Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku

Zuikaku

Country	Japan
Ship Class	Shokaku-class Aircraft Carrier
Builder	Kawasaki Dockyards, Kobe, Japan
Launched	27 Nov 1939
Commissioned	25 Sep 1941
Sunk	25 Oct 1944
Displacement	29,800 tons standard; 32,000 tons full
Length	845 feet
Beam	85 feet
Draft	29 feet
Machinery	8 boilers, 4 Kampon geared turbines, 4 shafts
Bunkerage	4,100t fuel oil
Power Output	160,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	34 knots
Range	6,588nm at 18 knots
Crew	1,660
Armament	16x127mm Type 89 guns, 36x25mm Type 96 anti-aircraft guns
Aircraft	72 operational, 12 in reserve

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned with Captain Yokokawa Ichibei in command only three months before the Pearl Harbor attack, fleet carrier Zuikaku nevertheless participated in the attack that started the Pacific War. During the Pearl Harbor attack, the first wave of 30 aircraft launched from her flight deck attacked Wheeler Field and Naval Air Station at Kaneohe, while the second wave of 44 aircraft attacked Hickam Field and battleships California and Maryland. The attack was a stunning success, and the pilots returned as heroes.

ww2dbaseOn 20 Jan 1942, Zuikaku's aircraft attacked Rabaul. On 21 Jan, they attacked Lae, New Guinea. In Apr 1942, she was a member of the task force that ventured into the Indian Ocean and struck the British naval bases at Ceylon.

ww2dbaseIn May 1942, Zuikaku participated in Operation MO, which was the invasion plan of Port Moresby. The Japanese signals were intercepted and decrypted by Allied intelligence, and carriers Yorktown and Lexington were dispatched. The ensuing Battle of the Coral Sea cost her half of her aircraft, while her sister ship Shokaku was heavily damaged by three bombs. As a result, both carriers were unable to participate in the Battle of Midway in the following month, where the presence of these two additional fleet carriers could have resulted in a much different outcome.

ww2dbaseUnder the command of Captain Tameteru Notomo, Zuikaku sailed for the Solomon Islands in Aug 1942. During the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 Aug 1942, Zuikaku and Shokaku's air groups heavily damaged Enterprise with three 1,000-lb bomb hits, but Enterprise's effective damage control kept the American carrier from becoming disabled. A second wave of dive bombers from Shokaku and Zuikaku failed to locate the damaged Enterprise, thus while Enterprise would end up being sidelined for repairs for three months, she survived to fight later in the war.

ww2dbaseIn Feb 1943, Zuikaku and her aircraft covered the evacuation of Guadalcanal. Later that year, Captain Kikuchi Tomozo took over command of the carrier and countered American naval forces in the Marshall Islands area.

ww2dbaseIn Jun 1944, Zuikaku participated in Operation A-Go which led to the Battle of Philippine Sea. At the end of the battle, 429 Japanese aircraft were destroyed, along with the destruction of Taiho and Shokaku by submarines. Zuikaku was now the last surviving carrier of the Pearl Harbor attack.

ww2dbaseIn Oct 1944, Zuikaku was Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's flagship for the decoy fleet that successfully lured away Admiral William Halsey's fleet, therefore allowing the Battle off Samar to take place. On 25 Oct 1944, Halsey's overwhelmingly powerful force caught up with Ozawa's. The first American attack wave at 0830 hours scored three bomb hits and one torpedo hit, causing fires and heavy flooding, but Zuikaku's experienced damage control teams extinguished all fires and corrected the listing by 0850 hours. At 0953 hours, the second wave came, and within 15 minutes denied the Japanese from using any of their flight decks, thus any Japanese aircraft remaining in the air must ditch in the water when they would run out of fuel. At 1032 hours, due to Zuikaku having lost communication capabilities, Ozawa's flag was transferred to cruiser Oyodo; Ozawa's staff completed the transfer by 1100 hours. At 1308 hours, the third attack wave was sighted; this attack wave landed several torpedoes on Zuikaku, causing massive flooding and several fires in the hangar, leading to her being dead in the water by 1325 hours. In the lull of combat after the third wave, Captain Takeo Kaizuka ordered all survivors to the flight deck and addressed them one final time, letting them know that he would go down with the doomed ship. With a bugler playing the National Anthem, the ensign was lowered. The abandon ship order was formally given at 1358 hours. She rolled to port and sank by the stern at 1414 hours. Including Captain Kaizuka, 843 men died in Zuikaku's loss.

