Hosho

13.3

Hōshō

Aircraft Carrier | Japan | Tier IV

Tech Tree Position

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General

Research price11000 exp

Purchase price1,000,000

Hit Points31,000

Secondary Armament #1

140 mm/50 3rd Year Type on a single mount4 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range3.5 km.

Rate of Fire7.5 shots/min.

Reload Time8 sec.

HE Shell140 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,400

Initial HE Shell Velocity850 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell10 %

AA Defense

13 mm/76 Type 93 on a twin mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second12

. . . Firing Range1.2 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed25 knot

Turning Circle Radius740 m.

Rudder Shift Time11.1 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range8.56 km.

Air Detectability Range6.46 km.

Battle Levels

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13.3

Hōshō

Aircraft Carrier | Japan | Tier IV

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price11000 exp

Purchase price1,000,000

Hit Points31,800

Secondary Armament #1

140 mm/50 3rd Year Type on a single mount4 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range3.5 km.

Rate of Fire7.5 shots/min.

Reload Time8 sec.

HE Shell140 mm HE Type0

Maximum HE Shell Damage2,400

Initial HE Shell Velocity850 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell10 %

AA Defense

25 mm/60 Type 96 on a twin mount6 х 2 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second16.2

. . . Firing Range2.49 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed25 knot

Turning Circle Radius740 m.

Rudder Shift Time7.9 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range8.56 km.

Air Detectability Range6.46 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

IV

1,000,000

Hōshō — Japanese Tier IV aircraft сarrier.

The first vessel in the world to be completed as a purpose-built aircraft carrier. This ship was moderately sized and could carry a small air group. For her size, she was armed with an impressive artillery setup and had decent speed and maneuverability.

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 ()
Hōshō (A)	31,000	6	20		4	6				0	100,000
Hōshō (B)	31,800	6	20		4	6				3,000	250,000

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
A4N	108			1,150		0	50,000

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
B4Y Jean	5,800	97	1,380		0	50,000

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
D1A Susie		98	1,360		0	50,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 30,000 hp	25		0	40,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2

Player Opinion

Performance

The first aircraft carrier players working up the Japanese tech tree gain access to, Hōshō provides players an introduction to IJN's carrier line. In general, players can expect Attack Aircraft with great accuracy but a relatively small payload, Dive bombers with high potential damage and relatively stealthy Torpedo Bombers.

Attack Aircraft:

Like most Japanese carriers their attack aircraft carry hard hitting rockets and have reasonable accuracy that allows them to be used to hunt destroyers effectively as well as trolling cruisers and battleships. However they only launch 6 rockets per attack run, and a squadron can only attack twice. Attack aircraft should be used as much as possible when low on torpedo bombers.

Torpedo Bombers:

Torpedo bombers are the star of the show like many Japanese carriers and can deal large amounts of damage to targets in a short amount of time, they have very good concealment that allows them to surprise enemy ships or give them little reaction time as they come closer to be attacked. They also sport reasonable speed that allows them to balance the low healthpool of planes. These type of planes should be used to the maximum because they are the most reliable way to help support allied ships.

Dive Bombers:

Unlike British and American carriers, Japanese ones carry AP bombs that have good potentials of citadeling ships and cause large amounts of damage to targets as long as they hit the citadel. However when bombs do not hit the citadel they deal low damage. It is recommended to use torpedo bombers and attack aircraft more frequently because they can get a reliable amount of damage than dive bombers do.

Tips:

It is recommended to start with attack aircraft in the the beginning of the battle as spotting destroyers and other ships are important for other allied ships to plan ahead of what to do. When using torpedo bombers use only 3/5 of the squadron so then you can save planes and attack at least twice. Torpedo bombers should be used as much as possible as they also are a threat to destroyers and it is recommended when less than 3/5 of a squadron is ready, attack aircraft should be used. Players must learn to balance risk and reward when committing to an attack. Attack runs on targets that are either isolated or have weak AA defence is advised due to the relatively low risk involved. Players should also only call back their aircraft (f key by default) when they are safely outside AA bubbles in order to ensure they don't get shot down along the way.

