- Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga
"Kaga" (Japanese: 加賀, formerly
Kaga Province , in present-dayIshikawa Prefecture ) was anaircraft carrier of theImperial Japanese Navy , originally intended as a "Tosa" class fastbattleship . She took part in the Pearl Harbor raid and was sunk at theBattle of Midway on4 June 1942 . [ [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/japan/japsh-k/kaga.htm "Kaga", www.history.navy.mil] ]"Kaga" began as a "Tosa" class battleship, and was launched on
17 November 1921 at theKawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard inKobe . On5 February 1922 both "Tosa" class ships were cancelled and designated for scrapping under the terms of theWashington Naval Treaty .The Treaty authorized conversion of two battleship or battlecruiser hulls into aircraft carriers of up to 33,000 tons standard displacement. The incomplete battlecruisers "Amagi" and "Akagi" were initially selected, but the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 damaged "Amagi's" hull beyond economic repair. "Kaga" was therefore selected for completion as an aircraft carrier.
"Kaga's" conversion began in 1923 and lasted until 1928. 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 two superimposed flying off decks at the bow. In theory, this permitted aircraft to take off directly from the hangars, while landing on the main flight deck above. Funnel gasses were collected in a pair of long horizontal ducts which discharged at each side of the flight deck ramp. "Kaga" was armed with ten 200 mm (7.9 in) guns in a combination of twin turrets and casemates. Belt and deck armor were considerably reduced. No catapults were fitted.
Upon completion, "Kaga" underwent trials for another two years before becoming operational. In service, the multiple flight deck arrangement proved unsuccessful. In 1934, "Kaga" therefore commenced a second major reconstruction. The flight deck and hangars were extended to the bow, increasing flight deck length to 812.5 ft and raising aircraft capacity to 90. A third elevator serviced the extended hangars. New boilers and turbines increased power from 91,000 to 127,400 shp. The hull was lengthened by 34 ft at the stern and the lengthy funnel ducting was replaced by a single downturned starboard funnel. A small starboard island superstructure was also installed.cite book |title=Aircraft Carriers of the World |last=Ireland |first=Bernard |year=2007 |publisher=Southwater |isbn=9781844763634 |pages=102-103] Standard displacement increased by almost 9,000 tons, from 29,600 to 38,200 tons. "Kaga" returned to service in 1935. During the late 1930s "Kaga" supported operations in China, and was involved in the Shanghai Incident and during the early years of the
Second Sino-Japanese War .At the beginning of
World War II , "Kaga" was commanded by CaptainOkada Jisaku . Together with "Akagi" she formed Carrier Division 1 of the Striking Force for theattack on Pearl Harbor . On7 December 1941 she launched two strikes againstOahu . In her first strike, 26Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers targeted "Arizona", "Vestal", "Tennessee", "West Virginia", "Oklahoma", and "Nevada", and 9Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters attacked the airbase at Hickam Field. In her second strike, 23Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers targeted "Nevada", "Maryland", and "West Virginia".In January 1942, together with "Akagi", "Kaga" supported the invasion of Rabaul in the
Bismarck Islands . On9 February she hit a reef atPalau and took on water. After temporary repairs, she continued to theTimor Sea , where on19 February 1942 she launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia, sinking nine ships, including USS "Peary". In March 1942, "Kaga" covered the invasion of Java."Kaga" was unable to participate in the
Indian Ocean raid in April because of the damage she had received in February. Instead, she returned to Sasebo for repairs.In May 1942, "Kaga" sailed on her final mission. Her aircraft complement was 30 "Zeros," 23 "Vals," and 30 "Kates." [ [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-6.htm "Battle of Midway", www.history.navy.mil] ] On
4 June 1942 "Kaga" launched air strikes against Midway, and then came under attack from American land- and carrier-based planes. At 10:22,SBD Dauntless dive-bombers from USS "Enterprise" hit her with at least four 1000 lb (453.6 kg) bombs, which set off explosions and fires among the armed and fueled planes on her hangar deck. Captain Okada was killed by a bomb that hit the bridge. The fires proved impossible to control and the order to abandon ship was given at about 14:00. [ [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/japan/japsh-k/kaga.htm "Kaga", www.history.navy.mil] ]At 14:10 the submarine USS "Nautilus" hit "Kaga" with a
torpedo , but it was a dud and did not explode. "Kaga's" crew were taken off by the destroyers "Hagikaze" and "Maikaze", and at 19:25 she was scuttled by two torpedoes and sank at position coord|30|20|N|179|17|W.In 1999, the Nauticos company discovered wreckage that has been identified as coming from "Kaga".
Commanding Officers
Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Seizaburo Kobayashi - 10 March 1927 - 1 December 1927
Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Giichiro Kawamura - 1 December 1927 - 1 March 1928
Capt. Giichiro Kawamura - 1 March 1928 - 1 December 1930
Capt. Sekizo Uno - 1 December 1930 - 1 December 1931
Capt. Jiro Onishi - 1 December 1931 - 15 November 1932
Capt. Shunichi Okada - 15 November 1932 - 28 November 1932
Capt. Goro Hara - 28 November 1932 - 14 February 1933
Capt. Sonosuke Kobayashi - 14 February 1933 - 15 November 1933
Capt. Eijiro Kondo - 15 November 1933 - 15 November 1934
Capt. Teizo Mitsunami - 15 November 1934 - 1 December 1936
Capt. Ayao Inagaki - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937
Capt. Katsuo Abe - 1 December 1937 - 25 April 1938
Capt. / RADM Ichiro Ono - 25 April 1938 - 15 December 1938 (Promoted to Rear Admiral on 15 November 1938.)
Capt. Setsuzo Yoshitomi - 15 December 1938 - 15 November 1939
Capt. Kyuji Kubo - 15 November 1939 - 15 October 1940
Capt. Sadayoshi Yamada - 15 October 1940 - 15 September 1941
Capt. / RADM* Jisaku Okada - 15 September 1941 - 4 June 1942 (KIA)
Notes
External links
* [http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaga.htm Tabular record of movement] from [http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaga.htm combinedfleet.com]
* [http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=9 WW2DB: Kaga]
* [http://www.nauticos.com/midway.htm IJN Carrier Wreckage:Identification Analysis]
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