Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi

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Akagi in April, 1942
History
Japan
NameAkagi
NamesakeMount Akagi
Ordered1920
Laid down6 December 1920
Launched22 April 1925
Commissioned25 March 1927
Reclassified21 November 1923 as an aircraft carrier
Refit24 October 1935–31 August 1938
Stricken25 September 1942
FateDamaged by US air attack at the Battle of Midway and scuttled by Japanese destroyers on 5 June 1942
General characteristics (after 1938 modernization)
Typeaircraft carrier
Displacementlist error: <br /> list (help)
36,500 long tons (37,100 t) (standard)
41,300 long tons (42,000 t) (full load)
Length260.67 metres (855 ft 3 in)
Beam31.32 metres (102 ft 9 in)
Draft8.71 metres (28 ft 7 in)
Propulsionlist error: <br /> list (help)
4-shaft Kampon geared turbines
19 Kampon Type B boilers
133,000 shp (99,000 kW)
Speed31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range8,200 nautical miles (15,200 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement1,630(after reconstruction); 2,000 (total)
Armamentlist error: <br /> list (help)
10 × 1 - 200 mm (7.9 in) guns,
6 × 2 - 120 mm (4.7 in) guns,
14 × 2 - 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns
Armourlist error: <br /> list (help)
Belt: 152 mm (6.0 in)
Deck: 79 mm (3.1 in)
Aircraft carriedlist error: <br /> list (help)
66 (+25 reserve)
18 Zeros, 18 Vals, 27 Kates (Dec. 1941)
Service record
Part of: Carrier Striking Task Force
Commanders: Chuichi Nagumo
Operations: list error: <br /> list (help)
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Indian Ocean raid
Battle of Midway

The Akagi (Japanese: 赤城) was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, originally begun as an Amagi-class battlecruiser. She participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. She took part in the Pearl Harbor raid, several battles in the Southwest Pacific in January and February 1942, the Indian Ocean raid, and was damaged severely enough during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942 that she had to be sunk by the Japanese themselves the following day.

Design

Akagi was laid down as an Amagi-class battlecruiser at Kure, Japan. However, the Washington Naval Treaty, which Japan signed in 1922, prevented Japan from completing Akagi. Because the Treaty authorized conversion of two battleship or battlecruiser hulls into aircraft carriers of up to 33,000 tons displacement, the incomplete hulls of Amagi and Akagi were selected for completion as carriers. However Amagi's hull was damaged beyond economic repair in the Great Kantō earthquake of 1 September 1923. Akagi, the only remaining member of her class, was launched on 22 April 1925 and commissioned at Kure Naval Arsenal on 25 March 1927, although trials continued through November 1927.[1]

General characteristics

Akagi was completed at a length of 261.21 m (857.0 ft) overall. She had a beam of 31 m (102 ft) and at full load a draft of 8.08 m (26.5 ft). She displaced 26,900 long tons (27,300 t) at a standard load, and 34,364 long tons (34,920 t) at full load, nearly 7,000 long tons (7,100 t) less than her designed displacement as a battlecruiser at trial load.[2]

Flight deck arrangements

Akagi, like Kaga, was completed with three superimposed flight decks, the only carriers ever to be designed so. The British carriers converted from "large light cruisers", HMS Glorious, HMS Courageous, and HMS Furious each had two flight decks, but there is no evidence that the Japanese copied the British model. It is more likely that it was a case of convergent evolution as a means to launch as many aircraft as quickly as possible. Akagi's main flight deck was 190.2 metres (624 ft) long, her middle flight deck began right in front of the bridge and was only 15 metres (49 ft) long and her lower flight deck was 55.02 metres (180.5 ft) long. The utility of her middle flight deck had to be questionable as it was so short that only lightly loaded aircraft had any chance of using it at all, even in an era where the aircraft were much lighter and smaller than they were during the Second World War. At any rate the ever-increasing growth in aircraft performance, size and weight meant that even the bottom flight deck was no longer able to accommodate the take-off roll required for the new generations of aircraft being fielded and it was plated over when the ship was modernized in the mid-1930s.[3]

As completed, the ship had two main hangar decks and a third auxiliary hangar with a total capacity of 60 aircraft. The hangars opened onto the middle and lower flight decks to allow aircraft to take off directly from the hangars, while landing operations were in progress on the main flight deck above. No catapults were fitted. Her forward aircraft lift was offset to starboard and 11.8 by 13 metres (39 ft × 43 ft) in size. Her aft lift was on the centerline and 12.8 by 8.4 metres (42 ft × 28 ft). Her arresting gear was a unsatisfactory British longitudinal system used on their aircraft carrier Furious that relied on friction between the arrester hook and the cables. The Japanese were well aware of this system's flaws, as it was already in use on Hōshō, but had no other alternatives available when Akagi was completed. It was replaced with a transverse cable system developed by Shiro Kabaya when she was refitted in 1931 and that was replaced in turn by the Kure Model 4 type (Kure shiki 4 gata) before Akagi began her modernization in 1935. No island was fitted as completed, the ship being commanded from a space below the forward end of the upper flight deck.[3]

Armament

Akagi after its launch at Kure, 6 April 1925

Akagi was armed with ten 20 cm (7.9 in)/50 3rd Year Type guns; one twin turret on each side of the middle flight deck and six in casemates aft. This heavy gun armament was provided in case she was surprised by enemy cruisers and forced to give battle. While superficially logical this ignored her large and vulnerable flight deck, hangars, etc., that made her more of a target in any surface action than a fighting warship. The Americans did much the same with the provision of four twin 8-inch (203 mm) gun turrets on their Lexington-class carriers. She was given an anti-aircraft armament of six twin 12 cm (4.7 in) 45-caliber 10th Year Type gun mounts fitted on sponsons below the level of the funnels, three mounts per side.[4]

Armor

Akagi's waterline armored belt was reduced from 254 to 152 mm (10.0 to 6.0 in) and the upper part of her torpedo bulge was given 102 mm (4.0 in) of armor. Her deck armor was also reduced from 96 to 79 mm (3.8 to 3.1 in).[5]

Propulsion

When Akagi was being designed the problem of how to deal with exhaust gases in carrier operations had not been resolved. The swivelling funnels of the Hōshō had not proved successful and wind-tunnel testing had not provided an answer either. So Akagi and Kaga were each given different solutions to evaluate in real-world conditions. Akagi was given two funnels on the starboard side. The larger, forward funnel was downturned 120° with its mouth facing the sea and the smaller one exhausted vertically a little past the edge of the flight deck. The forward funnel was fitted with a water-cooling system to reduce the turbulence caused by hot exhaust gases and a blind cover designed to allow the exhaust gases to escape if the ship developed a severe list and the mouth of the funnel touched the sea.[6]

Akagi was completed with her original four Gihon geared steam turbines with a total of 131,000 shp (98,000 kW) on four shafts. As a battlecruiser her expected speed was 28.5 knots (32.8 mph; 52.8 km/h), but the reduction in weight from 41,200 to 34,000 long tons (41,900 to 34,500 t) allowed to her speed to increase to 32.5 knots (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h) on trials on 17 June 1927. She had nineteen Type B Kampon boilers with a working pressure of 20 kg/cm2 (1,961 kPa; 284 psi), some of which were oil-fired and the others used a mix of oil and coal. She carried 3,900 long tons (4,000 t) of fuel oil and 2,100 long tons (2,100 t) of coal to give her a range of 8,000 nmi (14,820 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h).[7]

Name

Because Akagi was initially conceived as a battlecruiser, the prevailing ship naming conventions dictated that she (like her sister ships) be named after a mountain. Akagi was named after Mount Akagi, a dormant volcano in the Kantō region (the name literally means "red castle"). After she was redesignated as an aircraft carrier her mountain name remained, in contrast to bespoke aircraft carriers like Sōryū, which were named after flying creatures. The name was previously given to the Maya class gunboat Akagi.

Service history

Akagi on trials off the coast of Iyo, 17 June 1927

Early service

Akagi's early career was uneventful, consisting of various training exercises. She was reduced to second class reserve status on 1 December 1931 in preparation for a short refit where her arresting gear was replaced and her radio and ventilation systems overhauled and improved. She became a first class reserve ship again exactly a year later, but it was not until 25 April 1933 that she resumed active service and joined the 2nd Carrier Division and participated in that year's Special Fleet Maneuvers. She remained on active duty until 15 November 1935 when she was reduced to third-class reserve in preparation for her modernization at Sasebo Naval Arsenal.[8]

Reconstruction

Although Akagi's modernization was to take nearly three times as long as that of Kaga, far less work was involved. The three flight decks had shown their lack of ability to handle ever larger and heavier aircraft and Akagi's flight deck and hangars were extended to the bow, increasing the flight deck length to 249.17 metres (817.5 ft) and raising aircraft capacity to 86 (61 operational and 25 in storage). A third elevator midships, 11.8 by 13 metres (39 ft × 43 ft) in size, was added. Her arrester gear was replaced by a Japanese-designed Type 1 system.[9] The modernization added an island superstructure on the port side of the ship, which was an unusual arrangement; the only other carrier to share this feature was a contemporary, the Hiryū. Akagi and Hiryū were intended to work in a tactical formation with starboard-sided carriers, in order to improve the flight pattern around the formation, but the experiment was not continued beyond those two carriers.[10]

Akagi's speed was already satisfactory and the only changes to her machinery were the replacement of the mixed coal/oil-fired boilers with modern oil-fired units and the improvement of the ventilation arrangements. Her speed declined slightly because of the increase in her displacement to 41,300 long tons (42,000 t) (from 32.5 to 31.2 knots (37.4 to 35.9 mph; 60.2 to 57.8 km/h) on trials. Her bunkerage was increased to 7,500 long tons (7,600 t) of fuel oil which increased her endurance to 10,000 nmi (18,520 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h). The rear vertical funnel was changed to match the forward funnel and incorporated into the same casing.[9]

The two twin turrets on the middle flight deck were removed and fourteen twin 25 mm (0.98 in) Type 96 gun mounts were added on sponsons.[11] Six Type 95 directors were fitted to control the new 25 mm guns and two new Type 94 anti-aircraft directors replaced the outdated Type 91s. After the modernization Akagi carried one Type 89 director for the 20 cm (7.9 in) guns; it is uncertain how many were carried before then.[12]

As soon as Akagi returned from Midway her 12 cm (4.7 in) 45-caliber 10th Year Type guns were scheduled to be replaced by more modern 12.7 cm (5.0 in)/40 Type 89 gun mounts. Their sponsons were to be raised one deck to allow them some measure of cross-deck fire as was done during Kaga's modernization.[13]

Lead-up to World War II

Akagi after being converted to a single-deck carrier, 1941

Akagi's modernization was completed on 31 August 1938 and she was reclassified as a first reserve ship on 15 November, but she didn't rejoin the First Carrier Division until the following month. She sailed for southern Chinese waters on 30 January 1939 and supported operations there until 19 February when she returned to Japan. She supported operations off central China between 27 March and 2 April 1940. She was reclassified as a special purpose ship (Tokubetse Ilomokan) on 15 November 1940 while she was being overhauled. She joined the First Carrier Division (Akagi and Kaga) as flagship on 10 April 1941 when the Imperial Navy combined the First Carrier Division, the Second Carrier Division (Hiryū and Sōryū), and Fifth Carrier Division (Shōkaku and Zuikaku) into the First Air Fleet or Kido Butai (Striking Force).[14]

World War II

Pearl Harbor and subsequent operations

In World War II, under the command of Captain Kiichi Hasegawa, she was Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's flagship for the Striking Force for the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. She launched two waves of planes at Oahu. In the first wave 27 "Kates" torpedoed the battleships Oklahoma and West Virginia and 9 "Zeros" attacked the air base at Hickam Field. In the second wave, 18 "Vals" targeted the battleship Maryland, the light cruiser Raleigh and the destroyer Shaw while 9 "Zeros" attacked various American airfields.[15]

In January 1942, together with the rest of the First and Fifth Carrier Divisions, Akagi supported the invasion of Rabaul in the Bismarck Islands. She provided 20 B5N "Kates" and 9 A6M "Zeros" for the initial airstrike on Rabaul on 20 January 1942. The First Carrier Division attacked Allied positions at near-by Kavieng the following day, of which Akagi contributed 9 A6M "Zeros" and 18 D3A "Vals". On the 22nd Akagi's "Vals" and "Zeros" again attacked Rabaul before returning to Truk on 27 January.[16]

She sortied, along with Kaga and the carrier Zuikaku against American forces attacking the Marshall Islands on 1 February before being recalled. On 7 February she, with the other carriers of the First and Second Carrier Divisions, was ordered south to the Timor Sea, where on 19 February 1942 she launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia. Akagi contributed 18 "Kates", 18 "Vals, and 9 "Zeros" to the attack which caught the defenders by surprise. Eight ships were sunk, including the American destroyer Peary, and fourteen more were damaged. On 1 March the American oiler Pecos was sunk by "Vals" from Sōryū and Akagi. Later that same day the American destroyer Edsall was attacked and sunk by "Vals" from Akagi and Sōryū in combination with gunfire from two battleships and two heavy cruisers of the escort force. Akagi and her consorts covered the invasion of Java although her main contribution appears to have been providing 18 "Kates" and 9 "Zeros" for the 5 March 1942 air strike on Tjilatjap. This was very successful, sinking eight ships in the harbor there and none of Akagi's aircraft were lost. On 26 March Akagi set sail for the Indian Ocean raid.[17]

On 5 April 1942 she launched 18 "Kates" and 6 "Zeros" on an air strike against Colombo, Ceylon which damaged the port facilities. None of her aircraft were lost and some of her "Zeros" may have shot down some of the defending British fighters. Later that day 17 "Vals" from Akagi helped to sink the British heavy cruiser Dorsetshire. On 9 April she struck at Trincomalee and, later that day, twelve of her "Vals" sank the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire (D68) and three other of her "Vals" sank the tanker British Sergeant without loss.[18]

On 19 April 1942 she took part in the unsuccessful pursuit of the American carriers Hornet and Enterprise after they launched the Doolittle Raid and dropped anchor in Yokosuka on 22 April.[19]

Akagi leaving Celebes Island for the attack on Colombo, 26 March 1942.

Midway

On 25 May 1942 the Akagi set out with the Striking Force for the attack on Midway Island. Her aircraft complement consisted of 24 Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, 18 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers, and 18 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers.[20] At dawn on 4 June she launched an air strike against the airfield on Eastern Island that consisted of eighteen "Vals" escorted by nine "Zeros". The only casualty was one "Zero" shot-down by AA fire, but three others were damaged; four "Vals" had been damaged as well, although only one was non-repairable.[21] One "Kate" was also launched to help search for the Americans. She also put up three "Zeros" on combat air patrol.[22]. Another six "Zeros" had reinforced her CAP by 07:00 and all nine fighters helped to defend the Kido Butai from the first attackers from Midway Island at 0710. Akagi was attacked by four torpedo-carrying Martin B-26 Marauders, all of which missed, but one shot down one of her Zeros while another strafed Akagi after dropping her torpedo, killing two men. Another narrowly missed hitting the bridge before cartwheeling into the sea.[23] At 07:15 Admiral Nagumo ordered the "Kates" still on Kaga and Akagi rearmed with bombs for another attack on Midway itself. This process was limited by the number of ordnance carts used to handle the bombs and torpedoes and the limited number of ordnance elevators. This meant that the torpedoes could not be struck below until after all the bombs were moved up from their magazine, assembled and mounted on the aircraft. This process normally took about an hour and a half; more time would be required to bring the aircraft up to the flight deck, warm up and launch the strike group. Around 07:40 he reversed his order when he received the message that the Americans had been spotted.[24]

