Evolution of Aircraft Carriers

THE JAPANESE DEVELOPMENTS

‘In the last analysis, the success or failure of our entire strategy in the Pacific will be determined by whether or not
we succeed in destroying the U.S. Fleet, more particularly, its carrier task forces.’—Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, IJN, 1942.
‘I think our principal teacher in respect to the necessity of emphasizing aircraft carriers was the American Navy. We had
no teachers to speak of besides the United States in respect to the aircraft themselves and to the method of their employ-
ment. . . . We were doing our utmost all the time to catch up with the United States.’—FAdm. Osami Nagano, IJN, 1945.

B Y C HRISTMAS E VE 1921, the Wash-

ington Disarmament Conference
had already been going on for a month
By Scot MacDonald

carrier to 27,000 tons, with a provision

was fitted out at Yokosuka Navy Yard
at a standard displacement of 7470
tons, a speed of 25 knots, with the
and a half. Participating were Great that, if total carrier tonnage were not capability of handling six bombers
Britain, Japan, France, Italy, and the thereby exceeded, nations could build (plus four reserve), five fighters (in
United States. It was on this day that two carriers of not more than 33,000 addition to two in reserve), and four
Great Britain refused any limitation on tons each, or obtain them by convert- reconnaissance planes, a total of 21
auxiliary vessels, in view of France’s ing existing or partially constructed aircraft.
demand for 90,000 tons in submarines. ships w h i c h w o u l d o t h e r w i s e b e Hosho was indeed a strange looking
The delegates then began to consider scrapped by the treaty. craft. She was all flying deck. Origi-
confining the treaty to capital ships December 27 that year, Japan com- nally, she had an island structure and a
and aircraft carriers. missioned its first aircraft carrier, the tripod mast, but either because of the
The Washington Naval Treaty, Hosho (“Flying Phoenix”). This was small width of her flying deck (and its
signed February 6, 1922, established a a remarkable hoku bokan (literally, attending hazards) or because some
tonnage ratio of 5-5-3 for the capital mother ship for aircraft). Though the turbulence might have been caused by
ships of Great Britain, the United British were the first to operate aircraft it, the island was taken off.
States, and Japan, respectively, assign- onto and off a ship especially designed The carrier sported three funnels on
ing a smaller tonnage to France and for that use, their first aircraft carriers the starboard side. These were of the
Italy. The same ratio for aircraft car- were conversions. Hosho was a carrier hinged type, held upright when not in
riers was set, with an overall limits- from the keel, the first of its kind com- use, and swung outboard to provide
tion of 135,000 tons each for Great pleted in any navy of the world. additional safety from stack gas. Later,
Britain and the U. S., and 81,000 tons Laid down in 1919 at the Asano they were placed in a fixed position,
for Japan. It also limited any new Shipbuilding Co. of Tsurumi, the ship bending aft and slightly downward.

