Car 7
Car 7
Car 7
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).
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.
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.
OCTOBER 1962 43