Kaga

13.9

Kaga

Aircraft Carrier | Japan | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points54,200

Secondary Armament #1

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount6 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire12 shots/min.

Reload Time5 sec.

HE Shell127 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Initial HE Shell Velocity725 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

Secondary Armament #2

200 mm/50 3rd Year Type No.1 in a Model A turret10 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire4 shots/min.

Reload Time15 sec.

HE Shell200 mm Common Type4 HE

Maximum HE Shell Damage3,300

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell17 %

Secondary Armament #3

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 Mod.3 mount2 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire10 shots/min.

Reload Time6 sec.

HE Shell127 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Initial HE Shell Velocity725 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

AA Defense

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second60.6

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 Mod.3 mount2 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second20.2

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

25 mm/60 Type 96 on a twin mount14 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second37.8

. . . Firing Range2.49 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed28 knot

Turning Circle Radius1 080 m.

Rudder Shift Time14.4 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.22 km.

Air Detectability Range10.9 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.9

Kaga

Aircraft Carrier | Japan | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points54,200

Secondary Armament #1

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount6 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire12 shots/min.

Reload Time5 sec.

HE Shell127 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Initial HE Shell Velocity725 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

Secondary Armament #2

200 mm/50 3rd Year Type No.1 in a Model A turret10 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire4 shots/min.

Reload Time15 sec.

HE Shell200 mm Common Type4 HE

Maximum HE Shell Damage3,300

Initial HE Shell Velocity870 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell17 %

Secondary Armament #3

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 Mod.3 mount2 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km.

Rate of Fire10 shots/min.

Reload Time6 sec.

HE Shell127 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100

Initial HE Shell Velocity725 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 %

AA Defense

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second60.6

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 Mod.3 mount2 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second20.2

. . . Firing Range5.01 km.

25 mm/60 Type 96 on a twin mount14 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second37.8

. . . Firing Range2.49 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed28 knot

Turning Circle Radius1 080 m.

Rudder Shift Time14.4 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.22 km.

Air Detectability Range10.9 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

Special

Kaga — Japanese special premium Tier VIII aircraft сarrier.

Until the early 1940s, she was one of the biggest aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Initially laid down as a battleship, she was redesigned during construction to become a carrier. The ship had good armor protection for her type, carried quite numerous air group and powerful secondary battery guns.

Kaga first went on sale at the beginning of June 2017.

Modules

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Kaga	54,200	13	152		2/6/10	14/2/6				0	0

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
A6M5 Zero	144			1,330		0	0

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
B6N Tenzan	5,400	133	1,600		0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
D4Y3 Suisei		142	1,580		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 125,000 hp	28		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

Kaga is a Tier VIII premium Japanese aircraft carrier. Unlike Saipan’s style of having fewer, higher tier aircraft, Kaga instead provided her captain with large numbers of lower tier aircraft. She is able to launch copious amounts of bombers at the enemy team, but must be careful of the anti-aircraft abilities of same and higher-tier ships. With proper target selection and flak avoidance, Kaga can strike even Tier X targets and still have full squadrons ready to go in the latter stages of the game.

Unlike the IJN tech tree carriers, Kaga has HE dive bombers. She drops four bombs per drop with 3 drops per squadron. What makes these dive bombers special is not the bombs, but the attack pattern. The dive bombers dive low very quickly and travel laterally at a very low height at fast speeds, which allows players to drop on targets at a very low height and ensure a high percentage of bomb hits. This is very useful for dropping maneuverable targets such as destroyers and light cruisers. The low height of the drop allows several bomb hits on destroyers per attack, dealing high amounts of damage in proportion to their maximum health.

Kaga's torpedo bombers are also powerful, but take practice to use. The torpedo bombers drop four torpedoes per drop with 3 drops per squadron. Stealth is one of the biggest strengths of the torpedo bombers, with a base detect of 7.5km. Kaga can use this stealth to get a perfect drop angle on targets without the target knowing that they are being targeted. Aim time is another strength of the torpedo bombers, with the lowest aiming time of all Tier VIII carriers. However, the biggest drawback of the torpedoes is long arm time. Due to this, dropping on more agile targets is not advised. Thus, the torpedo bombers are best suited for landing hard hits on slower targets like battleships.