OCTOBER 1962 39
I

Japanese Y e a r B o o k o f 1 9 2 4 - 2 5 :
“
. . . our Naval flight officers are
making similar experiments with good
results.”
. (In chronological comparison, Eu-
I gene Ely landed on a platform on the
UNDER THE WASHINGTON Naval Treaty, Japan converted a battle cruiser to aircraft carrier char-
armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania Jan-
acteristics. In 1928, that country’s 2nd carrier was completed and named Akagi, after a mountain. uary 18, 1911; USS Langley, the U.S.
Navy’s first aircraft carrier, a con-
verted collier, was commissioned March
Hosho’s original armament consisted as ‘Flying Crane.’
“Think of the problem in trans-
20, 1922; the first U.S. aircraft carrier
of from 14cm single mount guns and
two 8cm single mount high angle literating Shangri La into Japanese,”
said Mr. Pineau. “To paint the picture
guns. At the outbreak of WW II,
accurately, it would be necessary to de-
her high angle guns were replaced by scribe Hilton’s book and then go into
four 25mm twin mount machine guns. President Roosevelt’s fascination with
Later, the 14cm guns were removed it. That would be rather difficult to do
and 25mm double or single mount in one or two words. Perhaps the
machine guns were added. closest would be ‘Paradise of the Age-
Before continuing with Japanese de- less’—and this would, in the Japanese
mind, seem a pretty silly thing to name
velopment, an explanation of the nam-
an aircraft carrier.
ing of their aircraft carriers is in order. LATER CODE-NAMED Claude, Mitsubishi Type
“But transliteration has a very real
96 fighters replaced Japanese Navy’s 90's.
“Transliteration of the names of value—especially to those who have
Japanese aircraft carriers into Ameri- difficulty in pronouncing Japanese
can equivalents is a pretty risky busi- words. Many competent researchers
ness,” said Mr. Roger Pineau, a fre- don’t even speak the language. The
quently published writer on the Japa- transliteration is a handy reference
nese Navy after World War II. “It point, but should not be taken seri-
becomes misleading. The names should ously, at face value.”
be treated as such and should not be
taken too literally. For instance, when Japanese Naval Aviation dates back
we speak of astronaut Carpenter, we to 1912 when the Navy sent officer
don’t visualize a man walking around
trainees to the U.S., Great Britain, and
with hammer and saw in hand.”
Mr. Chris Beilstein, another expert France. They returned from France
on Japanese aircraft carriers, concurs. with two Farman seaplanes, and from
ALSO OPERATING from carriers in the Sino-
“The Shokaku becomes ‘Flying Crane,’ the U.S. with two Curtiss seaplanes.
Japanese War were Type 96 attack aircraft.
for that is the closest we can translate A beach on the west side of Tokyo Bay,
the original Japanese. The first Japa- Oppama, was selected as a site for a
nese CV’s carried names of mountains seadrome in the fall of that year and
and provinces. These, in turn, were placed into commission. The first class
frequently named after mythological
at Oppama consisted of four officers
c h a r a c t e r s . S h o k a k u , for example,
could have been a flying crane in an
and 100 men.
age-old story, a crane that was named From 1912 to 1917, ¥3-400,000
Shokaku. This is very much like our (about $150-200,000) was allotted to
real life Misty, the wild horse. Cer- the fledgling air arm. In 1918, this
tainly, to translate ‘Misty’ to literal sum was increased to ¥1 million
Japanese w o u l d b e m e a n i n g l e s s t o (about $500,000), and the next year
them, or at best, misleading. It would
to ¥2 million.
be more accurate to translate it ‘Wild
Horse.’ Thus, ‘Misty,’ to the Japanese, The first landing on the Hosho was
would mean ‘Wild Horse,’ just as we made by a British civilian, a Mr. Jour- built as such, from the keel, USS
would erroneously translate Shokaku dan, on February 22, 1923. States the Ranger, was not commissioned until
June 4, 1934.)
A naval expansion program, decided
upon in 1920, was completed by March
1923. Under the limitations set by the
Washington Naval Treaty, Japan
turned her attention to the conversion
of the battle cruiser (then eight
months under construction at the Kure
Naval Arsenal). This, in 1928, be-
came Japan’s second aircraft carrier,
the Akagi (“Red Castle,” actually
the name of a Japanese mountain).

