Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi plans. Heavy aircraft carriers of the Shokaku class. The Battle of Midway Atoll and the sinking of the aircraft carrier Akagi

trip to Ceylon

By the spring of 1942, the British had formed an Eastern (“Asian”) fleet for operations in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, consisting of three aircraft carriers (two new ones: Indomitable and Formidable, as well as the old Hermes) and 26 large warships ( including five battleships and seven cruisers).

The main bases of the newly created British Eastern Fleet were located on the island of Ceylon in Colombo and Trincomalee.

The command of the Japanese fleet, by analogy with their actions in Pearl Harbor, planned to defeat the main forces of the British fleet and secure freedom of action in the Indian Ocean by delivering massive air strikes against bases on the island of Ceylon.

Schematic map of the fighting in the Indian Ocean, April 1942 (Scheme of the site wiki.gcdn.co)

The strike aircraft carrier formation of the Japanese fleet was headed by Vice Admiral T. Nagumo. It included five aircraft carriers (Akagi, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku) and 15 combat escort ships (including four battleships and three cruisers). The aircraft carrier air groups numbered almost 300 combat aircraft (Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, Aichi D3A1 dive bombers and Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers).

Thanks to reconnaissance, the British command of the Eastern Fleet became aware of the impending Japanese attack on bases on the island of Ceylon. The main forces of the British fleet were withdrawn from Colombo and Trincomalee and concentrated in the area of the Maldives islands. Already from there, when advancing strike force of the Japanese fleet in the direction of Ceylon, the British command planned to deliver a preemptive strike against it by the forces of the air groups of its two aircraft carriers before the aircraft carrier formation approached the line of attack (takeoff).

The Indomitable and Formidable air groups totaled about 82 combat aircraft (12 Fulmar Mk.I fighters, 9 Hawker Sea Hurricane fighters, 16 Grumman Martlet Mk.I fighters and 45 Fairy torpedo bombers "Albacore Mk.I).

Fighter "Fairy" "Fulmar" Mk.II 809 squadron, 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

Double carrier-based fighter "Fairy" "Fulmar" Mk.I made its first flight in 1937. It was a single-engine all-metal low-wing aircraft with a liquid-cooled Merlin VIII engine with a capacity of 1080 horsepower, which provided the aircraft with a maximum speed of 398 km per hour and a rate of climb of 366 meters per minute. The flight range was 1260 km, and the practical ceiling was 6555 meters.

In flight "Fairy" "Fulmar" Mk.I (Photo site www.airwar.ru)

The Fulmar Mk.I fighter turned out to be overweight with relatively low speed and rate of climb compared to the faster and more maneuverable Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, which negatively affected the results in air battles with this fighter.

Carrier-based fighter "Fairy" "Fulmar" Mk.I (Fig. site www.scalefan.ru)

The Fulmar Mk.I was armed with eight 7.7 mm machine guns mounted in the wings. The navigator-observer sitting behind the pilot did not have standard weapons, but in practice he sometimes used his personal (Thompson submachine gun) to defend the rear hemisphere.

Fighter "Hawker" "Hurricane" Mk.I (Figure site wardrawings.be)

The Hawker Hurricane Mk.I single-seat fighter made its first flight in 1935. The single-engine low-wing aircraft was equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin III piston engine with a capacity of 1030 horsepower. The aircraft developed a maximum speed of 520 km per hour. The practical ceiling was 10425 m, and the practical range was 845 km.

"Hurricane" Mk.I at the air show in Fairford, July 10, 2014 (Photo by en.wikipedia.org)

In 1940, the British equipped the land-based Hurricane Mk.I with a brake hook (hook) and received the Sea Hurricane Mk.IV carrier-based fighter, which had a slightly lower maximum speed of 508 km per hour, a practical ceiling of 9360 meters and a flight range of 785 km.

Deck fighter "Hawker" "Sea Hurricane" Mk.IB - coloring 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

The armament of both Hurricanes consisted of eight 7.7-mm machine guns mounted in the wings. The pilot of the fighter was protected by an armored back and bulletproof glass built into the visor.

