Kaga

Kaga. The aircraft carrier Kaga was a capital ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy that played a pivotal role in the early stages of the Pacific War. Originally laid down as a ''Tosa''-class battleship under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, her hull was converted into one of Japan's first large carriers. Alongside her near-sister ''Akagi'', she formed the core of the Kido Butai, the First Air Fleet's formidable carrier strike force, and participated in numerous operations including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, where she was sunk in June 1942.

History

The vessel's origins are rooted in the Eight-eight fleet plan of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which called for a powerful battle line. Laid down in 1920 at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard in Kobe, she was intended to be a ''Tosa''-class battleship. However, the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922 halted battleship construction, leading the Japanese Naval General Staff to order her conversion into an aircraft carrier, a decision influenced by the earlier conversion of the battlecruiser ''Akagi''. This conversion policy was a direct response to treaty limitations and the evolving strategic thinking of advocates like Isoroku Yamamoto, who emphasized naval air power. Her naming followed the province-based convention of the Imperial Japanese Navy, being named for the former Kaga Province on the island of Honshu.

Design and construction

Her initial design as a battleship provided a large, sturdy hull, but the conversion to a carrier resulted in a unique appearance. Completed in 1929, she featured an unusual three-flight-deck arrangement, with two main hangar decks opening onto short flying-off decks at the bow, a design intended to allow rapid launch of aircraft but later proved inefficient. Her island was placed on the port side, a configuration also used on ''Akagi'' and the later carrier ''Hiryū'', to mitigate air turbulence. From 1934 to 1935, she underwent a massive reconstruction at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, which completely transformed her profile. The multi-level decks were replaced with a single, full-length flight deck, her hull was lengthened with the addition of a large bulge for improved torpedo protection, and her machinery was upgraded. This rebuild greatly increased her aircraft capacity to over 90 machines, placing her among the world's most powerful carriers, comparable to contemporary American ''Lexington''-class carriers.

Service history

Upon completion of her reconstruction, Kaga was assigned to the First Carrier Division alongside ''Akagi''. As part of the Kido Butai, she participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War, conducting air operations over China. Her most famous actions occurred during the opening months of the Pacific War. She launched aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and subsequently supported Japanese advances across the Pacific Ocean, including raids on Rabaul and Darwin, and operations in the Indian Ocean against British Eastern Fleet forces. In June 1942, she was a flagship vessel during the Battle of Midway. On June 4, dive bombers from the USS ''Enterprise'' scored multiple bomb hits, igniting catastrophic fires among fueled and armed aircraft on her flight deck. The resulting explosions doomed the carrier, and she was scuttled later that day by torpedoes from destroyers of the ''Hagikaze'' class.

Specifications

Following her 1935 reconstruction, she displaced 38,200 tons at standard load. Her overall length was 247.65 meters, with a beam of 32.5 meters. Propulsion was provided by eight Kampon boilers driving four steam turbines, generating 127,400 shaft horsepower and enabling a top speed of 28 knots. Her armor, a legacy of her battleship design, included a 152 mm main belt. Her air group typically consisted of a mix of 72 combat aircraft, including the iconic Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, the Aichi D3A "Val" dive bomber, and the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber. For defense, she was armed with ten 200 mm guns in casemates, originally intended for surface action, and numerous 127 mm and 25 mm anti-aircraft guns.

Legacy

The loss of Kaga and three other fleet carriers at the Battle of Midway was a decisive strategic defeat for the Imperial Japanese Navy, irrevocably shifting the initiative in the Pacific War to the United States Navy. The wreck of the carrier was located in October 2019 by the research vessel RV Petrel, resting in over 5,000 meters of water near the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Her design innovations and operational history, particularly her role in the attack on Pearl Harbor, have made her a frequent subject of historical study and naval literature. She is often analyzed alongside contemporaries like ''Akagi'' and the American ''Yorktown''-class in discussions of pre-war carrier doctrine and the evolution of naval warfare.

Category:Aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Category:Ships sunk in the Battle of Midway Category:World War II aircraft carriers of Japan