40 NAVAL AVIATION NEWS

 Akagi displaced over 30,000 tons in power. Final decision on the size of United States Navy’s fourth carrier.
standard when completed, had a speed the Navy lay in the competence of the In 1932, naval authorities referred a
of 31 knots, and carried 60 aircraft. civilian government. Most career of- second naval replenishment plan to the
She was armed with ten eight-inch and ficers were hostile to the treaty; those Ministry of Finance for study. The
12 4.7-inch guns. officers, who supported the civilian plan called for a total expenditure of
A sister ship, the Amagi (“Heavenly government in the bitter fight that ¥460,000,000 (about $230 million),
Castle”), was also scheduled for con- ensued concerning ratification of the covering the construction of one air-
version at that time, but sustained 1930 London Treaty, were either craft carrier of 8000 tons, other capi-
severe damage in the earthquake of forced to resign within the next few tal and auxiliary ships, and the estab-
September 1, 1923. She was scrapped years or were placed in unimportant lishment of eight flying corps on land:
in July 1924 at Yokosuka. In her posts. Militarists, ascending in power, all this to be completed by the end of
place, Japan converted the Kaga (the referred contemptuously to the rati- 1936. This aircraft carrier was never
name of an old Japanese province) to fication as “the May 15th Affair.” built.
an aircraft carrier. Originally, she was The London Treaty carried forward In 1934, preliminary disarmament
laid down as a 39,000-ton battleship, the general limitations of the earlier conferences were held in London. Con-
but was scheduled for the scrap pile as Washington agreement and provided gress had already passed and President
a result of agreed disarmament limita- for further reductions of naval arma- Roosevelt authorized an act that popu-
tions. Conversion was completed in ment. Under terms applicable to Naval larly became known as the Vinson-
1928 and she was commissioned the Aviation, the definition of an aircraft Trammell Act. This permitted the
following year. The 1929 Japanese carrier was broadened to include ships U.S. to construct naval ships to the

SISTER SHIP to Akagi, the Kaga, is shown here shortly after her com- AN AERIAL VIEW oj Kaga shows the chopped-ofl bow configuration
missioning in December 1928. Note the unusual stack arrangement. and the starboard stack. Kaga, even after refitting, bad no island.

Year Book states of Akagi and Kaga: of any tonnage designed primarily for tonnage limitations prescribed by the
aircraft operations. It was agreed that previous Washington and London
“They are the pride of the Japanese
installation of a landing-on or flying- Naval Treaties. Under this authoriza-
Navy, and though slightly inferior to
the S a r a t o g a of the U.S. Navy in re- off platform on a warship designed and tion, USS Wasp (CV-7) was laid down
spect of speed, the Akagi surpasses the used primarily for other purposes in 1936.
other in point of the range of her high would not make that ship an aircraft Japanese militarists were not eager
angle guns, of which she carries 12 carrier. It also stipulated that no capi- to continue in the disarmament pacts.
4.7-inchers. The Hosho . . . [is] by far tal ship in existence on April 1, 1930 Wrote U.S. Ambassador to Japan,
smaller than the Akagi, but in the would be fitted with such a platform Joseph C. Grew, “Japanese attitude
mode of construction [it possesses] or deck. toward the coming Naval Conference
special features of [its] own. The com-
The Japanese Navy expanded rapidly in 1935 London Treaty is intensely
pletion of the Kaga, only second to the
Akagi, is a powerful addition to the after 1930, at such a rate that it be- unpopular among the Japanese Naval
Japanese Navy.” came necessary to conscript men. In officers high and low;” and in sepa-
1931, a replenishment plan was author- rate correspondence, “The situation is
Kaga w a s reported as displacing ized the Navy, permitting it to com- entirely different from that in 1930.
26,900 tons standard, but actually dis- plete construction of the Ryujo (“Gal- . . . Under present conditions the Navy
placed over 30,000 tons, had a speed of loping Dragon”), a small aircraft car- alone will have the final say [as to the
27 knots and carried 60 aircraft. rier of about 10,000 tons laid down in size of the Imperial Japanese Navy].”
As the signatories of the Washington 1929. It was completed in 1933, its It boiled down to this: Japan wanted
Naval Treaty reconvened in London in limited deck free of an obstructive quantitative as well as qualitative par-
1930, Japanese naval officers began to island. Ryujo had a speed of 29 knots, ity in ship power, equal to the United
chafe under the ship construction re- carried 36 aircraft, and was armed States and Great Britain. The 5-5-3
strictions imposed upon their nation. with 12 five-inch guns. She was ratio was no longer acceptable. Neither
At that time, the armed forces were Japan’s fourth aircraft carrier. In June the U.S. nor Britain favored such an
unpopular with the liberal government 1934, USS Ranger became the increase in Japanese strength, for,

OCTOBER 1962 41
THE SHOKAKU CLASS consisted of two carriers, Shokaku (shown here) gram of 1937, displacing 25,675 tons standard. Zuikaku was first to
and Zuikaku. They were authorized under the Fleet Replenishment Pro- have a bulbous bow configuration. Both were completed in 1941.

