Shokaku-class aircraft carrier (2f/1m).
L/B/D:
844.8 × 85.3 × 29 (257.5m × 26m × 8.8m). Tons:
25,675 disp. (32,105 full). Hull:
steel. Comp.:
1,660. Arm.:
84 aircraft; 16 × 5, 42 × 25mm. Armor:
5.9 belt. Mach.:
geared turbines, 160,000 shp, 4 screws; 34.5 kts. Built:
Yokosuka Dockyard, Yokosuka, Japan; 1941.
Shokaku, whose name means "happy crane," was among the most powerful Japanese carriers ever built, specifically designed to sail as a consort to the battleships
Yamato and
Musashi. One of six carriers taking part in the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, she later sailed in support of operations against the Dutch East Indies and Ceylon. At the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942, planes from Shokaku and her sister ship sank
USS Lexington and severely damaged
Yorktown. However, planes from the American carriers also managed to score three bomb hits on Shokaku, and as a result she did not take part in the Battle of Midway in early June. At the Battle of Santa Cruz on October 26, 1942, dive-bombers from
USS Hornet inflicted another nine months' worth of repairs on Shokaku. Just prior to the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Shokaku was struck by three torpedoes from the submarine
USS Cavalla and sank about 140 miles north of Yap Island (in 11°40N, 137°40E), with the loss of 1,263 crew.
Stephen, Sea Battles in Close-Up.
