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| Shokaku (aircraft carrier) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | Shokaku |
| Caption | Shōkaku underway |
| Ship country | Empire of Japan |
| Ship namesake | Shōkaku (mountain) |
| Ship builder | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki |
| Ship launched | 4 May 1939 |
| Ship completed | 15 August 1941 |
| Ship class | Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier |
| Ship displacement | 32,000 tons (standard) |
| Ship length | 257 m |
| Ship beam | 29 m |
| Ship speed | 34.2 kn |
| Ship propulsion | Steam turbines |
| Ship armour | Flight deck armor 101 mm |
| Ship aircraft | 72–84 aircraft |
Shokaku (aircraft carrier) was a Japanese aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and commissioned in 1941. She served as the lead ship of the Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier alongside Zuikaku (aircraft carrier), participating in major Pacific engagements including the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea before being sunk during the Marianas campaign in 1944. Shokaku carried a large air group of A6M Zero, D3A Val, and B5N Kate types and was noted for speed, armor, and flight deck design derived from lessons of the Washington Naval Treaty era. Her wartime career intersected with commanders and aviators from the Combined Fleet, 1st Air Fleet, and engagements involving USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Lexington (CV-2), and USS Yorktown (CV-5).
Shokaku was designed under constraints influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty era, drawing on experiences from Akagi (aircraft carrier) and Kaga (aircraft carrier), and integrating innovations adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. Built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki, her hull and flight deck incorporated heavy armor similar to contemporary HMS Illustrious designs while retaining speed comparable to USS Saratoga (CV-3), achieved through powerful Kampon steam turbines and boilers developed by Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation. The carrier's island layout and arresting gear reflected tactical doctrines promoted by Isoroku Yamamoto and operational lessons from the Shanghai Incident and Second Sino-Japanese War, balancing protection and aircraft sortie rates for operations in the Pacific Ocean theater.
Shokaku's original armament included dual-purpose 12.7 cm AA guns and multiple 25 mm Type 96 autocannons organized into batteries influenced by analyses from Naval Technical Bureau (Japan), supplemented later by radar-directed anti-aircraft control systems developed from captured British radar and U.S. radar intelligence. Her aviation facilities were configured for a wartime air group of approximately 72–84 aircraft, typically comprising Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Aichi D3A Val, Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers, and later models such as the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei and Nakajima B6N Tenzan as replacements. Aircraft maintenance and handling onboard were influenced by carrier doctrine from the Kido Butai and the 1st Air Fleet command structure, with elevators, hangar arrangements, and fuel storage designed to support sustained operations during campaigns like Coral Sea and Midway.
Shokaku joined the Combined Fleet shortly before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, providing aircraft for the strike group assembled by Isoroku Yamamoto and coordinating with carriers including Akagi and Kaga. During the Indian Ocean raid, Shokaku operated alongside Zuikaku and Hiryū (aircraft carrier), projecting air power against British Eastern Fleet bases such as Ceylon and Trincomalee. At the Battle of the Coral Sea, Shokaku's air group struck USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5), while facing carrier aviation from Franklin D. Roosevelt-era US commanders including Raymond A. Spruance's subordinates and Frank J. Fletcher's forces. Post-Coral Sea repairs at Kure Naval Arsenal and Yokosuka Naval Arsenal prepared her for the Battle of Midway, during which Shokaku's sister Zuikaku and Shokaku formed elements of the First Carrier Division though losses and operational setbacks impacted subsequent operations across the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal Campaign.
In 1944 Shokaku participated in the Marianas campaign as part of the Mobile Fleet attempting to repel Operation Forager mounted by United States Pacific Fleet elements under Chester W. Nimitz and Raymond A. Spruance. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Shokaku launched sorties of A6M Zero and dive-bombers against aircraft from USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Lexington (CV-16), USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), and other task forces commanded by William F. Halsey Jr. and staff including Marc A. Mitscher. The engagement produced catastrophic losses in Japanese naval aviation often called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," degrading the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service's veteran aircrew strength and leaving carriers like Shokaku vulnerable to subsequent carrier and submarine attacks.
On 19 June 1944, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea operations connected to the Marianas campaign, Shokaku was struck by torpedoes and bombs delivered by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft and later by submarine-launched torpedoes from units like USS Cavalla (SS-244) and other Gato-class submarine operations that hunted damaged fleet units; severe flooding and loss of propulsion led to her sinking. The loss of Shokaku reduced the Combined Fleet's carrier strength alongside earlier losses such as Akagi, Kaga, and Hiryū, and further strained Japanese naval aviation logistics already impacted by shortages at Kawanishi and Mitsubishi production facilities. Survivors were rescued by accompanying vessels and transferred to bases including Truk Lagoon and Enewetak Atoll, as the Imperial Japanese Navy reorganized depleted carrier divisions in the face of advancing United States Navy amphibious operations.
Shokaku's design and wartime service influenced postwar naval analysis undertaken by institutions such as the United States Naval War College and naval historians including Samuel Eliot Morison and Eugene M. Emme, shaping assessments in studies of carrier warfare, fleet logistics, and aircraft carrier survivability. Wreck surveys and dives conducted by international teams, including Japanese and American maritime archaeologists, have sought to document the wrecksite in the Philippine Sea with interest from organizations like National Geographic Society and universities involved in underwater archaeology, while artifacts recovered are exhibited in museums including the Yokosuka Museum of Art and several naval history collections. Memorials for crew lost aboard Shokaku appear at Yasukuni Shrine and local memorials in Kagoshima Prefecture, and her operational lessons continue to inform modern carrier doctrine in navies such as the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the United States Navy.
Category:Aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Category:World War II ships of Japan