granted equality in armored ships, the terms of the Washington and Lon- But the startling innovation was the
Japan would be the major power in the don Naval Treaties. Her act of abro- introduction of small islands on the
Pacific, greater than the U.S. and Great gation unleashed the restraints on port side of the carriers Akagi a n d
Britain combined; their Fleets were international shipbuilding. Hiryu. The remaining carriers had
divided geographically. Two more aircraft carriers were laid islands on the starboard (standard)
Japan persisted. The Japanese Year down in Japanese ways in 1934 and side—of those that had them at all.
Book of 1935 enumerated that coun- 1936, the Soryu (“Blue Dragon”) and Strategists planned to use these carriers
try’s “official” reasoning: Hiryu (“Flying Dragon”). Soryu dis- in a formation that was unique. The
placed about 18,000 tons standard, had lead carriers in the basic formation
“(1) The progress and development
made recently in battleships, aero-
a speed of 34.5 knots, and handled 63 were to be the port-islanded Hiryu and
planes, etc., have made it extremely aircraft. Hiryu was heavier, 18,500 Akagi, followed by the Soryu a n d
difficult to effectuate defence opera- tons standard, and had a speed of 34.3 Kaga. This would supposedly allow for
tions. knots. Officially, both ships were car- a more compact formation with non-
“(2) The remarkable increases in ried on the books as of 10,050 tons conflicting aircraft traffic patterns.
the air forces of the U.S.S.R. and standard; the true tonnage was not This formation was used in the Battle
China, and the revival of the Far East- revealed until after WW II. Both ships of Midway.
ern naval forces of the former.
carried the same number of planes and Japan’s next venture into aircraft
“(3) The establishment of the naval
port of Singapore by Great Britain,
had the same armament, 12 five-inch carrier construction was the Shokuku
and the extension and strengthening of guns. (“Flying Crane”) and Z u i k a k u
the naval port of Hawaii by the U.S.A. It was sometime between 1935 and (“Lucky Crane”). These carriers were
have had a great effect on the naval 1937 that naval ship designers config- kept fairly well under wraps, insofar
plan of operations in Far Eastern ured carriers to provide a surprising as specifications are concerned. They
waters. technical innovation. Akagi and Kaga were authorized under the very ambi-
“(4) The birth of Manchoukuo underwent major modernization at this tious Fleet Replenishment Program of
[independence of Manchuria, February
time. The lower flight decks were sup- 1937, the same program under which
18, 1932] has brought forth vast
pressed, the upper flight decks were the famed super battleships Y a m a t o
changes in Far Eastern policies. It has
increased the responsibility of the extended forward, and the eight-inch and Musashi were built.
Japanese Empire as the stabilizing gun turrets and mountings were re- Shokaku was laid down December
power in the Far East.” duced in Akagi from ten to six, while 12, 1937 at the Yokosuka Navy Yard,
Kaga replaced her 12 4.7-inch guns while Zuikaku was started at Kawasaki
These were political arguments the with 16 five-inchers. Kaga’s unwieldly Dockyard May 25, 1938. Basically,
world’s two top naval powers could funnels were also reduced. The mod- the ships had similar specifications.
not buy. But Japan was adamant, re- ernization of Kaga, which included They displaced 25,675 tons standard,
fused compromise and, on December new machinery, added about 1½ knots had a designed speed of 34.2 knots,
29, 1934, gave the required two years’ to her speed, giving her 28.3, but carried 16 five-inch guns in twin
formal notice that after December 31, Akagi’s modernization cost her several mounts, and could carry up to 84 air-
1936, she would no longer be bound by knots, bringing her down to 28. craft, although a normal complement

THE SORYU CLASS was first laid down in 1934 and 1936, displacing island on the starboard (conventional) side. She, with other IJN air-
about 18,000 tons standard, at a speed of 34 knots. The Soryu had her craft carriers, participated in the Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor raid.

