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The was a group of two aircraft carriers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy before World War II. Both ships were originally built as submarine tenders, but were subsequently converted into carriers. Completed in early 1942, ''Shōhō'' supported the invasion forces in Operation MO, the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, and was sunk by American carrier aircraft on her first combat operation during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May. ''Shōhō'' was the first Japanese aircraft carrier to be sunk during World War II. ''Zuihō'' played a secondary role in the Battle of Midway in mid-1942 and did not engage any American aircraft or ships during the battle. The ship participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign during the rest of 1942. She was lightly damaged during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during this campaign and covered the evacuation of Japanese forces from the island in early 1943 after repairs. Afterwards, her aircraft were disembarked several times in mid to late 1943 and used from land bases in a number of battles in the South West Pacific. ''Zuihō'' participated in the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf in mid-1944. In this last battle, ''Zuihō'' mainly served as a decoy for the main striking forces and she was finally sunk by American aircraft fulfilling her task. In between engagements, the ship served as a ferry carrier and a training ship. ==Design, construction and conversion== In the mid-1930s, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to build a class of two submarine tenders which could be converted into light aircraft carriers or fleet oilers.〔 The first ship, ''Tsurugizaki'', was commissioned into service in 1939. Construction of the second, ''Takasaki'', was stopped soon after launch and she was completed as an aircraft carrier. The ship was commissioned as ''Zuiho'' in December 1940. In early 1941, ''Tsurugizaki'' was taken out of service, converted to an aircraft carrier, and recommissioned as ''Shōhō'' in early 1942.〔 After their conversion, the ships had a length of overall. They had a beam of and a draft of . They displaced at standard load. As part of their conversion, their original diesel engines, which had given them a top speed of , were replaced by a pair of destroyer-type geared steam turbine sets with a total of , each driving one propeller. Steam was provided by four Kampon water-tube boilers and they now had a maximum speed of . The boilers exhausted through a single downturned starboard funnel and the ships carried of fuel oil, giving them a range of at a speed of .〔Jentschura, Jung and Mickel, p. 48〕 Their crew numbered 785 officers and men.〔Peattie, p. 242〕 Their flight deck was long and had a maximum width of . The ships were designed with a single hangar long and wide.〔Brown 1977, p. 22〕 The hangar was served by two octagonal centerline aircraft elevators. The forward elevator was 13 by 12 meters (42 ft 8 in × 39 ft 4 in) in size and the smaller rear elevator measured 12 by 10.8 meters (39 ft 4 in × 35 ft 5 in). The ships had arresting gear with six cables, but they were not fitted with an aircraft catapult. The ''Zuihō''-class carriers were a flush-deck design and lacked an island superstructure. They were designed to operate 30 aircraft.〔 The primary armament consisted of eight 40-caliber 12.7 cm Type 89 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in twin mounts on sponsons along the sides of the hull.〔Jentschura, Jung and Mickel, p. 49〕 They fired projectiles at a rate between 8 and 14 rounds per minute at a muzzle velocity of ; at 45°, this provided a maximum range of , and a maximum ceiling of .〔Campbell, pp. 192–93〕 The ships were also initially equipped with four twin 25 mm Type 96 light AA guns, also in sponsons along the sides of the hull.〔 They fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of ; at 50°, this provided a maximum range of , and an effective ceiling of . The maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute due to the frequent need to change the fifteen-round magazines.〔Campbell, p. 200〕 In 1943, ''Zuihō''s light AA armament was increased to 48 twenty-five mm guns. The following year, an additional twenty 25 mm guns were added in addition to six 28-round AA rocket launchers.〔 Each rocket weighed and had a maximum velocity of . Their maximum range was .〔Campbell, p. 216〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zuihō-class aircraft carrier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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