World War II Database

Originally laid down as the civilian luxury passenger liner Kasuga Maru by shipping company Nippon Yusen, she was partially subsidized by the Japanese government. Therefore, when the Japanese Navy needed military transports, she was drafted for service in the fall of 1940 when she was still under construction. After being launched at Nagasaki, Japan, she sailed to Sasebo, Japan for final fitting between 1 May and 31 Aug 1941. On 5 Sep 1941, she was assigned to the Carrier Division 1 under the command of Captain Kanichi Takatsugu, acting as a transport ferrying supplies between Japan and the outlying islands. Between May and Sep 1941, she underwent a conversion at Sasebo to become an escort carrier with no island, no catapults, nor arresting gear. Because she was converted from a passenger ship design, she initially carried only 27 aircraft: nine Type 0 "Zero" Fighters (two in spare) and fifteen B5N Navy Type 97 carrier attack bombers (one in spare). Her initial armament consisted of six 120-mm and four dual 25-mm anti-aircraft guns. After the conversion, she was assigned to Carrier Division 5 as the flagship.

On 31 Aug 1942, Kasuga Maru was renamed Taiyo, becoming the lead ship of her class of escort carriers.

Taiyo's first mission as carrier was to ferry fighters from Japan to the Palau Islands in Nov-Dec 1941. She continued to engage in aircraft ferrying and aviation training duties throughout her career.

At 1325 on 28 Sep 1942, Taiyo was attacked by American submarine Trout south of Truk in the Caroline Islands, damaging her stern and killing 13 crewmen. At 2049 on 9 Apr 1943, she was hit by multiple torpedoes launched by submarine Tunny, though at least one of them were defective and did not explode. She was repaired and placed back into service each time.

At 0726 on 24 Sep 1943, Taiyo was hit by submarine Cabrilla, damaging her starboard quarter near the propeller. Her sister ship Chuyo took her in tow and brought her back to Yokosuka, Japan two days later for repairs. The opportunity was taken to upgrade her anti-aircraft weaponry; by the end of 1943, she was carrying three dual 127-mm Type 90 and 16 dual 25-mm anti-aircraft guns. In Apr 1944, her armament was upgraded again to her final weapon configuration. Her flight deck was also lengthened from 162 to 172 meters.

At 2215 on 18 Aug 1944, while off Cape Bolinao, Luzon, Philippine Islands as part of a convoy for Manila under the command of Captain Shuichi Sugino, Taiyo detected an enemy submarine to starboard. At 2220, she was struck by one or two torpedoes from American submarine Rasher on the starboard quarter. The torpedo explosions ignited aviation tanks, causing heavy fires in the hangar deck and killing many. She quickly listed to starboard; to compensate, Captain Sugino ordered the port magazines flooded. Within minutes of the order, however, the oil tank aft on the port side exploded violently, killing most of the emergency personnel. After the oil tank explosion, Sugino gave the abandon ship order. At 2248, she suffered another explosion, and sank quickly afterwards. At the time, about 1,200 were aboard. Only 400, including Sugino, survived.

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