IJN Zuiho

IJN Zuiho Story

Due to the shortage of aircraft carrier ships during World War II (1939-1945), the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) authorities focused on the idea of ??converting existing hulls into auxiliary aircraft carriers. This is demonstrated in the case of the Tsurigizaki-class diesel-powered high-speed refueling vessel/submarine tender in the 1940's Japanese naval fleet that was selected for such a conversion process.

Tsurigizaki was the lead ship of the class, commissioned in early 1939. Her older sister, Takasaki, was not finished and remained in this state until 1940.

In January of that year, work was finally done on Takasaki's unfinished hull, when it was decided to complete her as a light carrier, known as Zuiho. The diesel power plant scheme was abandoned in favor of a boiler-powered steam turbine power system that immediately improved performance. However, much of the ship's natural hull structure and lines remain unchanged, with the addition of a flat, continuous flight deck atop almost the entire length of the boat.

A hangar area was established to manage about 30 fighter jets, and the transfer from the hangar to the deck was done via two powered elevators near the centerline. A pair of catapults will be used to get these planes into the air for short periods of time.

In order to save weight and construction time, the ship did not complete significant armor protection.

Power comes from 4 boiler units feeding 2 geared steam turbines outputting 52,000 hp and driving 2 stern shafts. Top speed is 28 knots and range is 7,800 nautical miles.

Dimensions include 674.1 ft overall length, 59.7 ft beam and 21.6 ft draft. The displacement was 11,262 tons and the crew consisted of 785 people.

Armament is purely defensive in nature, warships are designed to be defended by frigates, fighters, or simply by their inherent speed. 8 x 127mm/40 caliber Type 89 anti-aircraft guns in four twin gun positions and 8 x 25mm anti-aircraft guns in four twin gun positions were installed for airspace closure.

Ruifeng's sister became "Shopho" and also served in World War II.

On December 27, 1940, Zuiho began operations and officially entered service, at a time when the Japanese Navy was in high demand for aircraft carriers. She joined the Combined Fleet in January 1941, and her first major operations focused on the Philippines, before heading to the East Indies.

In June 1942, she formed a support force to accompany the main fleet to attack Midway, a catastrophic failure for the Japanese Navy, which lost several valuable carriers (4 in total). That October, she took part in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands as part of the fleet, a battle in which the Japanese Navy achieved only one tactical victory over the Americans.

During the sortie, the warship dropped a USN bomb directly into her cockpit, but survivedthough her ability to salvage the plane was completely denied, forcing her to return home.

After repairs, she supported friendly forces to evacuate the island in early 1943. On June 19-20, 1944, she participated in the naval battle of the Philippine Sea, which led to yet another victory for the United States. Their fighters successfully destroyed the USS South Dakota in combat.

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf (23-26 October 1944), as part of the Battle of Cape Engano, IJN Zuiho was severely hit by US Navy fighter jets after suffering two direct hits (and six near misses) from aerial bombs damage. Her crew bravely tried to save the ship, and to a certain extent they did, as she remained a soldier for about six hours before she was hunted down and officially ended by another U.S. Navy airstrike.

While hundreds of accompanying warships were rescued, 215 people sank with them.

Both Zuiho-class ships were routed by the enemy in World War II - an irreplaceable loss for the Japanese Navy until 1945.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing