SHOKAKU AIRCRAFT CARRIER

Shokaku (Japanese: Flying Crane) was a Japanese aircraft carrier, the keel of which was laid in 1937, launched in June 1939, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in August 1941. The ship was 257.5 meters long, 26 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 32,100 tons. The maximum speed of the aircraft carrier Shokaku was around 34 knots, and its main armament was 84 on-board planes. Shokaku - along with its twin ship Zuikaku - was approved for construction under the "Zero 3" and "Zero 4" fleet expansion plans, which envisaged a significant enhancement of the offensive capacity of the Japanese Navy. limitations resulting from the Washington Treaty. The design of the Shokaku was based on the experience gained so far from the operation of other aircraft carriers - mainly Hiryu and Soryu ships. The hull was also refined in terms of hydrodynamics, adding the so-called Taylor pear at the bow. However, similarly to other Japanese aircraft carriers of that time, the armor - especially the flight deck - was treated as a secondary treatment. During World War II, Shokaku participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. year In 1942, he took part in the Japanese naval raid on the Indian Ocean, and a few months later he fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Due to the damage there, it was withdrawn to the repair shipyard, which made it impossible for him to take part in the Battle of Midway (June 1942). In the second half of 1942, Shokaku also fought in the battle near the Santa Cruz Islands and the Solomon Islands. Shokaku was sunk by the American submarine USS Cavalla during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944.