Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku

Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Zuikaku at Kobe on 25 September 1941 after commissioning

History
Empire of Japan
Name| Zuikaku
Builder| Kawasaki Shipyards
Laid down| 25 May 1938
Launched| 27 November 1939
Commissioned| 25 September 1941
Stricken| 26 August 1945
Fate| Sunk by air attack in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 25 October 1944
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type| Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier
Displacement| 29,800 normal tons, 32,000 tons full load
Length| 257.5 m (844 ft 10 in)
Beam| 29 m (85 ft 4 in)
Draft| 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in)
Propulsion|

* Kampon geared turbines,
* 8 boilers,
* 160,000 hp (119 MW),
* 4 shafts

Speed| 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h)
Range| 7,581 mi (6,588 nmi) at 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) Fuel: 4100 tons
Complement| 1,660
Armament|

* 16 × 5 in (127 mm) Type 89 guns
* 36 × 25 mm Type 96 anti-aircraft guns

Aircraft carried|

* 72 (+12 spares)
* 7 December 1941:
* 18 × Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero"
* 27 × Aichi D3A1 "Val"
* 27 × Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"[1]

Zuikaku (Japanese: 瑞鶴 "Auspicious Crane") was the second and last Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Zuikaku was one of the most capable Japanese aircraft carriers of the entire war.

Her aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the war, destroying numerous land positions, and saw heavy and successful action throughout numerous battles during the Pacific War, starting with numerous assaults on allied land positions, and her participation in the Indian Ocean raid, where her dive bombers sank or helped to sink numerous major British warships. Zuikaku's torpedo bombers inflicted the fatal damage to the aircraft carrier USS Lexington at the battle of the Coral Sea, before she fought US carriers at the battle of the Eastern Solomans, and helped to sink the aircraft carrier USS Hornet at the battle of Santa Cruz. She was damaged by carrier attacks during the battle of the Philippine Sea, before being sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.[2]

Zuikaku was one of six carriers to participate in the Pearl Harbor attack and was the last of the six to be sunk in the war (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Sōryū in the Battle of Midway; Shōkaku in the Battle of the Philippine Sea; and Zuikaku in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.)

## Service history[edit]

Zuikaku in November 1941.

In 1941, Zuikaku, under the command of Captain Yokokawa Ichibei, and her sister ship Shōkaku comprised Carrier Division 5. On 26 November 1941, she left Hitokappu Bay for the attack on Pearl Harbor as part of the Kido Butai ("Mobile Force"). Her aircraft complement consisted of 18 Mitsubishi A6M fighters, 27 Aichi D3A dive bombers, and 27 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers. On 7 December, she launched two waves of aircraft against American military installations on the island of Oahu. In the first wave, 25 Val dive bombers attacked Wheeler Army Airfield and five Zero fighters attacked the airbase at Kaneohe. In the second wave, 27 high-level Kate bombers attacked the airbase at Hickam Field.

Zuikaku's aircraft also attacked the Australian bases at Rabaul on 20 January 1942 and Lae in New Guinea on 21 January. In April 1942, she took part in the Indian Ocean raid, striking the British naval bases at Colombo and Trincomalee on Ceylon, and sinking the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire, also with the help of Shōkaku.

### Battle of the Coral Sea[edit]

In May 1942, she was assigned along with Shōkaku to support Operation Mo, the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea. On the 7th, a large US naval force was located by spotters from the heavy cruisers Furutaka and Kinugasa, prompting both ships to launch their planes, fearing US carriers in the area. However, once attacked, it was discovered to only be a US convoy. Not wanting their efforts to go to waste, planes from both Zuikaku and Shōkaku combined to sink the destroyer Sims and the oil tanker Neosho.[3][4]: 189–190

Alerted by intercepted and decrypted Japanese naval messages, the Americans dispatched the carriers USS Yorktown and Lexington to stop the operation. On the same day as the carrier's initial attack, the US planes located the light carrier Shoho, where Lexington's aircraft crippled Shoho, before Yorktown's aircraft finished her off. Both Zuikaku and Shōkaku sent out plane squadrons to scout for the US carriers, but failed to make contact on the 7th.[4]: 198–206

