Japanese seaplane carrier Mizuho
Encyclopedia
was a seaplane carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy
during World War II
. The ship was built at Kawasaki Shipbuilding at Kobe
, Japan
, and was completed in February 1939.
, but with slightly less powerful diesel engines instead of Chitoses turbines. She carried 24 seaplanes, and was equipped to carry twelve miniature submarines, although she could not carry full loads of both at one time.
, which was later sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ryujo
and gunfire from the heavy cruiser
s Ashigara
and Myoko
.
torpedoed Mizuho at 23:03 hours on 1 May 1942 40 nautical mile
s (74 km) off Omaezaki
, Japan. She capsized and sank at 04:16 hours on 2 May 1942 with the loss of 101 lives. There were 472 suvivors, of which 31 were wounded.
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...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The ship was built at Kawasaki Shipbuilding at Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and was completed in February 1939.
Construction
Mizuho was built to a similar design as the seaplane carrier ChitoseJapanese aircraft carrier Chitose
was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It should not be confused with the earlier cruiser of the same name. First laid down as a seaplane tender in 1934 at Kure Navy yard, the ship originally carried Kawanishi E7K Type 94 "Alf" and Nakajima E8N Type 95...
, but with slightly less powerful diesel engines instead of Chitoses turbines. She carried 24 seaplanes, and was equipped to carry twelve miniature submarines, although she could not carry full loads of both at one time.
Combat
Mizuho participated in invasion support for much of her career; her first mission was with the Fourth Surprise Attack Force. On 1 March 1942, planes from Mizuho and Chitose damaged the American destroyerDestroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, which was later sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ryujo
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo
Ryūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
and gunfire from the 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 Ashigara
Japanese cruiser Ashigara
Ashigara was a Myōkō class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The other ships of her class were Myōkō , Nachi , and Haguro...
and Myoko
Japanese cruiser Myoko
was the name-ship of the four-member of heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy — the other ships of the class being the Nachi, Ashigara, and Haguro....
.
Sinking
The American submarineSubmarine
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...
torpedoed Mizuho at 23:03 hours on 1 May 1942 40 nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s (74 km) off Omaezaki
Omaezaki, Shizuoka
is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Omaezaki is located at the tip of a peninsula on Japan's Pacific coast. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 34,614 and the density of 530 persons per km². The total area was 65.86 km².- Geography :...
, Japan. She capsized and sank at 04:16 hours on 2 May 1942 with the loss of 101 lives. There were 472 suvivors, of which 31 were wounded.