ww2dbaseSources:
Combinedfleet.com
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Sep 2006

Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku Interactive Map

Photographs

Zuikaku on the day of her commissioning, Japan, 25 Sep 1941

Japanese carriers Zuikaku (foreground) and Kaga (background) underway toward Hitokappu Bay, Iturup, Kurile Islands, Nov 1941; note Zuikaku

Japanese carriers Zuikaku (foreground), Kaga (center), and Akagi (background) underway toward Hitokappu Bay, Iturup, Kurile Islands, Nov 1941; note Zuikaku

See all 22 photographs of Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku

Maps

Battle of the Coral Sea map and infographic, published 3 May 2017

Zuikaku Operational Timeline

25 May 1938	The keel of the future Zuikaku, though not yet named, was laid down at the Kawasaki Dockyards in Kobe, Japan.
27 Nov 1939	Zuikaku was launched at the Kawasaki Dockyards in Kobe, Japan.
15 Nov 1940	Captain Yokokawa Ichibei was made the Chief Equipping Officer of Zuikaku.
8 Jan 1941	Zuikaku departed Hiroshima, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands.
25 Sep 1941	Zuikaku was commissioned into service with her Chief Equipping Officer Captain Yokokawa Ichibei remaining as the commanding officer She departed Kobe, Japan to join the 1st Air Fleet at Kure to the west.
26 Sep 1941	Zuikaku arrived at Kure, Japan.
7 Oct 1941	Zuikaku departed Kure, Japan.
8 Oct 1941	Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan and joined new sister ship Zuikaku for the first time. She moved around in Kure, Oita, Saeki area in the remainder of the month.
16 Oct 1941	Zuikaku departed Oita, Japan.
20 Oct 1941	Zuikaku departed Saeki Bay, Oita Prefecture, Japan.
25 Oct 1941	Zuikaku departed Sukumo Bay off Kochi Prefecture Japan, arriving at Saeki Bay, Oita Prefecture, Japan later in the same day.
2 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Oita, Japan for a training cruise.
3 Nov 1941	Zuikaku arrived at Ariake Sea, southwestern Japan.
5 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Ariake Sea, southwestern Japan.
7 Nov 1941	Zuikaku arrived at Oita Bight, Japan, completing a training cruise.
9 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Oita Bight in southwestern Japan, arriving at Kure, Japan later that day.
13 Nov 1941	Zuikaku was assigned to Carrier Division 5 while at Kure, Japan.
14 Nov 1941	At Kure, Japan, Shokaku was relieved of her status as the flagship of Carrier Division 5 as Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara broke his flag on Zuikaku.
16 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Kure, Japan for Saeki Bay, Oita Prefecture, Japan.
17 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Saeki Bay, Oita Prefecture, Japan.
18 Nov 1941	Zuikaku departed Oita Bight, Japan.
19 Nov 1941	Shokaku and Zuikaku departed the Inland Sea for Hittokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands to join the ships massing for the Hawaii Operation.
22 Nov 1941	Carrier Division 5, centered around Shokaku and Zuikaku, arrived at Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands as part of a last-minute addition to the Carrier Striking Force.
26 Nov 1941	Zuikaku, under construction at Kobe, Japan, was officially named.
26 Nov 1941	Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo led the Japanese Carrier Division 1 (Akagi and Kaga), Carrier Division 2 (Hiryu and Soryu), Carrier Division 5 (Shokaku and Zuikaku), first section of Battleship Division 3 (Hiei and Kirishima), Cruiser Division 8 (Tone and Chikuma), Destroyer Squadron 1, Destroyer Squadron 17, and Destroyer Squadron 18 out of Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands for the Hawaii Operation, the attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
7 Dec 1941	The Japanese Navy launched two strike waves against the US fleet at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, sinking or damaging 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 1 anti-aircraft training ship, 1 minelayer; destroying 188 aircraft; and killing 2,459 (57 of which were civilian; 1,177 of which occurred aboard USS Arizona) and wounding 1,282 (35 of which were civilian). The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines; 55 were killed and 10 were wounded. Akagi's torpedo planes were instrumental in sinking the battleships USS Oklahoma and USS West Virginia. Zuikaku, with less experienced pilots, attacked land targets. Vice Admiral Nagumo ordered a withdrawal following recovery of the second attack wave.
