She was assigned to the Main Body of the invasion force and her aircraft complement consisted of six Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" and six A6M2 "Zero" fighters, and twelve Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers. Transferred to the First Fleet after the Third Carrier Division was disbanded on 1 April, Zuihō remained in Japanese waters until June when she participated in the Battle of Midway. In February 1942, the ship ferried Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters to Davao City, Philippines for the 11th Air Fleet. Together with the carrier Hōshō and six battleships, Zuihō covered the return of the ships of the 1st Air Fleet ( Kido Butai) as they returned from the attack on Pearl Harbor in mid-December. The ship returned to Japan in early November, rejoining the Third Carrier Division, and was given a brief refit later in the month. She was briefly assigned to the 11th Air Fleet in Formosa on 13 October and arrived in Takao the following day. Captain Sueo Ōbayashi assumed command on 20 September and Zuihō became flagship of the Third Carrier Division ten days later. Service Īfter commissioning, Zuihō remained in Japanese waters until late 1941. The following year, an additional twenty 25 mm guns were added in addition to six 28-round AA rocket launchers. In 1943, her light AA armament was increased to forty-eight 25 mm guns. Zuihō was also initially equipped with four twin 25-millimeter (1 in) Type 96 light anti-aircraft (AA) guns, also in sponsons along the sides of the hull. The ship's primary armament consisted of eight 12.7-centimeter (5 in) Type 89 dual-purpose guns in twin mounts on sponsons along the sides of the hull. She had arresting gear with six cables, but was not fitted with an aircraft catapult. The hangar was served by two octagonal centerline aircraft elevators. The ship was built with a single hangar 120 meters (406 ft 10 in) long and 18 meters (59 ft) wide, intended to house 30 aircraft. Her flight deck was 180 meters (590 ft 6 in) long and had a maximum width of 23 meters (75 ft 6 in). Zuihō was a flush-deck design and lacked an island superstructure. She carried enough fuel oil to give her a range of 7,800 nautical miles (14,400 km 9,000 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h 21 mph). The turbines produced a total of 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) which gave Zuihō a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h 32 mph). Each turbine set drove one propeller using steam provided by four water-tube boilers. Her original diesel engines were intended to give her a top speed of 29 knots (54 km/h 33 mph), but they were replaced by a pair of geared steam turbine sets as part of her conversion. She displaced 11,443 metric tons (11,262 long tons) at standard load. She had a beam of 18.2 meters (59 ft 8 in) and a draft of 6.6 meters (21 ft 7 in). Īfter her conversion, Zuihō had a length of 205.5 meters (674 ft 2 in) overall. The ship was renamed Zuihō during the process which was not completed until 27 December 1940 when she was commissioned. She was launched on 19 June 1936 and began a lengthy conversion into a carrier while fitting-out. The submarine support ship Takasaki was laid down on 20 June 1935 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and was designed to be converted to either a fleet oiler or a light aircraft carrier as needed. In between battles, the ship served as an aircraft ferry and a training ship. In this last engagement, she mainly served as a decoy for the main striking forces and was sunk by American aircraft. Zuihō participated in the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf in mid-1944. Her aircraft were disembarked several times in mid- to late-1943 and used from land bases in a series of battles in the Southwest Pacific. Significantly damaged during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in that campaign, after repairs Zuihō covered the evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal in early 1943. She participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign during the rest of 1942. The ship was completed during the first year of World War II and played a minor role in the Battle of Midway in mid-1942. Originally laid down as the submarine tender Takasaki, she was renamed and converted while under construction into an aircraft carrier. Zuihō ( 瑞鳳, "Auspicious Phoenix" or "Fortunate Phoenix") was the name ship of her class of two light aircraft carriers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Sunk by air attack during the Battle off Cape Engaño, 25 October 1944ħ,800 nmi (14,400 km 9,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h 21 mph)
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