Akagi's three remaining CAP fighters were among those that attacked sixteen Marine SBD Dauntless dive-bombers of VMSB-241 which fruitlessly attacked Hiryu around 07:55.[25] At roughly the same time she was attacked by four B-17 Flying Fortress bombing from 20,000 feet (6,100 m). This gave the Japanese captains enough time to anticipate where the bombs would land and successfully maneuver their ships out of the impact area.[26] Akagi replenished the CAP with launches of three "Zeros" each at 08:08 and 08:32.[27] Akagi began landing her strike force aboard immediatley afterwards and was finished shortly after 09:00.[28] Six of Akagi's Zeros were still in the air when the CAP intercepted the TBD Devastator torpedo-bombers of VT-8 at 09:22 and shot down all fifteen, leaving only a single survivor treading water. Shortly afterwards fourteen Devastators from VT-6 were spotted. They tried to sandwich Kaga, but the CAP, reinforced by an additional nine "Zeros" launched by Akagi at 09:33 and 09:40, shot down all but four of the Devastators.[29]

At approximately 10:26, three SBD Dauntless dive-bombers from Enterprise's VB-6 attacked and hit her with one 1,000-pound (450 kg) bomb and near-missed her twice. The first bomb near-missed, landing 5–10 m (16–33 ft) to port, near her island. The third bomb just missed the flight deck and plunged into the water next to the stern. The second bomb, likely dropped by Lt. Richard Best, commander of VB-6, landed at the aft edge of the middle elevator and detonated in the upper hangar. This hit set off explosions among the eighteen fully armed and fueled "Kates" that were being prepared for an air strike against the American carriers.[30] The burning aviation fuel proved impossible to control and the rear near-miss caused the port rudder to jam off-center after an evasive maneuver 20 minutes later.[31]

At 10:46 Admiral Nagumo transferred his flag to the light cruiser Nagara. Akagi stopped dead in the water at 13:50 and her crew, except for Captain Aoki and damage-control personnel, was evacuated. She burned through the night but did not sink. The damage-control teams were eventually evacuated as well, as was (under duress) Aoki. On 5 June Yamamoto ordered her scuttled by torpedoes from the destroyers Arashi, Hagikaze, Maikaze, and Nowaki. She sank at 05:20 with the loss of 267 men at coordinates 30°30′N 178°40′W / 30.500°N 178.667°W / 30.500; -178.667. Compared to the other Japanese fleet carriers lost in the battle, she was the luckiest, suffering the fewest casualties.[32]

Commanding officers

Popular culture

In the 2008 alternate history anime series Strike Witches, the Akagi is the flag ship of the "Fuso Imperial Navy, European Expeditionary Fleet," serving as the Fuso (Japan) contingent in the fight against the attack by the alien force called the Neuroi. In the series, the Akagi is depicted as carrying Mitsubishi A5M fighters, all of which were destroyed in an attack by the Neuroi. The Akagi itself is damaged badly twice in two separate attacks.

Notes

  1. ^ Lengerer, p. 128
  2. ^ Lengerer, p. 129
  3. ^ a b Lengerer, p. 130
  4. ^ Lengerer, p. 131
  5. ^ Lengerer, pp. 128, 130
  6. ^ Lengerer, pp. 130–31
  7. ^ Lengerer, pp. 129, 131
  8. ^ Lengerer, pp. 130, 170–71
  9. ^ a b Lengerer, pp. 137–38
  10. ^ www.hazegray.org
  11. ^ Lengerer, p. 139
  12. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 463
  13. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 138
  14. ^ Lengerer, p. 171
  15. ^ Lengerer, pp. 172, 174–75
  16. ^ Lengerer, pp. 175–6
  17. ^ Lengerer, pp. 176–7, 305–7
  18. ^ Lengerer, pp. 306, 308–309
  19. ^ Lengerer, p. 319
  20. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 450
  21. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 204
  22. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 126, 515
  23. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 151–2
  24. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 156-9
  25. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 176
  26. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 178, 180
  27. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 508
  28. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 154–55
  29. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 213-4
  30. ^ Parshall and Tully, pp. 239–42
  31. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 257
  32. ^ Parshall and Tully, p. 281

References

  • Lengerer, Hans (1982). "Akagi & Kaga". Warship. VI (22–4). London: Conway Maritime Press: 127–39, 170–7, 305–10. ISBN 0-87021-981-2.
  • Parshall, Jonathan (2005). Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-923-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HIJMS Akagi.


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