Pros:

• Hosho's attack aircraft are quite accurate like most Japanese carriers.
• Torpedo and dive bombers have reasonable speed that allows them to attack often.
• Torpedo bombers can land up to 29,000 damage on enemy ships when using entire squadron and no plane is lost.
• Torpedo bombers and attack aircraft are effective against all ship type.
• It's torpedo aircraft boast more potential damage (5800 vs 3500) and higher stealth (7.5 km vs 10 km) compared to its American counterpart Langley
• Powerful propulsion that produce reasonable speed that allows her to keep up with the team.
• Good concealment for ship and planes.

Cons:

• Attack aircraft are only launch 6 rockets every attack run and can only attack twice(each aircraft are armed with 2 rockets, and 3 planes participate in each run).
• Torpedo bomber squadron has 5 planes and only one of them attack in a attack run meaning that a few will get shot down as they stay in AA auras.
• AP-bombs are treated as AP shells on a regular ship, and can over-penetrate or ricochet.
• Hosho is largely unarmored. HE shells will cause citadel hits and large amounts of damage even from destroyers.

Research

The Hosho has only 1 upgrade, its B hull, which provides it with better AA, maneuverability and a slight increase in health.

1. Hosho (B) Hull

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Hōshō are as follows:

• Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
• Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 

Commander Skills

Players should emphasize increasing the HP of their planes as they have the lowest health of all 3 nations, a trend that continues up to tier 10

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

Hōshō has access to the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party  unlimited
• Slot 2: CAP Fighter  4

All aircraft carrier consumables are automatically activated.

Attack Aircraft:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  3

Torpedo Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  2

Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  2

Camouflage

Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for credits; Types 1 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce chances of being detected by the enemy.

Signals

As a carrier, Hōshō can only mount at most four signals at a time and has no risk of detonating. Players should mount Equal Speed Charlie London (🚫), Zulu Hotel (🚫), and Juliet Whiskey Unaone (). However, Juliet Whiskey Unaone is not highly recommended if the player wishes to conserve the signal for later tiers.

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

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Historical Info

Hosho, 1924

Construction

Builder: Asano Shipbuilding Company; Yokohama, Japan

Laid down: 16 December 1920

Launched: 13 November 1921

Builder: Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Yokosuka, Japan

Completed: 10 January 1922

Commissioned: 27 December 1922

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Specifications

Displacement: 7,470 tons, standard

Length: 168.1m

Beam: 17.9m

Draft: 6.17m

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Machinery

8 Kampon boilers, 2 Parsons turbines

2,695 tons of fuel oil; 940 tons of coal

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Performance

26 knots at 30,000 shaft horsepower

8,680 nautical miles at 12 knots

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Armament

Secondary

Four (4 x 1) 140mm/50 3rd Year Type

Anti-Aircraft

Two (2 x 1) 80mm/40 3rd Year Type

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Aircraft

Total

15 aircraft

Fighters

Nine (9) Mitsubishi 1MF

Torpedo Bombers

Six (6) Mitsubishi B1M3

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Complement

550 men

Hosho underway shortly after completion, December 1922.

Design

First considered in the 1918 Naval shipbuilding programme, Hosho was to be built as a seaplane carrier, akin to HMS Campania. Although the keel was laid down, this plan was soon revised after Japanese naval attachés observed the desirable characteristics of HMS Furious, such as close to 30 knots of speed and more than 35 onboard aircraft. Not to be left behind, Hosho was proposed to become a full aircraft carrier with similar capabilities.

As Japan’s first purpose-built carrier, her design was based of a converted cruiser hull, which limited her tonnage to under 8,000 tonnes and no armour to speak of. For propulsion, eight boilers fed to two turbines, generating 30,000 shaft horsepower, which in speed trials pushed the vessel to 26 knots. For a ship of her size, she had an impressive range of above 8,000 nautical miles. Unique to Hosho, she carried an onboard gyro-stabilizer to reduce rolling during rough seas.