23 Dec 1941	Akagi, Kaga, Shokaku, and Zuikaku arrived at Hashirajima island in Hiroshima Bay, Japan, along with escorts Shigure, Shiratsuyu, Ariake, and Yugure.
24 Dec 1941	Zuikaku arrived at Kure, Japan.
30 Dec 1941	Zuikaku entered drydocks at Kure Navy Yard, Japan.
3 Jan 1942	Zuikaku exited drydocks at Kure Navy Yard, Japan.
5 Jan 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku departed Kure, Japan for Hiroshima Bay.
8 Jan 1942	Zuikaku departed Hiroshima, Japan.
14 Jan 1942	Zuikaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
16 Jan 1942	Zuikaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands.
17 Jan 1942	Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in US Territory of Hawaii detected Japanese carrier Zuikaku at Truk, Caroline Islands.
20 Jan 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku launched strikes against Rabaul, New Britain. After the aircraft were recovered, the pair set sail toward eastern New Guinea island.
21 Jan 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku launched strikes against Lae and Salamaua, Australian New Guinea.
23 Jan 1942	At 0230 hours, Japanese troops began landing on New Britain on three beachheads, two of which were defended, but in general the Japanese had little difficult overcoming the defenses. Carrier aircraft from Akagi, Kaga, and Zuikaku supported the invasion after dawn, enjoying air superiority thus losing only one pilot (Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Isao Hiraishi) all day. As the troops entered and captured Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands, as reported by Tolai natives later, Japanese troops mutilated corpses of Australian troops with axes and bayonets. On the same day, Japanese troops including the No. 2 Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force delivered by Tenryu also landed at Kavieng, New Ireland.
25 Jan 1942	Zuikaku received 16 A5M (Navy Type 96) fighters of Chitose Naval Air Group.
29 Jan 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku returned to Truk, Caroline Islands.
1 Feb 1942	Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, Hiei, Kirishima, and Chikuma departed Truk, Caroline Islands in an attempt to catch the enemy carrier force that had attacked the Marshall Islands. They were escorted by destroyers Shiranuhi, Kasumi, and Urakaze.
8 Feb 1942	Akagi, Kaga, and Zuikaku arrived at the Palau Islands, having abandoned the pursuit of the American fleet.
9 Feb 1942	Zuikaku departed Palau, Caroline Islands.
13 Feb 1942	Zuikaku arrived at Yokosuka, Japan.
16 Feb 1942	Zuikaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for Mikawa Bay.
11 Mar 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku accompanied Vice Admiral Takasu Shiro's First Fleet (Ise and Hyuga) on a sortie to sweep for enemy believed to approaching Japan.
16 Mar 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku returned to Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
17 Mar 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for Staring Bay, Celebes, Dutch East Indies to join Operation C. They were escorted by Arare, Kagero, and Akigumo.
24 Mar 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku arrived at Staring Bay at Celebes, Dutch East Indies.
26 Mar 1942	Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Japanese First Air Fleet, built around a nucleus of five aircraft carriers (Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku), and supported by battleships (Kongo, Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima), cruisers (Tone, Chikuma, Abukuma), and destroyers, sailed from Staring Bay, Celebes, Dutch East Indies to the west of Timor into the Indian Ocean with the intention of attacking the Royal Navy's bases at Colombo and Trincomalee in Ceylon.
3 Apr 1942	The Japanese fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo entered the Indian Ocean.
5 Apr 1942	In the morning, Japanese carriers launched 36 D3A2 dive bombers and 53 B5N2 torpedo bombers, escorted by 36 Zero fighters, against the British naval base at Colombo, Ceylon, sinking merchant cruiser HMS Hector, damaging port facilities, while shooting down 25 British aircraft; 7 Japanese aircraft were lost in this attack. Around noon, cruiser Tone's floatplane spotted British cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire 200 miles southwest of Ceylon; 53 carrier aircraft were launched to attack, sinking Dorsetshire at 1350 hours (234 killed) and Cornwall at 1400 hours (190 killed); 1,122 survived from both ships.