Her rocket aircraft should only be used as a last resort. The rockets are stock Shokaku rockets, except with less health. Dive bombers do a better job on smaller targets, and torpedo bombers do a better job on larger targets.

Pros:

• Ridiculous amount of planes immediately available on deck
• Torpedo bombers can reach as low as 6.1km detectability with the right upgrades
• Torpedo bombers drop four (4) torpedoes per attack run
• Torpedo and dive bombers have high damage potential.
• Dive bombers are accurate and use HE bombs, unlike techtree Japanese carriers
• Heavy secondary armament for self-defense
• Very good ship concealment with all the relevant upgrades

Cons:

• Poor ship mobility - not the best speed, huge turn radius and slow rudder shift
• Planes have a low healthpool and are not very fast, they can get easily shredded by strong AA ships like Worcester
• Her planes are Shokaku 's stock planes.
• Ineffective rockets with low penetration and damage.
• Aerial torpedoes have an extremely long arming distance
• Torpedo bombers and dive bombers fly in large squadrons, vulnerable to enemy flak bursts
• Plane restoration is very slow for a Japanese aircraft carrier
• Kaga's hull is poorly armored and can take heavy damage from pretty much anything
• Hull secondary armaments have very poor range

Research

As a Premium ship, Kaga doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Kaga are as follows:

• Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
• Slot 2: Aircraft Engines Modification 1
• Slot 3: Aerial Torpedoes Modification 1
• Slot 4: Torpedo Bombers Modification 2
• Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron. ★	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. ★	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★★★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons.	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons.
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance. ★★	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed. ★★	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time.	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons.
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed. ★	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire. ★	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters:  +10% action radius.  Invulnerable to fighters.  Cannot attack fighters.  Cannot spot ships.
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types. ★	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection. ★★★	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak. ★★	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Kaga equips the following consumables:

Aircraft Carrier:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: CAP Fighter  - 4 squadrons of 4x A6M2 Zero

All aircraft carrier consumables are automatically activated.

Attack Aircraft:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling 
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  - 3 squadrons of 5x A6M5 Zero

Torpedo Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling 
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  - 3 squadrons of 5x A6M5 Zero
• Slot 3: In-flight Repair 

Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling 
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  - 3 squadrons of 5x A6M5 Zero

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Kaga comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Kaga may mount up to eight signal flags:

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables.	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

• 

  Kaga as seen in port.

• 

  Closeup of Kaga's air group.

• 

  Kaga launches a B5N torpedo bomber.

• 

  Kaga launches an A6M fighter.

• 

  A squadron of B5Ns fly-over Kaga.

• 

  Portside outboard profile of Kaga.

• 

  A furball erupts as Kaga attempts to strike an enemy Ranger.

• 

  Kaga’s torpedo bombers finish the job.

• 

  Flag of Kaga. Given to players who purchased a special bundle containing Kaga.

Historical Info

Kaga, 1935

Construction

Builder: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe, Japan

Laid down: 19 July 1920

Launched: 17 November 1921

Builder: Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Yokosuka, Japan

Re-classified: 21 November 1923

Completed: 31 March 1928

Commissioned: 1 November 1929

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Specifications

38,200 tons displacement, standard

247.8m length

32.5m beam

9.48m draft

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Machinery

8 oil-fired boilers, 4 multi-stage geared turbines

5,300 tons of fuel oil

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Performance

28 knots at 127,400 shaft horsepower

10,000 nautical miles at 15 knots

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Armor

Main Belt: 120-152mm

Flight Deck: 38mm

Torpedo Bulges: 19mm

Casemates: 25mm

Hangar: 16mm

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Armament

Main

Ten (10x1) 20cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun

Secondary

Sixteen (8x2) 127mm Type 89 DP guns

Anti-Aircraft

Twenty-two (11x2) 25mm Type 96 AA guns

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Aircraft

Total

90 aircraft (72 standard + 18 reserve)

Fighters

Twenty-one (21) Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"

Torpedo Bombers

Twenty-seven (27) Nakajima B5N "Kate"

Dive Bombers

Twenty-seven (27) Aichi D3 "Val"

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Complement

2,019 men

Artist's rendering of Kaga.

