IJN AIRCRAFT CARRIER KATSURAGI

Katsuragi was a Japanese carrier whose keel was laid in December 1942, launched in January 1944, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in October 1944. The ship was 226 meters long, 22 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 20,200 tons. The maximum speed of the aircraft carrier Katsuragi was 32 knots, and its main armament was 64 on-board planes. Katsuragi was the third and last of 16 planned Unryu-class aircraft carriers. Katsuragi, like its twin units, was based on the modified Hiryu aircraft carrier. The differences between the two types of ships were small and mainly related to the layout of the starting deck. It is worth adding, however, that Katsuragi had a different type of engine room than other ships of this type. The participation of the aircraft carrier Katsuragi in World War II was symbolic - suffice to say that such a powerful unit never took part in the battle! From August 1944 to January 1945, Katsuragi was transferred from base to base on the territory of the mother islands, and finally reached the base at Kure. There it was bombed twice by the American cabin aviation (March and July 1945), as a result of which it was seriously damaged. After the surrender of Japan, it served as a transport unit and was scrapped in 1947.