9 Apr 1942	Japanese carrier aircraft attacked the harbor at Trincomalee, Ceylon at 0700 hours. Two hours later, empty British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire were detected 90 miles further south. At 1035 hours, Japanese carrier aircraft attacked and sank HMS Hermes (307 killed) and HMAS Vampire (9 killed); hospital ship Vita rescued survivors from both warships. At 1207 hours, 20 Japanese carrier dive bombers sank British oiler Athelstane (all aboard survived) and British corvette HMS Hollyhock (48 were killed, 17 survived) in the Indian Ocean.
18 Apr 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku arrived at Mako, Pescadores Islands. Destroyers Hagikaze and Maikaze escorted them along the way and returned to rejoin the returning Indian Ocean raiders fleet. Shokaku and Zuikaku embarked provisions at Mako.
19 Apr 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku departed Mako, Pescadores Islands to participate in Operation MO in the Coral Sea commencing 20 Apr 1942. They were escorted by Ariake, Yugure, Shigure, and Shiratsuyu.
25 Apr 1942	Shokaku and Zuikaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
1 May 1942	Carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku departed from Truk to support the Port Moresby, New Guinea invasion under the overall command of Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi.
7 May 1942	At Coral Sea, Japanese carriers attacked US oiler Neosho and destroyer Sims thinking they were a carrier and cruiser, while US carriers attacked escort carrier Shoho (sank at 1135 hours after 13 bomb and 5 torpedo hits; 631 were killed, 203 survived) and nearby cruisers and destroyer thinking it was part of the main carrier force. At 1747 hours, 12 Japanese dive bombers and 15 torpedo bombers in search of the US carrier fleet was intercepted by 11 US fighters; 9 Japanese and 3 US aircraft were destroyed during the subsequent engagement. At the end of the day, both sides decided against a night battle and prepared for new attacks at dawn.
8 May 1942	Japanese and US carrier fleets at Coral Sea discovered each other in the morning, each closing in to attack. Japanese carrier Shokaku was damaged by 3 bombs at 1057 hours (223 casualties), while American carrier USS Lexington was hit by two bombs at 1120 hours (191 killed at 1120 hours; gasoline explosion at 1247 hours killed another 25; scuttled by USS Phelps at 1915 hours) and American carrier USS Yorktown was hit by a bomb (66 casualties). Meanwhile at Port Moresby, an Australian cruiser force successfully defended itself against land-based aircraft attack as it blocked the Japanese invasion fleet for Port Moresby, New Guinea. As both sides withdrew due to damage and losses, the Japanese scored a tactical victory, but lost strategic momentum as the Port Moresby invasion must now be delayed.
9 May 1942	Yugure and Ushio took on fuel from a tanker in the Coral Sea at 0015 hours. At 0515 hours, Yugure was ordered to escort the damaged Shokaku to Yokosuka, Japan; Shokaku was administratively reassigned to Carrier Division 5 of 1st Air Fleet for the upcoming dramatic dash past a cordon of American submarines alerted to intercept the Japanese carrier. Meanwhile, Ushio was ordered to escort Zuikaku, which was ordered to pursue any American ships remaining in the Coral Sea area.
10 May 1942	Takeo Takagi ordered Shokaku and Zuikaku to set sail for Rabaul, New Britain at 1000 hours after deciding the American fleet was out of the area.
21 May 1942	USS Pollack attacked Zuikaku and her escorts with four Mark X torpedoes in the Pacific Ocean south of Shibushi Bay at 0208 hours; all four torpedoes missed. Zuikaku arrived at Kure, Japan later in the day.
16 Aug 1942	Shokaku (as flagship) and Zuikaku were assigned to Main Body, Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, Carrier Division 1. They departed the Hashirajima anchorage in Japan to support operations in the Guadalcanal area.
24 Aug 1942	A Japanese force centered around carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku sailed down into the Solomon Islands with light carrier Ryujo and cruiser tone operating independently south of the main fleet. At 0415, 19 torpedo bombers and 7 seaplanes were launched to search for American ships. At 1250, the search plane from cruiser Chikuma reported sighting USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise; the search plane was quickly shot down, but the Japanese nevertheless gained an idea of the American position. Shokaku launched 18 dive bombers and Zuikaku launched 9 dive bombers starting at 1300 hours. At 1315, two bombers from Enterprise surprised Shokaku, but the torpedo they launched