As a purpose-built carrier, Hosho had a full, unobstructed flight deck that was slightly tilted down to aid aircraft acceleration. Originally built, Hosho had an island superstructure on the starboard side, which held the bridge and aircraft control center. Hosho’s two hangars were designed to house different aircraft. The smaller, forward hanger housed fighters, while the rear, larger hangar housed bombers. Originally built, Hosho’s aircraft complement was 15 aircraft, split between fighters and torpedo bombers.

For close-in defence, Hosho was armed with four 140mm naval guns, which were considered to be a heavy battery for a ship of this tonnage, at that time. Carrier doctrine was non-existent at this time, and so designers considered artillery combat a possibility with aircraft carriers. Conversely, not much was considered for anti-aircraft defense; she was originally armed with two 80mm high-angle guns, positioned near the back of the ship.

Throughout her carrier, Hosho underwent some modifications. The most significant change was in 1924, when the island was deleted and the funnels were moved to the side of the ship, in order to provide an unobstructed flight deck. Furthermore, the funnels could swivel to lie horizontally, to eject gasses away from the deck. Her AA armament, seen to be ineffective was replaced with various numbers of 25mm cannons throughout the War. Finally, in late 1944, Hosho’s flight deck was extended to make landings easier.

Aircraft Carrier Hosho was laid down in 16 December 1920 by the Asano Shipbuilding Company, and launched 13 November 1921. She was completed at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 10 January 1922.

Service

Commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 27 December 1922, Hosho spent the first few years of her service life laying the foundation and groundwork for the budding Japanese carrier doctrine. This is when her first major reconstruction occurred, in order to better accommodate aircraft handling operations.

With tensions rising in China in the early 1930s, Hosho – along with the rest of the Third Fleet – was stationed near Shanghai and covered Japanese operations through February and March. She was the first IJN ship to conduct aerial operations; mainly in the way of air-superiority, bomber escort, and airfield raids.

From late 1935 to early 1936, Hosho was spending time in the dockyards after suffering damage from a typhoon while undergoing a training sortie with the Fourth Fleet. The entire first half of the flight deck had to be rebuilt and reinforced after the original one collapsed and had to be cut away. Also while in the dockyards, measures were taken to decrease her top weight; funnels permanently swiveled horizontally, aircraft crane and upper deck aviation fuel tanks were deleted.

Hosho was stationed back in China with the Third Fleet after the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in the late 1930s. During the summer of 1937, Hosho’s air groups were tasked with bomber interdiction and close-air support to assist the Imperial Japanese Army operations near Shanghai. By autumn of 1937, Hosho, along with Ryujo, operated off the south China coast conducting further raids against Chinese airfields.

By the winter, she was relegated to reserve status and transferred her aircraft to Ryujo. Although out-dated, the Navy realized her service life could be extended as a training carrier, and as such modifications were made by late 1939.

When the Second World War commenced, Hosho was pressed into service as secondary air-defence for the Main Body of Battleships for the Combined Fleet for not only the raid on Pearl Harbor, but Midway as well. With the Japanese defeat, Hosho returned to mainland Japan to resume training duties.

In order to service the larger and more modern aircraft that were coming into service in late 1944, Hosho had her flight deck enlarged, and new aircraft handling gear installed. She dutifully trained new pilots until the end of the war.

Her only postwar duties of note were repatriation efforts; ferrying Japanese servicemen and civilians back home from their stations overseas, until 1947, when Hosho was decommissioned and scrapped.

Historical Gallery

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  Hosho’s external appearance in 1922.

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  Hosho’s external appearance in 1924.

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  Hosho’s external appearance in 1936.

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  Hosho’s external appearance in 1945.

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  Hosho stationed in Shanghai.

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  Kaga and Hosho during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

References

1. Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō - Wikipedia
2. Stille, M., Bryan, T. (2005) Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers: 1921-45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd.
3. *Chesneau, R., Gardiner, R. (1980). Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1922-1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press.
4. *Sha, S. K. (1964). Japanese Aircraft Carriers and Destroyers: Vol 2. London, UK: Macdonald & Co. Ltd.
   

Ships of Japan

Aircraft Carriers