor and the attack on Rabaul
in January 1942.
In the Indian Ocean raid
of March–April 1942, aircraft from Shōkaku, along with the rest of Kido Butai, attacked
Colombo
, Ceylon
on 5 April, sinking two ships in harbor and severely damaging support facilities. The task force also found and sank two Royal Navy
heavy cruiser
s, ( and ), on the same day, as well as the aircraft carrier on 9 April off Batticaloa
.
The Fifth Carrier Division was then deployed to Truk
to support Operation Mo
(the planned capture of Port Moresby
in New Guinea
). During this operation, Shōkakus aircraft helped sink the American aircraft carrier during the Battle of the Coral Sea
but was herself severely damaged on 8 May 1942 by dive bombers from and Lexington which scored three bomb hits: one on the carrier's port bow, one to starboard at the forward end of the flight deck and one just abaft the island. Fires broke out but were eventually contained and extinguished. The resulting damage required Shōkaku to return to Japan for major repairs.
On the journey back, the carrier shipped so much water through her damaged bow she nearly capsized in heavy seas, maintaining a high rate of speed in order to avoid a cordon of American submarines out hunting for her. She arrived at Kure on 17 May 1942 and entered drydock on 16 June 1942. Repairs were completed within ten days and, a little over two weeks later on 14 July, she was formally reassigned to Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, Carrier Division 1.
The time required for repairs, combined with the aircraft and aircrew losses incurred by her and Zuikaku, kept both carriers from participating in the Battle of Midway
.
Following her return to front-line duty, both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku, with the addition of the light carrier , were redesignated as First Carrier Division
and took part in two further battles in 1942: the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
, where they damaged , and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
, where they crippled (Hornet was abandoned and later sunk by Japanese destroyers and ), but Shokaku was in turn damaged by dive-bombers of Enterprise, which therefore prevented the bombardment of nearby Henderson Field, and once again kept her out of action for months, leaving other Japanese defensive operations in the Pacific lacking sufficient airpower.
At Santa Cruz, on October 26 1942, Shōkaku was again seriously damaged, taking at least three (and possibly as many as six) 1,000-lb. bomb hits from a group of fifteen Douglas SBD-3 dive bombers launched from Hornet. With ample warning of the incoming American strike, Shōkakus aviation fuel mains to the flight deck and hangars had been drained down and she had few aircraft on board at the time of the attack. As a result, no major fires broke out and her seaworthiness was preserved. Her flight deck and hangars, however, were left in shambles and she was unable to conduct further air operations during the remainder of the battle.
After several months of repairs and training, Shōkaku, now under the command of Captain Matsubara Hiroshi, was assigned in May 1943 to a counterattack against the Aleutian Islands, but the operation was cancelled after the Allied victory at Attu
. For the rest of 1943, she was based at Truk, then returned to Japan for maintenance late in the year.
south of Singapore
. On 15 June, 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
, she was struck at 11:22 on 19 June by three (possibly four) torpedo
es from the submarine
(Commander Herman J. Kossler). As Shōkaku had been in the process of refueling and rearming aircraft and was in an extremely vulnerable position, the torpedoes started fires that proved impossible to control. At 12:10, an aerial bomb exploded, detonating aviation fuel vapors which had spread throughout the ship. "Abandon Ship" was ordered, but before the evacuation had progressed very far, Shōkaku abruptly took on water forward and sank quickly bow-first at position 11°40′N 137°40′E, taking 1,272 men with her. The light cruiser and destroyers , , and rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: 翔鶴 "Flying Crane") was an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class. Along with her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
, she took part in several key naval battle
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
s during the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, including the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
before being torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine at the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
.
Design
The Shōkaku class carriers were part of the same program that also included the Yamato-class battleshipsYamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
. No longer restricted by the provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty, which expired in December 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy was free to incorporate all those features they deemed most desirable in an aircraft carrier, namely high speed, a long radius of action, heavy protection and a large aircraft capacity. Shōkaku was laid down at Yokosuka Dockyard on 12 December 1937, launched on 1 June 1939, and commissioned on 8 August 1941.
With an efficient modern design, a displacement of about 32000 LT (32,513.6 t), and a top speed of 34 kn (66.6 km/h; 41.4 mph), Shōkaku could carry 70-80 aircraft. Her enhanced protection compared favorably to that of contemporary Allied aircraft carriers and enabled Shōkaku to survive serious battle damage during Coral Sea and Santa Cruz
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
.
Hull
In appearance, Shōkaku resembled an enlarged HiryūHiryu
Hiryū *Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū*Strider Hiryu, a ninja-like video game character*Hiryu Ken Twin, video game series...
, though with a 35.3 m (115.8 ft) longer overall length, 4.6 m (15.1 ft) wider beam and a larger island. As in Hiryū, the forecastle was raised to the level of the upper hangar deck to improve seakeeping. She also had a wider, more rounded and heavily flared bow which kept the flight deck dry in most sea conditions.
