Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūhō
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | April 12, 1929 |
| Launched: | November 16, 1933 as submarine tender Taigei |
| Commissioned: | March 31, 1934 |
| Converted: | November 30, 1942 as light aircraft carrier Ryuho |
| Fate: | Severely damaged by Task Force 58 aircraft, March 19, 1945; never repaired |
| Struck: | November 30, 1945 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 16,700 tons full load |
| Length: | 215.6 m |
| Beam: | 23 m |
| Draught: | 6.7 m |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 4 boilers, 52,000 shp, 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 26.5 knots |
| Range: | 9,700 nmi. at 18 knots (18,000 km at 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 989 |
| Armament: | 4 × 5 in (127 mm) guns 38 x 25 mm anti-aircraft guns |
| Aircraft: | 31 |
The Ryuho started life as the submarine depot ship Taigei, and was taken out of service in December 1941 for conversion into a light aircraft carrier. During conversion at Yokosuka, the Ryuho gained the distinction of being the only major warship damaged in the Doolittle raid on April 18, 1942. She received one direct hit from a 500-lb (227 kg) bomb on the bow, plus several small incendiary bomb hits.
On November 30, conversion and repairs were complete and the Ryuho joined the 3rd Combined Fleet under the command of Capt. Soma Nobishiro. On her first mission on December 11, she was sent to the great naval base at Truk escorted by the destroyer Tokitsukaze. Her normal aircraft complement consisted of 15 Mitsubishi A6M fighters and 16 Aichi D3A dive bombers, but for this mission, she was carrying 20 light bombers with their pilots and crews on a ferry mission.
At 9:10 AM on December 12, the Ryuho was hit by a single torpedo on the starboard side from the submarine USS Drum (SS-228). She was forced to return to Yokosuka for more repairs. On March 19, 1943 she began a series of uneventful aircraft ferry missions to occupied islands in the South Pacific. On June 11, the Ryuho embarked the marooned survivors of the air group of the Hiyo, which had been damaged by an American submarine. When the Hiyo completed repairs in August 1943, those aircraft and crews were returned to her.
In October, the Ryuho was sent on another aircraft ferry mission to Singapore, returning to Kure on November 5, 1943. On November 25, she departed with the Hiyo and escorts on a long circular patrol and training mission, sailing to Manila, then to Singapore, then to Tarakan, then Palau, then Truk, then Saipan, and finally returning to Kure on January 2, 1944.
After two more uneventful patrol and training missions between Japan and the Marianas Islands, Ryuho was sent to the Japanese anchorage at Tawi Tawi in May 1944 to join the Combined Fleet. From there, she sailed with the Combined Fleet to participate in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea. On June 19, she launched an air strike against Task Force 58, but scored no hits; nearly all of the Ryuho's aircraft were shot down by the swarms of American F6F Hellcat fighters and the anti-aircraft guns of the American fleet. At 6:10 PM on June 20, as part of "Force B" (with Hiyo, Junyo, Nagato, Mogami and eight destroyers), the Ryuho was attacked by four TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from the USS Enterprise (CV-6), which were loaded with 500-lb (227 kg) bombs. She suffered only slight damage from near misses.
The Ryuho engaged in several more patrol and training missions near Japan. On October 25, 1944, with the Kaiyo, the Ryuho set sail from Sasebo on another aircraft ferry mission to Keelung, Taiwan. They were escorted by the destroyers Momi, Ume and Momo. They returned to Kure on November 2. From November 7 to November 15, Ryuho briefly flew the flag of the Commander of the Mobile Fleet, Adm. Ozawa.
On December 31, Ryuho sailed for Taiwan with a load of 58 Ohka kamikaze planes. Accompanying her were nine empty oil tankers bound for Singapore, and the destroyers Hamakaze, Isokaze, Yukikaze, Shigure and Hatakaze.
Upon reaching Taiwan and unloaing her cargo, Ryuho was among the targets of a major series of American carrier-based air raids all over the island. Twelve TBF Avengers attacked her but none scored a hit, and Ryuho's gunners shot down one of them. Ryuho departed for Japan on January 12, 1945 escorted by Isokaze; when she arrived at Kure on January 18, Ryuho also gained the distinction of being the last Japanese aircraft carrier to venture outside the home waters of Japan.
Ryuho was attacked by Task Force 58 aircraft on March 19 at Kure, suffering hits by three 500-lb (227 kg) bombs and two 5.5-inch (140 mm) rockets. The damage was severe: the flight deck bulged upward between the two elevators, the No. 1 boiler was punctured by a bomb fragment, the stern settled six feet (2 m) into the water, and a raging fire broke out. Twenty crewmen were killed and 30 were wounded. Upon returning to Kure on April 1, Ryuho was considered to be a total loss.
Armament notes
Light AA increased to 54 25 mm and 6 13.2 mm in 1943; to 61 25 mm, 21 13.3 mm and 6 28-barrel AA rocket launchers in 1944. She was struck from the Navy List on November 30 and scrapped in 1946.
References
Tully, Anthony P. IJN Ryuho: Tabular Record of Movement. (Retrieved January 19, 2007)
Ryuho aircraft carrier. (Retrieved January 19, 2007.)