would fail to hit the Japanese carrier. At 1400 hours, a second strike was launched by Shokaku (9 dive bombers and 3 fighters) and Zuikaku (18 dive bombers and 6 fighters). At around the same time, Battle of the Eastern Solomons crew its first casualty when Ryujo was discovered and fatally damaged by several 1,000-pound bombs. At 1440, the first attack wave from the Japanese carriers attacked Enterprise, scoring three bomb hits (70 were killed, 70 were injured), but the Japanese would lose 18 dive bombers and 6 fighters in the engagement. The second wave failed to locate the American carriers and returned before dark. Japanese warships attempted to engage the US fleet after dark, but the force failed to locate the American fleet, and discontinued the search at 2330 hours.
15 Oct 1942	At 0937 hours, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's carrier fleet received a sighting report of a US light cruiser and a tugboat towing a floating drydock east of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Shokaku launched 8 fighters and 21 dive bombers and Zuikaku launched 9 torpedo bombers to attack the Americans. At 1025 hours, they came upon what turned out to be destroyer USS Meredith, fleet tug USS Vireo, and a gasoline barge southeast of San Cristobal, Solomon Islands. USS Meredith was sunk after multiple bomb and torpedo hits; 192 were killed, 81 survived. The Japanese lost one dive bomber and two torpedo bombers.
26 Oct 1942	Kumano screened the carriers Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Zuiho in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
21 Nov 1942	Zuikaku departed Kure, Japan and arrived at Tokuyama Bay, Japan.
7 Jan 1943	Zuikaku, Mutsu, and Suzuya departed Truk, Caroline Islands, escorted by Yugure, Inazuma, Isonami, Asashio, and Ariake.
12 Jan 1943	Zuikaku, Mutsu, and Suzuya arrived at Oita, Japan, escorted by Yugure, Inazuma, Isonami, Asashio, and Ariake.
14 Jan 1943	Zuikaku departed Oita, Japan and arrived at Kure, Japan later in the day.
3 May 1943	Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Zuikaku and Zuiho to Japan.
8 May 1943	Zuikaku, Zuiho, and Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan.
31 May 1943	Shokaku and Zuikaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for the Inland Sea.
2 Jun 1943	Shokaku and Zuikaku arrived at Kure, Japan.
25 Oct 1944	Off northeastern Luzon, Philippines, aircraft from US Navy Task Force 38 attacked the Japanese carrier force consisted of fleet carrier Zuikaku and light carriers Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda in the Battle off Cape Engaño. The Japanese force was escorted by two battleship-carrier hybrids (Hyuga and Ise; aircraft-less on this date), three light cruisers (Oyodo, Tama, and Isuzu), and nine destroyers at about 0830 hours, 26 minutes after those planes were detected by Zuikaku's radar. The overwhelmingly larger American force, under Admiral William Halsey, centered around fleet carriers USS Lexington, USS Intrepid, USS Essex, USS Franklin, USS Enterprise, further bolstered by a great many light carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Zuikaku was damaged by skilled damage control teams extinguished the fires and corrected the listing by 0850 hours. Chitose was fatally damaged by the first attack wave, sinking at 0937 hours. At 0953 hours, a second attack wave struck, fatally damaging Chiyoda, leaving her dead in the water to be sunk by American destroyers later at 1655 hours. The second wave also damaged Zuiho's flight deck, the last functional flight deck of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's force; Japanese combat air patrol planes in the air would need to ditch when they ran out of fuel. At 1032 hours, Ozawa transferred his flag from the damaged Zuikaku to Oyodo. At 1308, the Japanese sighted an incoming third wave of American aircraft. Six torpedoes struck Zuikaku, causing massive flooding and several fires in the hangar; the commanding officer addressed the surviving crew, ordered the lowering of the ensign, and gave the abandon ship order at 1358 hours; Zuikaku sank by the stern at 1414 hours. Zuiho suffered two torpedo, two bomb hits, and a great many near-misses during the third attack wave, and she was dead in the water at 1445 hours. At 1455 hours, a fourth wave struck, sealing the doom of Zuiho with ten near-misses, leading to Zuiho's commanding officer giving the abandon ship order; she sank at 1526 hours.
26 Aug 1945	Zuikaku was removed from the Japanese Navy List.

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Zuikaku