On the 8th, a spotter plane from Lexington located both Zuikaku and Shōkaku and both carriers attacked with their air groups. Hidden by a rain squall, Zuikaku escaped detection, but Shōkaku was hit three times by bombs and was unable to launch or recover her aircraft. In return, Zuikaku's planes located the American carriers, and proceeded to wreak havoc on both ships. First, Zuikaku's torpedo bombers, commanded by Shigekazu Shimazaki caught Lexington in a pincer attack, hitting the flat top with two torpedoes, cutting her speed to 24 knots and punching through the gasoline storage tanks, leaking gas fumes throughout the ship. Her dive bombers, commanded by Tamotsu Ema then attacked and crippled Yorktown with a bomb hit that caused severe damage to her hanger bay and aviation storage rooms and over a dozen near misses. Shōkaku's dive bombers then hit Lexington with three bombs to her flight deck, starting a large fire.[5][6][4]: 198–206

Damage control efforts quickly persisted on Lexington, putting out the fires from Shōkaku's bomb hits. However, gas fumes from Zuikaku's torpedo hits leaked throughout the ship. When the fumes reached electric motors, a chain reaction of explosion after explosion riddled Lexington with fatal damage. Lexington began to sink, as her crew was evacuated and to make sure she hit the ocean floor and wasn't captured by Japanese forces, Lexington was scuttled by escorting destroyers.[6]

Zuikaku was undamaged in the battle, but sustained severe losses in aircraft and aircrew. This required her to return to Japan with her sister ship for resupply and aircrew training, and neither carrier was able to take part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where every carrier that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack besides the two Shōkaku class ships was sunk by American carrier-based aircraft.

### Battle of the Eastern Solomons[edit]

In August 1942, commanded by Captain Tameteru Notomo, Zuikaku was dispatched as part of the First Carrier Division along with the repaired Shōkaku and their escorts to oppose the American offensive in the Solomon Islands. Their goal was to sink US shipping operating in the Solomons to aid in recapturing Henderson Field, an ex-Japanese air base which was captured by American forces and being used against Japanese shipping to great effect. [7]

On the 24th, a floatplane launched from the heavy cruiser Chikuma spotted a large American task force, consisting of the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga, and their escorts, battleship USS North Carolina, four cruisers, and eleven destroyers. Subsequently, both Zuikaku and Shōkaku launched 37 aircraft and attacked the US ships. Due to the haste of Japanese pilots, almost all attacks were focused on Enterprise to heavy results. The effectiveness of US anti aircraft, particularly of North Carolina's part, shot down many attacking aircraft, but in the end, both carriers crippled Enterprise with three bomb hits. They nearly sank her, with a squadron of seven dive bombers, three from Shōkaku and four from Zuikaku, nearly delivering the final blow when North Carolina shot down every single attacking plane.[7][8]

Neither Zuikaku or Shōkaku were damaged during the battle, although Shōkaku barely avoided being bombed by Enterprise. However, together they lost 25 aircraft out of 37 launched, and planes from Saratoga sank the light carrier Ryūjō, while planes from Henderson Field sank the destroyer Mutsuki and the troopship Kinryu Maru. The battle is considered a US victory as Zuikaku and the other Japanese ships retreated without sinking a single American vessel.[7][9]

### Battle of Santa Cruz[edit]

On 26 October 1942, in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, her aircraft again damaged the repaired Enterprise, and crippled USS Hornet (Hornet was abandoned after a failed scuttling attempt and later sunk by Japanese destroyers). However, Shōkaku and Zuihō were both severely damaged by American air attacks, and Zuikaku had to recover their surviving aircraft in addition to her own. Of the 110 aircraft launched by the three Japanese carriers, only 67 returned to Zuikaku. She then returned to the home islands via Truk for training and aircraft ferrying duties.

Zuikaku cruising toward Hitokappu Bay, Iturup, in November 1941. The carrier Kaga is seen in the background.

In February 1943, she covered the evacuation of Japanese ground forces from Guadalcanal. In May, she was assigned to a mission to counterattack the American offensive in the Aleutian Islands, but this operation was cancelled after the Allied victory on Attu on 29 May 1943. Later in 1943, under the command of Captain Kikuchi Tomozo, she was again based at Truk and operated against U.S. forces in the Marshall Islands.

### Battle of the Philippine Sea[edit]

In 1944 she was based at Singapore. In June she was assigned to Operation A-Go, an attempt to repulse the Allied invasion of the Mariana Islands. On 19 June, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Taihō and Shōkaku were both sunk by American submarines, leaving Zuikaku, the only survivor of Carrier Division One, to recover the Division's few remaining aircraft. On 20 June, a bomb hit started a fire in the hangar, but Zuikaku's experienced damage control teams managed to get it under control, and she was able to escape under her own power. After this battle, Zuikaku was the only survivor of the six fleet carriers that had launched the attack on Pearl Harbor.

### Battle off Cape Engaño[edit]

Zuikaku and destroyer Wakatsuki underway during U.S. carrier plane attacks. The carrier Zuiho is in the background.