The carrier's forefoot was of the newly developed bulbous type, sometimes referred to informally as a Taylor pear, which served to reduce the hull's underwater drag within a given range of speeds, improving both the ship's speed and endurance. Unlike the larger bulbous forefoots fitted to the battleships Yamato
Yamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
and Musashi
Japanese battleship Musashi
, named after the ancient Japanese Musashi Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet. She was the second ship of the...
, however, Shōkakus did not protrude beyond the ship's stem.
Shōkaku was 10,000 tons heavier than the Sōryū-class carriers, mainly due to the extra armor incorporated into the ship's design. Vertical protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) on the main armor deck over the machinery, magazines and aviation fuel tanks while horizontal protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) along the waterline belt abreast the machinery spaces reducing to 150 mm (5.9 in) outboard of the magazines
Unlike British carriers, whose aviation fuel was stored in separate cylinders or coffer-dams surrounded by seawater, all pre-war Japanese carriers had their aviation fuel tanks built integral with the ship's hull and Shōkaku was no exception. The dangers this posed, however, did not become evident until wartime experience demonstrated these were often prone to cracking and leaking as the shocks and stresses of hits or near-misses to the carrier's hull were inevitably transferred to and absorbed by the fuel tanks. Following the debacle at Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
in mid-1942, the empty air spaces around Shōkakus aviation fuel tanks, normally pumped full of inert carbon dioxide, were instead filled with concrete in an attempt to protect them from possible damage. But this did little to prevent volatile fumes spreading to the hangar decks in the event damage did occur, particularly demonstrated when Cavalla torpedoed and sank her. Shōkaku normally stowed 150,000 gallons of AvGas for operational use.
Machinery
The geared turbines installed on Shōkaku were essentially the same as those on Sōryū, maximum power increasing by 8000 shp to 160000 shp. In spite of all the additional armor, greater displacement and a 2.1 m (6.9 ft) increase in draught, Shōkaku was able to attain a speed of just over 34.2 kn (67 km/h; 41.6 mph) during trials. Maximum fuel bunkerage was 4100 tons, giving her a radius of action of 9700 nmi (17,964.4 km; 11,162.6 mi) at 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph). Two same-sized downward-curving funnels on the ship's starboard side, just abaft the island, vented exhaust gases horizontally from the boilers and were sufficiently angled to keep the flight deck free of smoke in most wind conditions.Flight Deck & Hangars
Shōkakus 242 m (794 ft) long wood-planked flight deck ended short of the ship's bow and, just barely, that of the stern. It was supported by four steel pillars forward of the hangar box and by two pillars aft.The flight deck and both hangars (upper and lower) were serviced by three elevators, the largest being the forward one at 13 m (42.7 ft) by 16 m (52.5 ft). All three were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to 5000 kilogram and raising or lowering them took approximately 15-20 seconds.
Shōkakus nine Type 4 electrically operated arrester wires followed the same standard arrangement as that on Hiryū, three forward and six aft. They were capable of stopping a 6000 kilogram aircraft at speeds of 60-78 knots. A third crash barrier was added and a light collapsible wind-break screen was installed just forward of the island.
Hangar space was not greatly increased in comparison to the Sōryū-class carriers and both Shōkaku and Zuikaku could each carry just nine more aircraft than Sōryū, giving them a normal operating capacity of seventy-two plus room for twelve in reserve. Unlike on Sōryū, the reserve aircraft did not need to be kept in a state of disassembly, however, thereby shortening the time required to make them operational.
After experimenting with port-side islands on two previous carriers, Akagi and Hiryū, the IJN opted to build both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku with starboard-side islands.
In September 1942, a Type 21 air-warning radar was installed on Shōkakus island atop the central fire control director, the first such device to be fitted on any Japanese carrier. The Type 21 had a "mattress" antenna and the initial prototypes were light enough that no major structural modifications were necessary. Later versions, however, were bulkier and required eventual removal of the fifth fire control director in order to accommodate the larger and heavier antenna.
Armament
Shōkakus primary air defense consisted of sixteen 127 mm (5 in) dual-purpose AA guns in twin mountings. These were sited below flight deck level on projecting sponsons with four such paired batteries on either side of the ship's hull, two forward and two aft. Four fire control directors were installed, two on the port side and two to starboard. A fifth fire control director was located atop the carrier's island and could control any or all of the heavy-caliber guns as needed.Initially, light AA defense was provided by twelve triple-mount 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in) AA guns. Further mounts were added in 1943.
Operational history
Shōkaku and Zuikaku formed the Japanese 5th Carrier Division, embarking their aircraft shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack. Each carrier's aircraft complement consisted of 15 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighterFighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
s, 27 Aichi D3A
Aichi D3A
The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....
1 "Val" dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s, and 27 Nakajima B5N
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
1 or -2 "Kate" torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s.
Shōkaku and Zuikaku joined the Kido Butai ("Mobile Unit/Force", the Combined Fleet
Combined Fleet
The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime....
's main carrier battle group
Carrier battle group
A carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts, together composing the group. The first naval task forces built around carriers appeared just prior to and during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the first to assemble a large number of carriers into a single...
) and participated in Japan's early wartime naval offensives, including Pearl Harbor and the attack on Rabaul
Battle of Rabaul (1942)
The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II...
in January 1942.
