WL216 AIRCRAFT CARRIER ZUIHO

Zuiho (Japanese: Happy Phoenix) was a Japanese light aircraft carrier, the keel of which was laid in 1935, launched in June 1936, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1940. The ship was 217 m long, 18.1 m wide, and had a full displacement of 14,200 tons. The maximum speed of the aircraft carrier Zuiho oscillated around 28-29 knots, and its main armament consisted of 30 on-board planes. The Zuiho was originally built as a submarine supply vessel called the Takasaki, but in early 1936 it was converted into an aircraft carrier. Zuiho took part in many operations during the fighting with the US Navy in the Pacific. As early as December 1941, it covered the returning ships from the attack on Pearl Harbor. In February 1942, he fought in the Philippines, and his on-board planes attacked, among others, the city of Davao. In June 1942, he took part in the Battle of Midway, but played a minor role in it. Already in August this year, it took part in the battles for Guadalcanal, in the course of which it was damaged in the Battle of Santa Cruz. In early 1943, he fought in the Solomon Islands, and ended his combat route during the Battle of Leyte Bay, where in October 1944 he was sunk by American on-board planes.