"Sea Hurricane" Mk.II of the 880th squadron of the aircraft carrier "Indomitable", May-June 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

Slightly inferior to the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters in speed, the Mk.I Hurricanes had much worse maneuverability.

"Sea Hurricane" Mk.IB at the air show in Shuttleworth, today (Photo by en.wikipedia.org)

The British carrier-based fighters "Martlet" ("Swallow") were export versions of the American fighter "Grumman" F4F-3 (F4F-3A) "Wildcat", which made its first flight in 1939.

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat in flight (Photo by en.wikipedia.org)

It was a single-seat all-metal medium wing with a 1200 horsepower engine, which accelerated the Martlet Mk.I modification to a speed of 531 km per hour at an altitude of 6431 m and a rate of climb of 702 meters per minute. The practical ceiling was 12000 m, and the flight range reached 1360 km. Modification of the Mk.II fighter (F4F-3A) had slightly worse speed (maximum up to 502 km per hour at an altitude of 4877 m) and altitude.

"Martlet" Mk.II from the 888th squadron of the aircraft carrier Formidable, May 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

Fighter "Grumman" "Martlet" Mk.I (Mk.II) was armed with four 12.7-mm machine guns mounted in the wings. The pilot was protected by an armored back.

Fighters "Martlet" Mk.II of the 888th squadron of the aircraft carrier "Formidable", 1942 (Photo by www.hobby-plus.narod.ru)

The British fighter "Martlet", which is part of the air group of the aircraft carrier "Formidable", did not have a chance to fight with an air enemy during the battles near the island of Ceylon.

Torpedo bomber "Fairy" "Albacore" TV Mk.I (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

Attack aircraft on both British aircraft carriers were represented by the Fairy carrier-based torpedo bomber Albacore. A single-engine biplane with a closed cockpit and fixed landing gear first flew in 1938. He is in his own way technical specifications not much different from its predecessor, the Fairy torpedo bomber Swordfish, which it was supposed to replace. With a 1085 horsepower engine, the maximum speed of the torpedo bomber was 256 km per hour, and the cruising speed was 187 km per hour. The practical flight range was 1500 km, the practical ceiling was 6310 m. The maneuverability and controllability of the Albacore was worse than that of the Swordfish.

In flight "Fairy" "Albacore" Mk.I (Photo site en.wikipedia.org)

The torpedo bomber could carry one 730-kg torpedo under the fuselage or bombs under the wings (6 x 113 kg or 4 x 227 kg). One 7.7 mm machine gun was mounted on the right wing console and two 7.7 mm in the rear of the triple cockpit.

"Fairy" "Albacore" with bomb weapons (Fig. site wowar.ru)

In the events discussed below, the Albacore torpedo bomber was not in demand for its intended purpose and was used for reconnaissance purposes.

Having received information from intelligence about the advance of Japanese strike forces to Ceylon, the commander of the British Eastern Fleet, Admiral Somerville, relying mainly on his vision of the current operational situation, could not correctly predict the attack line of the Japanese aircraft carrier formation. The counterattack of the striking forces of the Japanese fleet did not work.

At 8:00 am on April 5, 1942, Japanese aircraft attacked the harbor and port of Colombo. In view of the absence of warships in the base, the main targets of the B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers and D3А1 "Val" dive bombers were auxiliary and merchant ships, port infrastructure facilities, which suffered significant damage.

Takeoff of the dive bomber "Aichi" D3A1 "Val" from the deck of "Akagi" on April 5, 1942

Thanks to radars, the British learned in a timely manner about the approach of enemy attack aircraft, but 42 British fighters raised with an obvious delay could not offer decent resistance and repel an air attack of more than 125 Japanese aircraft. The British land "Hurricanes" Mk.I and naval "Fulmars" Mk.I were noticeably inferior to the A6M2 "Zero" fighters accompanying the strike aircraft. According to the results of the air battle, the loss of the British amounted to 24 fighters. Japanese losses amounted to one Zero fighter and several dive bombers.