42 NAVAL AVIATION NEWS

was 73. There were no major differ- Tojo, stated that British and American
ences between the ships. Zuikaku, influence must be eliminated from the
however, was fitted with a bulbous Orient.
bow, the first Japanese warship so de- The Japanese Navy had been con-
signed. Shokuku was launched June 1, ducting intensive training of its officers
1939, and completed August 8, 1941; and men during this period. Most of
Zuikuku was launched November 27, the training, including war games, was

FIRST USN m o n o p l a n e e f i g h t e r s , B r e w s t e r
F2A-1’s, did badly against Japanese Zeroes.

plete the ship as a carrier. Work on

this project was not started until Jan-
uary 1940, but was completed in De-
cember that year. The carrier was re-
named Zuiho (“Happy Phoenix”).
CAPTURED ZERO, Mitsubishi Type O, has U.S. She displaced 11,200 tons standard, MITSUBISHI TYPE 97 carrier attack aircraft
markings here, for U.S. tests early in war. sailed at 28 knots, and carried 30 air- is t y p i c a l o f e a r l y J a p a n e s e monoplanes.
craft. She was armed with eight five-
1939, and completed September 25, inch guns. conducted in out-of-the-way gulfs and
1941. A s i s t e r ship, S h o h o ( “ L u c k y in the stormy northern reaches of the
Completion of both carriers was de- Phoenix”), converted between January Pacific. The men were hardened by the
layed when the original funnel arrange- 1941 and January 1942, was originally elements and drilled continuously. To
ment was changed in mid-construction named Tsurugisaki, launched as a sub- avoid antagonizing the Japanese, the
by the Aeronautical Headquarters. As marine depot ship in 1934. Zuiho and U.S. Navy at the same time was in-
designed, the funnels were to appear Shoho particulars were similar. structed to hold all of its fleet problems
one on each side of the island bridge, Other aircraft carriers were under in the less satisfactory areas west of
fore and aft on the starboard side. This construction or conversion. At least the International Date Line.
was changed by placing the two fun- 15 more would be commissioned dur- By 1941, Japan was determined to
nels immediately aft of the island. ing the war years, produced in growing wage war. On November 10, VAdm.
The Japanese did not give either ship restrictions of limited materials, and, Chuichi Naguma, placed in charge of
much publicity. Both ships, Zuikaku after the Battle of Midway in 1942, the initial attack, issued his first opera-
and Shokaku, were to figure promi- in desperation. tion order on the mission. The Striking
nently in most sea battles of WW II Force of Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu,
involving naval air. Their design was
based on the best material gathered
from experiences in Akagi, Kaga, and
I N THE FIVE - Y E A R period preceding
December 7, 1941, the military of
Japan grew stronger in power. March
Shokaku and Zuikaku, as well as other
capital ships, sortied from Kure navy
base between November 10 and 18,
the Soryu types. Later Japanese car- 1936 the cabinet was dominated by rendezvousing on the 22nd in Tankan
riers (i.e., multiple ship design men in uniform and the development Bay in the Kuriles. Adm. Yamamoto
classes) were constructed in two of heavy industry was pushed. An ordered the force to sortie on Novem-
groups: the large to be like T a i h o extraordinarily ambitious and success- ber 26. On December 2, he broadcast
(with armored flight deck) , and the f u l e x p a n s i o n o f t h e N a v y was a prearranged signal that would launch
medium to be repeats of the S o r y u launched in 1937, the same year hos- the attack on Pearl Harbor: Niitaka
class. Zuikaku and Shokaku comprised tilities broke between Japan and China. Yama Nobore (“Climb Mount Nii-
an entire class. That same year, the Panay was sunk. taka”). Five days later, December 7,
Japan’s next aircraft carrier was a In 1938, the National Mobilization the Japanese Navy launched its sur-
conversion. In 1936 the submarine Bill was passed. In September 1940, prise attack by aircraft, launched from
depot ship Takasaki was under con- Germany, Italy and Japan concluded carriers, at Pearl Harbor and the Phil-
struction. While she was still in the a three-power pact. November 1941, ippines. The next day, the United
ways, the decision was made to com- Japanese Prime minister, Gen. Hideki States and Japan were officially at war.

OCTOBER 1962 43