Design

Kaga was originally conceived as a Tosa-class battleship, the would-be successors to the Nagato-class of battleships. The fate of the Tosa-class ships was irrevocably altered in 1922 as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty; all major naval powers agreed to adhere to a moratorium on battleship construction. Kaga’s fate was sealed: she would be scrapped. In the treaty’s wake, the Japanese sought to convert two of their incomplete Amagi-class battlecruisers – Amagi and Akagi – into aircraft carriers as the treaty allowed two capital ship hulls above 30,000 tons to undergo conversion. In a twist of fate, Amagi was damaged during the 1923 Tokyo earthquake and Kaga received a new lease on life; substituted in the former’s place for conversion work.

Unlike her predecessor – Akagi – Kaga was based on a battleship hull. A larger beam, a smaller length, and outdated machinery resulted in below average speeds for a fleet carrier; at 27 knots, Kaga was the slowest of the Kidō Butai. Regardless of such differences, Kaga was still a suitable replacement, as she possessed the same general layout as the Amagi-class battlecruisers.

As originally built, Kaga implemented a multi flight-deck construction in the hopes that this would speed up the aircraft launch-recovery cycle by allowing both actions simultaneously. Each deck fulfilled a specific purpose: the top flight deck was for recovery (the only “full-length” deck) where as the middle and lower flight decks were for launching aircraft only. As such, only the top flight deck possessed landing lights and arresting gear whilst the two lower decks were fed directly from the two superimposed main hangars. Over time – as aircraft became heavier and required longer takeoff rolls – the usage of the two, short launch decks became dubious at best.

The correct ejection of exhaust gases was still an on-going challenge and fleet carriers like Akagi and Kaga were still utilizing experimental systems. Originally built, Kaga collected exhaust in a pair of horizontal ducts positioned on the sides of the vessel and expelled the gases to the rear. The idea itself had merit; this way there was as little physical obstruction as possible on the flight deck for the landing aircraft. To no one’s surprise, the hot gases were a constant nuisance to pilots as it would interfere with the landing approach; Kaga herself was too slow to “out run” the hot exhaust and the gases would linger around the top flight deck. Additionally, the exhaust system was near living quarters and made accommodations rather unbearable.

Kaga’s battleship pedigree was seen through her retention of a main armaments battery. In her original configuration she possessed ten 20cm Type 3 rifles: four in twin-gun turrets flanking the middle flight deck forward, and six in single casemate mounts aft. The Type B turret mounts were unique to Kaga and Akagi that they could elevate to +70˚ to combat aircraft, in theory. The casemates themselves saw limited practicality as they had limited elevation and traverse. Such firepower was added in the belief that carriers should have the autonomous ability to repel surface threats. Additionally, she was armed with twelve 120mm Type 10 guns in six twin-mounts in sponsons off the side. They were hampered by restricted firing angles due to their position.

In 1934, Kaga underwent a massive reconstruction in the hopes to solve many of her glaring deficiencies. The impractical multi flight-deck configuration was removed and instead the top flight deck was rebuilt to span the entire length of the ship. Concurrently, the hangers were extended and she received a third elevator situated to the front. As well, an island superstructure was added to the starboard side of the flight deck. In hopes to increase speed, 4 multi-staged turbines and 8 oil-fired boilers replaced her original 4 single-stage turbines and 12 mixed-fuel boilers; this increased power by over 30,000 shaft horsepower. But due to the addition of extra torpedo bulges to lower her center-of-gravity, her displacement increased as well and thus she only gained a single knot of speed. Kaga’s original rearward exhaust system was changed to a single down-turned funnel off the starboard side. With the removal of the middle fight-deck, the 20cm guns in the front were also moved to the aft as 4 additional casemates. The 120mm AA guns were replaced with sixteen 127mm Type 89 guns in 8 twin-mounts and additionally twenty-two 25mm Type 96 AA guns in 11 twin-mounts were added. The Type 89 had good performance, but their real deficiency was seen in their mounts and fire control directors. Both were manually operated and in the heat of combat, could not track fast moving targets. The Type 96 had poor performance. Not only were the weapons manually trained, but also the hitting power was under-average, and the usage of 15-round magazines severely hampered sustained rate-of-fire.

In retrospect, one of Kaga’s more significant drawbacks that was never addressed was the design of her aircraft hangars. Most Japanese fleet carriers were constructed with enclosed, unarmored hangars, with thin bulkheads. This was in hopes that an explosion would be vent laterally instead of vertically, thus saving the flight deck. In actuality, the opposite occurred; damage to the hangar deck ruptured the flight deck. Considering aircraft refueling and re-arming occurred in the hangars, poor ventilation and fire suppression systems meant damage to the hangars was difficult to mitigate and crippling to the ship.

