The Akagi was a 34364 tonne
Japanese aircraft carrier that was built at the
Kure navy yard and was commissioned for service on
March 25, 1927. Originally laid down as a
battle cruiser, the Akagi's design was later changed, by virtue of the
Washington Treaty, to make her one of first two large-scale aircraft carriers of the
Japanese Imperial Navy. She became one of the most famous aircraft carriers from any nation during
WWII being compared to the western
Lexington and
Saratoga class carriers.
Service History
The years between when she was commissioned and 1935 were mainly uneventful for the Akagi, however from 1935 to 1938 she underwent massive reconstruction in an attempt to modernize her. The following years she was active off the coast of
China, until
April 10, 1941 when she became the
flagship of the
First Air Fleet and was assigned to
Carrier Division 1 of the
Japanese Imperial Navy.
On
November 16, 1941 she departed
Hittokapu Bay as
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's flagship then on
December 7, 1941 as part of the '
Kido Butai' carrier strike force she became the flagship for the attack against
Pearl Harbor. Subsequent to Pearl Harbor the Akagi was involved in a number of missions including
carrier raids into the
Indian Ocean and participating in the hunt for the vessels responsible for the attack on the Marshall Islands. In January 1942, the Akagi as part of Carrier Division 1, returned undamaged from an attacks on
Rabaul and
Kavieng as part of plans to invade those areas.
February 19, 1942 saw the Akagi take part in the attack on
Darwin and
Davao in
Australia as well as her providing air cover for the invasion of Java. She also played a main role in the attacks on
British bases at
Columbo and
Trincomalee.
These missions continued until
June 4, 1942, when she became the flagship of the Japanese carrier strike force for
The Battle of Midway. It was during this battle, while operating north of
Midway itself, that the Akagi was hit by
dive bombers from the
USS Enterprise causing her to catch on fire. Attempts to contain the fire and control the damager were unsuccessful and so early the following day she was
scuttled by a number of
torpedoes fired from a Japanese
destroyer.
Specifications
Laid down:
December 6, 1920
Launched:
April 22, 1925
Date completed:
March 25, 1927
Re-construction: April 1935
Re-construction completed: August 31, 1938
Displacement: 42 765 tons (full after modifications)
Length: 816 ft
Full Dimensions: 816 x 102.5 x 28.5 ft
Aircraft: 53-60 (before 1935), 70 to 90 (after 1938)
Dimensions
Length (O/A): 816'
Beam: 95'
Draft: 25.5'
Flight Deck Length: 530' (before reconstruction) 821' (after)
Flight Deck Width: 94.85' (before reconstruction) 102' (after)
Displacement
Standard: 34 364 tons
Full Load: 42 765 tons
Propulsion
Boilers: 19 Kanpon boilers
Turbines: Generated steam turbines
Horsepower: 131 000
Speed: 31.5 knots
Shafts: 4
Complement
1200 Navy personal
800 airwing
Aircraft
53-60 (before reconstruction)
71-90 aircraft (after reconstruction)
Armour
Main Side Belt: possible 6.0" belt
Flight Deck Armour: 2.8"
Deck Armour: 2.1""
Armament
Main Guns: 10 x 8"/50 cal (2 twins mountings and 6 singles) - 12 x 4.7"/45 cal
AAW: 28 x 25mm - 22 13.2mm MG
Trivia
'Akagi' means "
Red Castle" and is the name of a
volcano in the
Kanto area of Japan. Akagi is also used as the last names of two of the characters of
Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Hideaki Anno the creator of that anime, used
Imperial Japanese Warships as a source of names for his characters,
Ritsuko Akagi and
Naoko Akagi are two of these characters. The Akagi is also noted for having a interesting
funnel design. Her funnels are arranged on the
starboard side so that one of them (the foremost) is trunked outward and downward amidship, while the other projects a little bit above the flight deck.
Source of specifications: http://www.geocities.com/japaneseships/