Shōkaku
 The Shōkaku 1941
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
The Shōkaku ( Japanese 翔 鶴 , dt. "Flying crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy and type ship of the Shōkaku class .
history
Construction and construction
It was built in the Yokosuka Kaigun Kōshō ( Yokosuka Navy Yard ). The carrier was launched on June 1, 1939 and put into service on August 8, 1941. Her sister ship was the Zuikaku .
Calls
In the Pacific War she belonged to the Kidō Butai and took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor . In April 1942, the Shōkaku was involved in the attack in the Indian Ocean and in the Battle of the Coral Sea under Rear Admiral Hara. During the latter, she was badly hit by three bombs dropped by aircraft on the USS Yorktown and had to return to Japan for repairs . 108 crew members were killed by the bomb hits. Your planes were involved in the sinking of the USS Lexington here . Because of the necessary repairs, the Shōkaku did not take part in the Battle of Midway .
In August 1942, the Shōkaku was used in the Battle of the East Solomon Islands and damaged the American carrier USS Enterprise in battle . Also with its sister Zuikaku , the aircraft carrier took part in the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942. There the carrier combat group succeeded in sinking the USS Hornet . In return, the Shōkaku was again badly damaged, but was able to escape.
Downfall
After the defeat of Midway in 1943 and 1944, she was one of the few remaining carriers of the Japanese navy. But during the battle in the Philippine Sea near Saipan on June 19, 1944 under the command of Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa , she lost almost all aircraft in the so-called turkey shooting in the Mariana Islands . On the same day she was sunk by the American submarine USS Cavalla . The Cavalla fired four torpedoes , at least three of which hit. The hits caused several fires and severe water ingress on the forecastle on the port side. After the failure of the machinery and uncontrollable fires in the hangars, the ship could no longer be saved. The order to leave the Shōkaku was given. Due to the steep incline, burning aircraft began to slide in the hangar towards the bow. An aerial bomb exploding in the hangar ignited gasoline fumes in the lower decks, causing a major explosion. The aircraft carrier began to sink and went down just under three hours after the torpedo hit.
In addition to the regular crew, additional crews from an air force unit were on board, so that 1,842 people were on the Shōkaku , of which 1,272 went down with the ship, while only 570 men could be rescued.
wreck
The wreck of the Shōkaku has not yet been found, the exact place where it was lost is controversial.
See also
Individual evidence
literature
- Author collective of the Maru magazine: WARSHIPS OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY - Shokaku class, Soryu, Hiryu, Unryu class, Taiho (yes: 空 母 翔 鶴 ・ 瑞鶴 ・ 蒼龍 ・ 飛龍 ・ 雲龍 型 ・ 大 鳳) Kōjinsha, Tokyo 1996, ISBN 978-4-7698-0776-6