In October 1944, she was the flagship of Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's decoy Northern Force in Operation Shō-Gō 1, the Japanese counterattack to the Allied landings on Leyte. On 24 October, as part of the depleted (just 108 aircraft across four carriers) Third Carrier Division, she launched aircraft along with the light carriers Zuihō, Chitose, and Chiyoda in an ineffective strike against the U.S. Third Fleet. Several of these aircraft were shot down, and the majority of the surviving aircraft did not return to the carriers, instead landing at Japanese land bases on Luzon. However, some of her aircraft made kamikaze attacks and helped sink the light carrier USS Princeton; and most of the others were sent to other surviving carriers and air bases, to later sink the escort carrier USS St. Lo during the Battle off Samar after again using the new kamikaze tactics.

The next day, during the Battle off Cape Engaño, she launched her few remaining aircraft for combat air patrol, search, or to join the aircraft already on Luzon. She then came under heavy air attack and was hit by seven torpedoes and nine bombs. With Zuikaku listing heavily to port, Ozawa shifted his flag to the light cruiser Ōyodo. The order to abandon ship was issued at 13:58 and the naval ensign was lowered. Zuikaku rolled over and sank stern-first at 14:14, taking the lives of Rear Admiral (promoted from captain 10 days earlier) Kaizuka Takeo and 842 of the ship's crew; 862 officers and men were rescued by the destroyers Wakatsuki and Kuwa. Before her loss, Zuikaku was the last surviving Japanese carrier to have attacked Pearl Harbor. She was also the only Japanese fleet carrier (as opposed to a light carrier) to have been sunk by aircraft-launched torpedoes, as all others were sunk by dive bombers or submarine-launched torpedoes.[2]

## Gallery[edit]

* Sailors winching up the anchor on the quarterdeck of Zuikaku, 26 November 1941.

* A Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" taking off from Zuikaku to attack Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.

* Zuikaku during the Battle off Cape Engaño, 25 October 1944.

* The crew of the sinking Zuikaku salute as the flag is lowered on 25 October 1944.

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Bōeichō Bōei Kenshūjo (1967), Senshi Sōsho Hawai Sakusen. Tokyo: Asagumo Shimbunsha, p. 344
2. ^ a b Zuikaku @ Archived 18 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.history.navy.mil
3. ^ "Neosho II (AO-23)". public1.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
4. ^ a b c Lundstorm, John B (15 February 2013). Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal (Reprint ed.). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591144199.
5. ^ Stille, Mark (20 November 2007). USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942 (Duel). Osprey Publishing. p. 56\. ISBN 978-1846032486.
6. ^ a b "Lexington (CV-2)". public2.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
7. ^ a b c "Imperial Flattops". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
8. ^ Eric, Hammel (1999). Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal & The Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 1942. Minnesota: Zenith Press. p. 137\. ISBN 0-7603-2052-7.
9. ^ David, Evans (1986). The Japanese Navy in World War II: In the Words of Former Japanese Naval Officers (2nd ed.). Naval Institute Press. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-87021-316-4.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Brown, David (1977). WWII Fact Files: Aircraft Carriers. New York: Arco Publishing. ISBN 0-668-04164-1.
* Brown, J. D. (2009). Carrier Operations in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-108-2.
* Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
* Chesneau, Roger (1995). Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (New, Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-902-2.
* Dickson, W. David (1977). "Fighting Flat-tops: The Shokakus". Warship International. XIV (1). International Naval Research Organization: 15–46.
* Gill, G. Hermon (1968). Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 2: Navy. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
* Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
* Lengerer, Hans (2014). "The Aircraft Carriers of the Shōkaku Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2015. London: Conway. pp. 90–109. ISBN 978-1-84486-276-4.
* Letourneau, Robert & Letourneau, Dennis (2012). Operation KE: The Cactus Air Force and the Japanese Withdrawal From Guadalcanal. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-179-5.
* Lundstrom, John B. (2005a). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X.
* Lundstrom, John B. (2005b). The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-526-8.
* Peattie, Mark (2001). Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-432-6.
* Polmar, Norman & Genda, Minoru (2006). Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events. Vol. 1, 1909–1945. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-663-0.
* Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian & Izawa, Yasuho (1992). Bloody Shambles. Vol. I: The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-50-X.
* Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian & Izawa, Yasuho (1993). Bloody Shambles. Vol. II: The Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-67-4.
* Stille, Mark (2009). The Coral Sea 1942: The First Carrier Battle. Campaign. Vol. 214\. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-106-1.
* Stille, Mark (2011). Tora! Tora! Tora:! Pearl Harbor 1941. Raid. Vol. 26\. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-509-0.
* Stille, Mark (2007). USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942. Duel. Vol. 6\. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-248-6.
* Tully, Anthony P. (September 2010). "IJN Zuikaku: Tabular Record of Movement". Kido Butai. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
* Zimm, Alan D. (2011). Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-61200-010-7.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zuikaku.