Kaga was built at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard in Kobe, Japan. After her official reclassification in 1923, work on her conversion commenced at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in 1925, and completed by 1928. A year later, she was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as their latest fleet carrier.

Service

Four years after her completion and commission, Kaga’s first combat action came in early 1932 where Kaga, flagship of the 1st Carrier Division alongside Hōshō, spent the entirety of February supporting the Imperial Japanese Army’s attack on the Chinese coastal lynch pin of Shanghai. During these engagements, three of Kaga’s Nakajima A1N2 fighters scored the IJN’s first air-to-air combat victory in late February against the Chinese forces. Following the ceasefire on 3 March, Kaga and Hōshō returned to the Combined Fleet to resume training exercises. These early carrier exercises were vital to the development of both Japanese and international carrier doctrines. Aircraft carriers were initially intended to act as force multipliers in the Imperial Japanese Navy, primarily by supporting the fleet’s Battleships as per the “decisive battle” doctrine. As carrier doctrine evolved, aerial strikes against enemy carriers became of equal importance to battleship engagements, to secure air superiority during a battle to allow carriers to attack enemy surface vessels with little to no danger from enemy fighters. Aircraft carriers would operate with or ahead of the main battle line, and an emphasis on high top speed and larger aircraft requiring longer flightdecks. Due to this shift in ideology, Kaga was judged inferior to her half-sister Akagi due to her lower top speed and smaller flight deck, on top of her problematic funnel arrangement, and was first in line for an extensive reconstruction that lasted from 1934 until the middle of 1935.

Following the completion of her reconstruction, Kaga was assigned to Carrier Division 2 as the only carrier of the division, where she trained for another two years until the Marco Polo Bridge incident that sparked the full-on war between Japan and the Chinese coalition (known as the Second Sino-Japanese War). In 1937, Kaga joined CarDiv 1 alongside Ryūjō and Hōshō to attack central and southern China with the IJN, while the IJA pushed down from the north. Kaga’s air group engaged the Chinese air force over central China, with mixed successes. An attack group consisting of 29 attack planes and 16 bombers with no fighter escort took off to strike multiple targets on the Chinese coastline. They were forced to change targets due to bad weather, and were then intercepted by Chinese fighters, losing eight attack planes and surrendering a ninth. Exact total losses are unclear, but it was enough to forbid any aerial bombing mission without fighter escorts. Japanese fighters, however, often had great success against the exported American fighters the Chinese air force used, suffering little to no losses in dogfights while escorting Japanese attack aircraft. Kaga’s final attack during this sortie was several strikes against the Chinese light cruisers Ping Hai and Ning Hai. Both ships sunk in the banks of the Yangtze River, to later be risen and put into service by the IJN. Kaga and CarDiv 1 spent the rest of 1937 moving to and from mainland Japan and occupied China, ferrying aircraft for land bases or carrying out strikes herself. In December 1937, a group of IJN aircraft launched from Kaga attacked three oil barges escorted by the American river gunboat USS Panay (PR-5), sinking the three barges and USS Panay, taking American lives with it. This resulted in “The Panay Incident”, which while Japan apologized to the USA and paid an indemnity, but this nonetheless turned US opinion against Japan.

