Shokaku file photo

Shokaku

CountryJapan
Ship ClassShokaku-class Aircraft Carrier
BuilderYokosuka Dockyard
Laid Down12 December 1937
Launched1 June 1939
Commissioned8 August 1941
Sunk19 June 1944
Displacement25675 tons standard; 32105 tons full
Length844 feet
Beam85 feet
Draft29 feet
Speed34 knots
Range9,700nm at 18 knots
Crew1660
Armament16x127mm Type 98 anti-aircraft, 70x25mm Type 96 machine guns
Aircraft84

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

Shokaku was built at Yokosuka Dockyard, Japan. Completed in Aug 1941, she participated in Japan's early wartime offensives, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the raid into the Indian Ocean and the Battle of Coral Sea. In the latter action, on 8 May 1942, Shokaku was seriously damaged by dive bombers from USS Yorktown (CV-5), but her modern designed allowed her to limp back to Japan for repairs and fight another day. However, that also meant she was to miss Midway action, where her presence might have tipped the balance of battle in Japan's favor. In Aug 1942, Shokaku took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where she helped in damaging but failed to sink the American carrier Enterprise. In Oct, she participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in which she took on battle damage but her aircraft was able to sink the carrier Hornet. In 1943, Captain Hiroshi Matsubara took command of Shokaku. On 15 Jun 1944, she participated in Operation A-Go which led to the Battle of the Philippine Sea of 19 Jun. While refueling, she was hit at 1123 by three or four torpedoes from submarine Cavalla. The ensuing fire exploded a bomb at 1408, which ignited aviation fuel. As the fire grew out of control, she sank, taking 1,272 men to the bottom of the ocean with her. Only 570 men, including Captain Matsubara, survived.

Source: Wikipedia.

Photographs

The chief shipbuilders of carrier Shokaku posing with the hull of the ship two days prior to launching, Yokosuka, Japan, 30 May 1939Launching of Shokaku from the second construction slip of Yokosuka Dockyard, Japan, 1430 hours on 1 Jun 1939Carrier Shokaku at Yokosuka, Japan, 23 Aug 1941, photo 1 of 2Carrier Shokaku at Yokosuka, Japan, 23 Aug 1941, photo 2 of 2
See all 36 photographs of Aircraft Carrier Shokaku



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Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
More on Shokaku
Personnel:
» Yoshinao Kodaira
» Yoshimi Minami

Event(s) Participated:
» Attack on Pearl Harbor
» Battle of Rabaul
» Raids into the Indian Ocean
» Battle of Coral Sea
» Guadalcanal Campaign
» Solomon Islands Campaign
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot

Document(s):
» Interrogation Nav 10, Captain Mineo Yamaoka

Partner Sites Content:
» Shokaku Tabular Record of Movement
» The Sinking of Shokaku: An Analysis


Aircraft Carrier Shokaku Photo Gallery
The chief shipbuilders of carrier Shokaku posing with the hull of the ship two days prior to launching, Yokosuka, Japan, 30 May 1939
See all 36 photographs of Aircraft Carrier Shokaku



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Winston Churchill, 1935