* Tabular record of movement from combinedfleet.com

Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers

* Shōkaku
* Zuikaku

* Preceded by: Hiryū
* Followed by: Taihō

List of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy

* v
* t
* e

Pearl Harbor attack

Attack|

* Prelude to the attack
* Order of battle
* Present US ships
* Battleship Row
* Niihau incident

Japanese
carriers
involved|

* Akagi
* Kaga
* Sōryū
* Hiryū
* Shōkaku
* Zuikaku

United States
ships sunk|

* Arizona
* salvaged artifacts
* California
* Oglala
* Oklahoma
* Shaw
* Sotoyomo
* Utah
* West Virginia
* YFD-2

Aftermath|

* Consequences
* Sleeping giant quote
* Day of Infamy speech
* U.S. declaration of war
* U.K. declaration of war
* Roberts Commissions
* Pearl Harbor Committee
* Medal of Honor recipients

Remembrance|

* Remembrance Day
* USS Arizona Memorial
* Survivors Association
* Commemorative Medal

Books|

* Crisis: The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor and Southeast Asia (1992)
* Days of Infamy series (2004–05)
* Pacific War series (2007–08)

Films|

* Secret Agent of Japan (1942)
* The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya (1942)
* Air Force (1943)
* This Is the Army (1943)
* December 7th (1943)
* Task Force (1949)
* From Here to Eternity (1953)
* The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)
* Storm Over the Pacific (1960)
* In Harm's Way (1965)
* Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
* 1941 (1979)
* The Final Countdown (1980)
* Pearl Harbor (2001)
* Midway (2019)

Other|

* Vulnerability of Pearl Harbor
* Advance-knowledge conspiracy theory
* In popular culture

* v
* t
* e

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1944

Shipwrecks|

* 3 Oct: I-177, USS Seawolf, USS Shelton
* 4 Oct: HMCS Chebogue, U-228, U-993
* 5 Oct: Sparviero
* 6 Oct: Cha-2, U-168
* 7 Oct: TA37
* 10 Oct: Ha-61, Ha-62, Ha-63, Ha-65, Ha-66, Ha-68, Kaii, Jingei, U-2331
* 12 Oct: Gyoun Maru
* 15 Oct: U-777
* 16 Oct: U-1006
* 17 Oct: Itsukushima
* 18 Oct: HMAS Geelong
* 19 Oct: Juan Casiano
* 23 Oct: Atago, Kimikawa Maru, Maya, V.5506 Zick
* 24 Oct: Arisan Maru, USS Darter, Musashi, USS Princeton, USS Shark, USS Sonoma, U-673, Wakaba
* 25 Oct:  Akizuki, Asagumo, Chikuma, Chitose, Chiyoda, Chōkai, Fusō, USS Gambier Bay, Hakuyo Maru, Hatsuzuki, USS Hoel, USS Johnston, Michishio, Mogami, USS Samuel B. Roberts, HMCS Skeena, USS St. Lo, Suzuya, Tama, USS Tang, Wakaba, Yamagumo, Yamashiro, Zuihō, Zuikaku
* 26 Oct: Abukuma, Hayashimo, I-26, Kinu, Noshiro, Nowaki, Uranami
* 27 Oct: Fujinami, Shiranui, U-1060
* 29 Oct: I-45, USS Eversole
* Unknown date: USS Escolar, I-46, I-54, U-1226

Other incidents|

* 3 Oct: USS Stingray
* 4 Oct: I-361, USS Mingo, U-92, U-437
* 8 Oct: HMCS Mulgrave
* 9 Oct: USS Cogswell, USS Flying Fish
* 11 Oct: USS Blower, USS PC-1145
* 12 Oct: HMS Loyal
* 14 Oct: HMCS Magog
* 15 Oct: Amazone, Leipzig
* 16 Oct: Externsteine
* 17 Oct: USS Montgomery
* 19 Oct: U-957
* 23 Oct: U-985
* 24 Oct: U-382
* 29 Oct: I-12
* Late Oct: USS Crevalle

1943 1944 1945
September 1944 November 1944

19°20′N 125°51′E﻿ / ﻿19.333°N 125.850°E﻿ / 19.333; 125.850
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template