Zuiho

Artist's rendition of Zuiho at sea.

Design

Zuihō, originally named Takasaki, was part of a group of two aircraft carriers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy before World War II. Both ships were originally built as submarine tenders, but were subsequently converted into carriers. After conversion, she was given a pair of destroyer-type geared steam turbines as replacement for the original diesel engines, one for each propeller.

For a light carrier, Zuihō boasts a 180m long flight deck, a single hangar (124m x 18m) served by two octagonal centerline aircraft elevators (the rear elevator being a little smaller than the forward), and six-cable arresting gear. However, she was not outfitted with an aircraft catapult. Overall, she is a major improvement over Japan's and the world's first aircraft carrier, Hosho.

Service

Converted, commissioned, and completed in late 1940, Zuihō remained in Japanese waters until late 1941, when Captain Sueo Ōbayashi assumed command and she became flagship of the Third Carrier Division. Zuihō played a secondary role in the Battle of Midway in mid-1942 and did not engage any American aircraft or ships during the battle. The ship participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign during the rest of 1942. She was lightly damaged during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during this campaign and covered the evacuation of Japanese forces from the island in early 1943 after repairs.

Afterwards, her aircraft were disembarked several times in mid to late 1943 and used from land bases in a number of battles in the South West Pacific. Zuihō participated in the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf in mid-1944. In this last battle, Zuihō mainly served as a decoy for the main striking forces and she was finally sunk by American aircraft fulfilling her task. In between engagements, the ship served as a ferry carrier and a training ship.

Throughout the years, Zuihō’s aircraft configuration varied widely between 1941 and the time of her sinking: she never had more than 31 planes and no less than 14 at a time. Each configuration was mostly comprised of fighters, or evenly split with half bombers and half fighters.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Zuiho’s 1944 disruptive camouflage scheme is missing.
• Zuiho’s actual aircraft loadout was six A5Ms, six A6M2s and twelve B5N torpedo bombers. At Guadalcanal, she carried eighteen A6M2s and six B5Ns. In mid-1943, her air group consisted of eighteen Zeros and eight Aichi D3A dive bombers. In June 1944, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, she carried six A6M5s, fifteen A6M2s, six B5N2s and three B6N1s. Finally, at Leyte Gulf where Zuiho was sunk, she carried twelve A6M5s and five B6N1s.
• The blue fuselage stripes on the A6M2 denotes an aircraft from the carrier Hiryu, while the red fuselage stripe on the B5N2 is from Akagi; Zuiho's aircraft had triple white stripes, though these were removed by early 1943.

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  Shōhō anchored in Yokosuka, 20 December 1941.

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  Shōhō suffers a torpedo hit during the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7 May 1942.

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  Zuihō during the Battle of Cape Engaño, October 1944.

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  Artist's rendering of Shōhō in 1942.

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  Zuihō underway at sea, 1944.

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  Stock photo of aircraft carrier Zuihō.

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  Zuihō anchored in port, 1944.

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  Basic scheme of Zuihō in 1944.