Kaga continued supporting Japanese attacks on central China until the end of 1938, where she returned to Japan and was placed in reserve status to undergo a second lengthy overhaul, lasting until late 1940. Kaga’s experiences off China further solidified the advanced IJN carrier doctrine, emphasizing on the importance in amassing and concentrating naval air power offshore for successful land attacks. In April 1941, the IJN formed the First Air Fleet that placed all its fleet carriers under a single command. Kaga joined the First Carrier Division alongside her half-sister Akagi, spending most of 1941 training with their new-age aircraft in preparation for the Attack on Pearl Harbor. With training complete by November that year, Kaga moved to the Kuriles to prepare for the secret Hawaii Operation, where the IJN amassed their naval power. By 6 December 1941, Kaga and the Combined Fleet of the IJN were 400 miles north of Hawaii, where the fleet oilers present detached with a destroyer escort before the carriers continued into Hawaiian waters to enter striking range.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, 183 aircraft, 35 launched from Kaga, formed the first attack wave and struck Pearl Harbor. These attack planes targeted the battleships USS Arizona (BB-39), USS West Virginia (BB-48), USS Tennessee (BB-43), USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and USS Nevada (BB-36), causing the magazine detonation of Arizona, the capsizing of Oklahoma, severe damage to West Virginia, medium damage to Nevada, and only mild damage to Tennessee. After the first wave, the second wave of 167 aircraft, 32 launched from Kaga, struck Pearl Harbor again, her fighters wreaking havoc on the grounded aircraft at the airfields, and her aircraft striking West Virginia a second time, causing her to sink, forcing Nevada to beach herself and only dealing minor damage to USS Maryland (BB-46). By 0945, the planes had retired to their home carriers, with Kaga taking the heaviest losses, losing 15 of the 29 total aircraft lost. Kaga and the other carriers withdrew to mainland Japan, before Kaga departed for Truk in January 1942, a crucial Japanese naval base in the Caroline Islands, joining Akagi to prepare for the Japanese invasions of Rabaul and Kavieng.

Departing from Truk on 20 January 1942 with a large surface fleet — including Kaga, Akagi, Shōkaku, Zuikaku, and the battleships Hiei and Kirishima — 100 attack aircraft, 36 from Kaga, struck the port of Rabaul in New Britain. Shōkaku and Zuikaku of Carrier Division 5 detached and moved to the Bismarck Sea, and CarDiv 1 struck the port of Kavieng, New Ireland, while CarDiv 5 struck ports along the northern shores of New Guinea. Kaga’s planes hit Rabaul again, securing aerial control of the area and continuing aerial patrols before regrouping with the other carriers and returning to Truk by the end of the month. Kaga and Akagi, alongside Carrier Division 2’s Sōryū and Hiryū, moved with a large Japanese fleet to strike Port Darwin on the northern coast of Australia, in mid-February 1942. This strike virtually flattened Port Darwin, sinking several cargo ships and a US destroyer, paralyzing one of the most crucial supply ports to the southern theater of the Pacific War. Kaga spent March supporting Japanese naval invasions of Indonesian islands, before returning to mainland Japan for hull repairs after drifting into a reef in early February. Her repairs lasted until early May, returning to CarDiv 1 and becoming the flagship of the First Air Fleet. Following rigorous training, and the threat to mainland Japan posed by American aircraft carriers after the Doolittle Raid, Kaga, along with Akagi of CarDiv1 and CarDiv 2 departed to sail for her final operation; the Invasion of Midway.

At 0430 local time on 4 June 1942, the first attack wave of 108 planes, 27 from Kaga, were launched against Midway Island. At 0700, Hiryū spread the message that a second strike against Midway was necessary, just before American land-based bombers attacked Akagi and Hiryū. The first attack wave returned, but were unable to land due to the presence of American attack aircraft, while Kaga launched eight more fighters. By 0850, all the first wave aircraft were recovered, and the fleet adjusted course and prepared for an anti-ship strike against the American aircraft carriers in the area. At 0938, an enemy torpedo bomber group was sighted, launched from USS Enterprise (CV-6) that directly targeted Kaga. Japanese fighters shot down 10 of the 14 torpedo bombers, with Kaga safely dodging the six fish that were dropped. At 1010 the fleet changed course again to evade a third sighted American torpedo bomber group, but as Kaga prepared to launch fighters, Hiryū spotted approximately 30 dive bombers almost directly overhead Kaga. Kaga took evasive action, but was struck by several 500- and 1000-pound bombs from Enterprise’s air group. Ready-to-launch planes on Kaga’s deck were directly struck and exploded, with fueled and armed torpedo bombers exploding in the hangers, causing an unstoppable aviation fuel fire. One bomb directly hit Kaga’s bridge, killing most of her most experienced crew, including her captain. By this point, Akagi and Sōryū were also burning, with only Hiryū remaining relatively undamaged, as she radioed for the destroyers in the area to escort the damaged carriers back to the main Japanese fleet. Under provisional command, Kaga attempted to comply, barely managing a speed beyond 8 knots before her engine rooms were consumed by the fires. Kaga became dead in the water, with the Japanese destroyer Hagikaze moving up to recover survivors. By 1640, the situation for Kaga was deemed hopeless. Remaining personnel on-board jumped into the sea, to be recovered by Hagikaze and Maikaze. By sunset, all surviving crew had disembarked the floundering carrier. At 1925, Hagikaze was ordered to scuttle her, and fired two torpedoes at Kaga’s starboard side. Kaga’s surviving crew watched their beloved carrier sink from aboard Hagikaze, as Kaga went down with a loss of 814 out of 1,708 men.

