Prior to the Second World War, Japan possessed the world's largest
carrier fleet. The carrier arm remained the largest in the world until the
1942-1943 campaign year,by which time American carrier numbers
began to outstrip (and eventually to significantly dwarf) those of the
Japanese.
Nevertheless, the Japanese carrier fleet remained a significant threat, in
terms of effectiveness, professionalism, and power projection, until about
1944, when the Marianas Turkey Shoot and Leyte Gulf exterminated or
forced out of the war the last major concentration of experienced
Japanese carrier pilots and officers. Ironically, a number of new carriers
entered service in that same year, but losses were such and training
sufficiently involved to prevent the use of these assets before the
American fleet had effectively bottled up Japan's flat-tops for the last time.
The greatest successes of the carrier fleet included the brilliantly
executed surprise attacks of late 1941 and early 1942, and the highly
professional ardor of engagements such as the Coral Sea. Midway,
despite it's being a clear defeat, was a very close run thing, and could
easily have turned the other way. Japanese professionalism in that
action, particularly aboard the valiant Hiryu, can never be overstated.
Nor can the foolish decisions by flight deck officers and meddling political
appointees...
The last gasp of the carrier fleet was, unfortunately, a somewhat ignoble
one. Many of the best remaining pilots and officers in the fleet were
gathered on-board the super carrier "Shinano" during a trip across the
Inland Sea. The ship had not been fitted with watertight compartments,
and was essentially a disaster waiting to happen without this necessary
maintenance. She was sunk with a pair of torpedoes by a United States
Submarine, and the last hope of the IJN was lost, along with most of the
men onboard.
So, what happened to Japan's carrier force? The following table tracks
Japan's carriers, their initial entry into service, and their ultimate fate.
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* - Completion was significantly delayed as a great deal of time was taken to fit the
Nisshin as a carrier of mini-subs. As such, while she officially entered the rolls in
1939, several months were spent in re-fit.
** - Originally planned as the third of the Yamato class, converted to large
carrier/resupply ship. The intention was to allow indefinite operations of the carrier
and battleship squadrons in open sea without having to rely upon vulnerable
anchorages. A great deal of hope was placed in her operation, and many in the
Combined Fleet believed that she would reverse the fortunes of war for the
Japanese.
*** - Supposedly, all the rice cooking pots in the region of Yokosuka were melted
down to provide the armor plating for Taiho's flight deck.
Japan also experimented with submarine aircraft carriers, even building
a small number; both Germany and Italy had considered similar
projects but neither had gone ahead with them. This was not such a
ludicrous idea as it has been made out to be, but aircraft capacity was
generally limited, and the ultimate goal of the submarine carrier project -
a series of attacks on the U.S. Mainland and the Panama Canal, was
never realized. Most of the sub carriers surrendered at the end of the war
without having launched their planes in anger.
The Japanese Carrier Fleet and Dispositions as of 1945
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