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| IJN Kaga | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | Kaga |
| Ship class | Kaga-class aircraft carrier (originally Katori-class battleship conversion) |
| Builder | Kawasaki Shipyards |
| Laid down | 1919 (as Tosa-class / Kaga laid down as Tosa-class hull) |
| Launched | 1921 |
| Commissioned | 1928 |
| Decommissioned | 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk June 4–5, 1942 (Battle of Midway) |
| Displacement | ~39,700 tons (full load) |
| Length | 248.0 m |
| Beam | 30.5 m |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines, mixed coal/oil originally |
| Speed | 28 knots |
| Aircraft | ~60–90 (varied by period) |
| Armament | 8 × 8 in, 8 × 6 in, AA guns, torpedo tubes (varied) |
IJN Kaga Kaga was a major Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier that served during the interwar period and early Pacific War. Originally designed under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and post-World War I naval planning, Kaga participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and operations across the Central Pacific. She was lost at the Battle of Midway, an engagement that decisively shifted the Pacific Theater balance.
Kaga began life in the aftermath of World War I as part of Japan's response to the Washington Naval Conference limitations and the Tosa-class battleship program, with construction at Kawasaki Heavy Industries's Kobe yard and incorporation of lessons from HMS Furious and HMS Argus carrier design. The hull retained heavy armor and internal subdivision derived from Japanese battleship practice seen in Nagato-class battleship design, while machinery followed Yamato-era steam turbine developments and boiler arrangements influenced by Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries engineering. Naval architects drew on carrier innovations from United States Navy designs like USS Langley and USS Lexington as well as British experimental conversions exemplified by HMS Furious; Kaga's original three-island superstructure plan evolved into a single large island in later refits similar to Akagi and Soryu. Treaty limitations under the London Naval Treaty and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance context affected displacement and armament choices, while the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet doctrine guided hangar layout, fuel storage, and aviation fuel handling methods that later proved crucial.
Kaga entered commission in 1928 into First Carrier Division formations alongside Akagi and served in Combined Fleet peacetime maneuvers, Fleet Review appearances before the Emperor, and China contingency operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War including patrols off Shanghai and the Yangtze River. Interwar deployments included visits to Sasebo and Yokosuka naval bases, participation in Combined Fleet exercises with ships such as Mogami-class cruisers and Furutaka-class cruisers, and involvement in carrier aviation doctrine development with air groups drawing personnel trained at Kasumigaura and Kasumigaura Naval Air Station. Kaga underwent major modernization between the London Naval Treaty era and the late 1930s, interacting with naval leaders like Isoroku Yamamoto and planners in Kido Butai operations. At the start of Pacific War operations she deployed from Hitokappu Bay and staging areas such as Hashirajima and Saipan for offensive strikes.
Originally laid down as a Tosa-class battleship hull then modified akin to HMS Furious-style conversions, the conversion to an aircraft carrier incorporated long hangars, multiple elevators, and a flight deck arrangement that reflected lessons from carriers including USS Lexington (CV-2), USS Saratoga (CV-3), and Akagi (CV); Japanese naval architects balanced aircraft capacity against armor and anti-aircraft protection influenced by Nagato-class survivability thinking. The reconstruction of the late 1930s replaced multiple flight decks with a single flush deck, added a starboard island inspired by American aircraft carrier designs, upgraded Type 96 25 mm anti-aircraft guns, and reworked propulsion systems with new boilers and turbines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to improve speed and range for Pacific operations. Damage control systems incorporated compartmentation practices from Battle of Jutland analyses and Imperial Navy wartime retrofits, while aviation fuel stowage and detonator handling reflected experience with aircraft carriers worldwide.
Kaga hosted air groups drawn from Kido Butai carrier aviation, operating types such as the Mitsubishi A5M, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Nakajima B5N "Kate", and later Aichi D3A "Val"; bomber, fighter, and torpedo squadrons embarked and trained at Kasumigaura, Kisarazu, and Chitose airbases. Her air wing executed coordinated strikes during the Attack on Pearl Harbor alongside Akagi, Sōryū, and Hiryū, participating in operations targeting Pearl Harbor naval installations, Ford Island, and Battleship Row; Kaga aircraft also supported Philippine operations against Clark Field and Iba Field and strikes in the Dutch East Indies such as Tarakan and Balikpapan. During carrier actions she worked in concert with battleships including Kongo-class examples, cruisers like Tone-class and Chikuma-class, and destroyer screens from Fubuki-class flotillas. Maintenance and rearming cycles occurred at Truk and Kavieng forward bases and at home ports like Maizuru. Tactical coordination followed doctrines developed by Isoroku Yamamoto and staff at Combined Fleet headquarters.
Assigned to the Kido Butai strike force for Operation MI, Kaga operated with carriers Akagi, Sōryū, and Hiryū, under the strategic direction of Isoroku Yamamoto and operational planning by Nishizō Tsukahara and staff including Chūichi Nagumo. The carrier group deployed from Hashirajima and staging points such as Saipan toward Midway Atoll, where intelligence and codebreaking efforts by United States Navy cryptanalysts at Station Hypo under Joseph J. Rochefort provided warning to Navy commanders Chester W. Nimitz and Raymond Spruance. Kaga contributed aircraft to initial search, strike, and CAP operations during the opening stages of the Battle of Midway while interdicting Midway Island facilities and defending the fleet against US Navy carrier task forces centered on USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), and USS Yorktown (CV-5).
During Midway on June 4–5, 1942, Kaga was hit by multiple dive-bomber attacks from Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft flown from USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown's air groups, with strikes coordinated by leaders such as James H. Flatley and Wade McClusky, following intelligence-driven strikes by Frank Jack Fletcher's forces. Devastating fires ignited aviation fuel and ordnance stored in her hangars, leading to uncontrollable conflagration, loss of propulsion, and progressive list; scuttling charges and torpedo hits from Japanese destroyers were insufficient to save the ship, and she sank with heavy loss of life, including many aircrew and shipboard sailors. The sinking of Kaga, together with Akagi, Sōryū, and later Hiryū's disablement, marked a pivotal defeat for Imperial Japanese Navy carrier aviation that altered Pacific War strategic dynamics, enabled United States offensive momentum in campaigns such as Guadalcanal Campaign, and influenced subsequent carrier design and damage-control practices across navies. The wreck resides on the Pacific seafloor and has been located by deep-submergence expeditions, prompting archaeological interest from organizations involved in maritime archaeology and policy discussions among descendants and governments over war grave status.
Category:Aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Category:Ships sunk at the Battle of Midway