The loss of Kaga, Akagi, Sōryū, and — eventually — Hiryū at the Battle of Midway was the most catastrophic blow the Imperial Japanese Navy suffered during World War II, trading four of their six operational fleet carriers for only one American carrier in a gambit they never truly recovered from. As the war went on, Japanese industry sharply fell behind the juggernaut of American manufacturing, and Japan played on the back foot until their surrender in 1945.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Kaga’s A6M2 Zero, Nakajima B5N and Aichi D3A1 aircraft are missing. This historical loadout was removed from Kaga as a result of the CV rework.
• Kaga’s overall dark gray camouflage is missing. De-mounting the permanent camouflage will reveal her historical appearance, but at the cost of the camouflage's bonuses.
• Light and dark green camouflage was only applied to aircraft carriers beginning in mid-1944; Kaga was sunk in June 1942.
• The A6M5, B6N and D4Y3 first entered service in autumn 1943, August 1943 and May 1944 respectively; Kaga was sunk in June 1942.
• The D4Y3 was a land-based bomber. It could not operate on aircraft carriers because of the lack of a tailhook.

Historical Gallery

• 

  Kaga’s fitting-out in 1928. This stern view shows the long funnel extending aft below the flight deck, and three 8-inch (200 mm) guns in casemates.

• 

  Kaga undergoing post-launch trials off Tateyama, 15 September 1928.

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  Kaga in 1930 as completed, with all three flight decks visible.

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  Aerial overhead view of Kaga in 1930. Note the three flight decks as well as the two dual 203mm turrets forward.

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  Kaga conducting air operations in 1930. On the upper deck are Mitsubishi B1M torpedo bombers preparing for takeoff. Nakajima A1N Type 3 fighters are parked on the lower deck forward.

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  Bow view of Kaga, 1933. The three flight decks which existed prior to her major refit in 1934 are prominently visible.

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  Kaga in 1934 after reconstruction showing the new, full-length flight deck above the wide battleship hull.

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  Kaga after her modernization, with her distinctive downward-facing funnel.

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  Kaga in 1936, visible behind Aoba.

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  Kaga conducts air operations in 1937. On deck are Nakajima A2N, Aichi D1A, and Mitsubishi B2M aircraft.

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  A Japanese Type 96 attack plane flies near Kaga during the China incident, circa 1937.

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  A view from the flight deck of Akagi, November 1941. Kaga is directly astern. The other two visible aircraft carriers are likely, from left to right, Soryu or Hiryu (horizon, center) and Shokaku or Zuikaku (horizon, right).

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  Kaga (foreground), with Zuikaku (background), heads toward Pearl Harbor sometime between 26 November and 7 December 1941.

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  A crashed Type 99 being recovered after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The plane was later identified as having been part of Kaga's air group.

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  Lieutenant Shōichi Ogawa led Kaga’s dive bomber group in the attack on Midway Island. Ogawa was fatally wounded later the same day when Kaga was hit by American dive bombers.

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  Dive bomber pilots from Enterprise who helped fatally damage Kaga on 4 June. Ensign John Q. Roberts, who was shot down and killed by Kaga’s anti-aircraft guns, is standing at the far left of the photo. The bomb that killed Kaga's senior officers on the bridge may have been dropped by Ensign James C. Dexter, standing third from the right.

Video

References

1. Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga - Wikipedia
2. Going Gaga for Kaga? - Community Videos - News - World of Warships
3. Armada - Kaga - World of Warships Official Channel - YouTube
4. Stille, M., Bryan, T. (2005) Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers: 1921-45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd.
5. Brown, D. (1977). Aircraft Carriers. New York, NY: Arco Publishing Company.
6. Lengerer, H. (1982). Akagi and Kaga; in Roberts, J. Warship IV. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press.
7. Chesneau, R., Gardiner, R. (1980). Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1922-1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press.
8. https://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_79-50_3ns.php
9. https://www.combinedfleet.com/kaga.htm

Ship Change Log

See here for links to Update notes.