In the Indian Ocean raid
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...
of March–April 1942, aircraft from Shōkaku, along with the rest of Kido Butai, attacked
Easter Sunday Raid
The Easter Sunday Raid was an air attack by carrier-based aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy against Colombo, Ceylon , on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, during World War II. This attack was part of the Indian Ocean Raid, and was followed a few days later by a similar attack on Trincomalee...
Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
on 5 April, sinking two ships in harbor and severely damaging support facilities. The task force also found and sank two Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s, ( and ), on the same day, as well as the aircraft carrier on 9 April off Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
.
The Fifth Carrier Division was then deployed to Truk
Chuuk
Chuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
to support Operation Mo
Operation Mo
Operation Mo or the Port Moresby Operation was the name of the Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific with the goal of isolating Australia and New Zealand from their ally the United States...
(the planned capture of Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
). During this operation, Shōkakus aircraft helped sink the American aircraft carrier during the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
but was herself severely damaged on 8 May 1942 by dive bombers from and Lexington which scored three bomb hits: one on the carrier's port bow, one to starboard at the forward end of the flight deck and one just abaft the island. Fires broke out but were eventually contained and extinguished. The resulting damage required Shōkaku to return to Japan for major repairs.
On the journey back, the carrier shipped so much water through her damaged bow she nearly capsized in heavy seas, maintaining a high rate of speed in order to avoid a cordon of American submarines out hunting for her. She arrived at Kure on 17 May 1942 and entered drydock on 16 June 1942. Repairs were completed within ten days and, a little over two weeks later on 14 July, she was formally reassigned to Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, Carrier Division 1.
The time required for repairs, combined with the aircraft and aircrew losses incurred by her and Zuikaku, kept both carriers from participating in the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
.
Following her return to front-line duty, both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku, with the addition of the light carrier , were redesignated as First Carrier Division
First Carrier Division
was an aircraft carrier unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet. At the beginning of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, the First Carrier Division consisted of the fleet carriers Akagi and Kaga. The division participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor and Indian Ocean Raid...
and took part in two further battles in 1942: the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
, where they damaged , and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
, where they crippled (Hornet was abandoned and later sunk by Japanese destroyers and ), but Shokaku was in turn damaged by dive-bombers of Enterprise, which therefore prevented the bombardment of nearby Henderson Field, and once again kept her out of action for months, leaving other Japanese defensive operations in the Pacific lacking sufficient airpower.
At Santa Cruz, on October 26 1942, Shōkaku was again seriously damaged, taking at least three (and possibly as many as six) 1,000-lb. bomb hits from a group of fifteen Douglas SBD-3 dive bombers launched from Hornet. With ample warning of the incoming American strike, Shōkakus aviation fuel mains to the flight deck and hangars had been drained down and she had few aircraft on board at the time of the attack. As a result, no major fires broke out and her seaworthiness was preserved. Her flight deck and hangars, however, were left in shambles and she was unable to conduct further air operations during the remainder of the battle.
After several months of repairs and training, Shōkaku, now under the command of Captain Matsubara Hiroshi, was assigned in May 1943 to a counterattack against the Aleutian Islands, but the operation was cancelled after the Allied victory at Attu
Battle of the Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands Campaign was a struggle over the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska, in the Pacific campaign of World War II starting on 3 June 1942. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska, but the remoteness of the islands and the difficulties of weather and terrain meant...
. For the rest of 1943, she was based at Truk, then returned to Japan for maintenance late in the year.
Sinking
In 1944, Shōkaku was deployed to the Lingga IslandsLingga Islands
Not to be confused with "Linga", a common Scottish island name, see Linga The Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago are a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Islands province on Sumatra island...
south of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. On 15 June, she departed with the Mobile Fleet for Operation "A-Go", a counterattack against Allied forces in the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
, she was struck at 11:22 on 19 June by three (possibly four) torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es from the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
(Commander Herman J. Kossler). As Shōkaku had been in the process of refueling and rearming aircraft and was in an extremely vulnerable position, the torpedoes started fires that proved impossible to control. At 12:10, an aerial bomb exploded, detonating aviation fuel vapors which had spread throughout the ship. "Abandon Ship" was ordered, but before the evacuation had progressed very far, Shōkaku abruptly took on water forward and sank quickly bow-first at position 11°40′N 137°40′E, taking 1,272 men with her. The light cruiser and destroyers , , and rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men.
Commanding officers
| Rank | Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Captain | Jojima Takatsugu | 8 August 1941 | 25 May 1942 |
| 2 | Captain | Masafumi Arima Masafumi Arima was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. A pilot, he is sometimes credited with being the first to use the kamikaze attack, although official accounts may have been invented for propaganda purposes.-Biography:... |
May 25, 1942 | 16 February 1943 |
| 3 | Captain | Okada Tametsugu | 16 February 1943 | 17 November 1943 |
| 4 | Captain | Matsubara Hiroshi | 17 November 1943 | 19 June 1944 |
External links
- US Navy photos of Shokaku
- Tabular record of movement from combinedfleet.com
- Anthony Tully, Jon Parshall and Richard Wolff, The Sinking of Shokaku — An Analysis