• Available for testing by supertesters starting from Update 0.6.4.
• First appeared on sale in June 2017.
• Update 0.6.7:
  • Made available for purchase with doubloons in the tech tree.
• Update 0.6.14:
  • The action time of the Damage Control Party consumable was increased from 5 to 30 seconds, while fire resistance coefficient was changed to 0.8.
• Update 0.6.15:
  • A bonus of -10% to the cost of the post battle repairs was added to the Type 10 permanent camouflage.
• Update 0.7.2:
  • Players who completed the "Yamamoto Isoroku" collection were given the option to use an additional permanent camouflage color scheme.
  • The ship's destruction effects were improved.
• Update 0.7.6:
  • The appearance of the ship was improved using a special technology for improved rendering of thin elements.
• Update 0.8.0:
  • Moved to Tier VIII.
  • The Fighter squadron was changed to an Attack squadron:
    • Attack Aircraft per squadron: 8; Attack Aircraft per attack group: 2; Amount of rockets per aircraft: 4.
  • The Dive Bombers were changed:
    • Dive Bomber aircraft per squadron: 12; Dive Bomber aircraft per attack group: 4; Amount of bombs per aircraft: 1.
  • The Torpedo Bombers were changed:
    • Torpedo Bomber aircraft per squadron: 12; Torpedo Bomber aircraft per attack group: 4; Amount of torpedoes per aircraft: 1.
  • For replacement and compensation due to the carrier rework, refer to this page.
  • For consumables mounted by squadrons, refer to this page.
  • For consumables mounted by Kaga, refer to this page.
• Update 0.8.0.1:
  • The Attack Aircraft were changed:
    • Attack Aircraft per squadron was changed from 10 to 9; the Attack Aircraft per attack group was changed from 2 to 3.
  • The Torpedo Bombers were changed:
    • If during the preparation for the attack, the attack group maneuvers, your aim will not stabilize (aiming cone stops narrowing). And if maneuvering during an attack run, it begins to widen.
    • Torpedo flooding chance reduced by one-third.
    • Fixed a bug where the minimum speed of stock bombers exceeded the minimum speed of researchable bombers.
• Update 0.8.0.3:
  • The Attack Aircraft were changed:
    • The preparation time was increased.
    • Changing direction while during an attack now introduces a aiming penalty.
    • Maneuverability during the preparation for the attack and during the attack run was reduced.
    • The attack time was reduced.
• Update 0.8.1:
  • Minor corrections to geometry and textures.
• Update 0.8.1.1:
  • Bomb drop time was increased by 10%.
  • The replenishment time for one torpedo bomber on deck was increased from 75 to 90 s.
• Update 0.8.4:
  • The height from which bombs are dropped was increased.
  • The aiming reticle for the bombs was changed to be narrower.
  • Bomb dispersion was changed. Now, fewer bombs fall near the center and more towards the outer edges of the reticle.
• Update 0.8.6:
  • Descriptions of the shells for the 200mm/50 3rd Year Type No. 1 secondary guns were fixed.
• Update 0.8.10:
  • Experience earnings decreased by 10% when suffering a defeat.
  • A bug that caused the crosshair of the Dive Bombers to appear invisible due to the camera position was fixed.
• Update 0.9.2:
  • Fixed an issue affecting camera movement when switching the view to the secondary battery guns.
  • The Dive Bombers were changed:
    • The minimum time between attacks for bomber squadrons was increased from 5 s to 8.5 s.
• Update 0.9.7:
  • Attack Aircraft aiming reticle was rotated 90 degrees to appear horizontally.
• Update 0.9.8:
  • Description of the secondary battery was fixed.
• Update 0.10.2:
  • An error in armor protection values was fixed.
• Update 0.10.7:
  • The designations of some armaments were fixed.
• Update 0.10.8:
  • Incorrect flight time of rockets was fixed.
• Update 0.11.1:
  • Minor fixes to geometry and textures.
• Update 0.11.9:
  • Minor fixes to geometry and textures of the ship.
• Update 12.0:
  • Updated the Mid-Autumn Festival permanent camouflage.
• Update 12.2:
  • Improved the geometry and textures of the Mid-Autumn Festival permanent camouflage.
• Update 12.3:
  • Fixed the geometry and textures of the ship.
• Update 12.8:
  • Fixed textures for the ship.
• Update 12.10:
  • Improved the visual details of the armor layout for the ship.

Ships of Japan

Aircraft Carriers