Discovered by Japanese aircraft on that day, a detachment of ships of the British fleet, consisting of two heavy cruisers Devonshire and Cornwall, separated from the main forces of the fleet, was attacked by 53 dive bombers D3A1 Val. After a 19-minute battle, the cruisers were sunk. Japanese aircraft suffered no losses.

Burning British heavy cruiser "Cornwall" (04/05/1942) (Photo from A. Bolnykh's book "Aircraft Carriers. Illustrated Encyclopedia", 2013)

Not finding the main forces of the British fleet in Colombo, the Japanese command decided to strike a second blow at the British base in Trincomalee. It was not possible to achieve surprise this time either. The Japanese ships were discovered on April 8, 1942 by the British Catalina (flying boat) at a distance of 450 nautical miles. The British ships that were at that moment in Trincomalee left the base. They also included the Hermes aircraft carrier with a small guard.

"Hermes" - the world's first aircraft carrier of a special construction (Photo from A. Bolnykh's book "Aircraft Carriers. Illustrated Encyclopedia", 2013)

On the morning of April 9, 91 D3A1 Val dive bombers, escorted by 39 A6M2 Zero fighters, launched an air strike on merchant ships and port facilities remaining in the port of Trincomalee. The British were able to counter this air armada with only 11 Hurricane fighters (of which only 2 aircraft survived).

The aircraft carrier Hermes, which had left Trincomalee, and the Australian destroyer accompanying it, were discovered by a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft when the strike air group that bombed Trincomalee was just returning to their ships. To attack a new target, Admiral Nagumo took to the air a new strike air group consisting of 85 dive bombers D3A1 "Val" and 9 "Zero" fighters.

The Japanese overtook the Hermes on the same morning on April 9 at 10.35. Having no own carrier-based fighters, deprived of the support of coastal aviation (the team for their flight drowned in the chaos of what was happening), the Hermes was doomed. According to the reports of eyewitnesses of the events, the aircraft carrier was hit by more than 20 air bombs and twenty minutes later, turning the keel up, sank. An Australian destroyer was also killed.

Burning sinking British aircraft carrier Hermes

The tragedy of this situation was intensified by the fact that, being the world's first aircraft carrier of a special construction, Hermes became the first aircraft carrier sunk by carrier-based aircraft.

During the Japanese attack on the Hermes, Vice Admiral Nagumo's flagship, the Akagi aircraft carrier, was itself attacked by nine British Blenheim bombers. The anti-aircraft artillery of the Akagi and the accompanying cruiser Tone could not hit any of the Blenheims that had bombed them. After attacking the Japanese flagship, the British bombers were attacked by Zero fighters, which were able to shoot down only four out of nine aircraft.

Medium bomber "Bristol" "Blenheim" Mk. IV with a crew of three carried up to 454 kg of bombs and had defensive armament of seven 7.7-mm machine guns (Photo by www.birdsofsteel.com)

As a result of the campaign against Ceylon, the Japanese failed to defeat the British Eastern Fleet, but, nevertheless, inflicting significant damage on the enemy, both at sea and on land (the bases in Colombo and Trincomalee were destroyed), forced the British to abandon the base of their fleet in Ceylon and the Maldives and withdraw from the Bay of Bengal.

The success of the Japanese fleet was facilitated by superiority in aircraft carriers, the massive use of carrier-based aircraft, as well as British mistakes in organizing defense and miscalculations in the strategy of their actions. Meanwhile, the Japanese fleet failed to completely conceal its actions and achieve surprise in carrying out air strikes.

Fight in the Coral Sea

After a successful campaign against Ceylon in April 1942, relying on the possession of a strategic initiative in their hands, the Japanese command sought to completely seize New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, control the waters of the Coral Sea and put pressure on Australia. A serious obstacle to such plans was the Australian base in Port Moresby, located in the southeast of New Guinea.

Preparations for the capture of Port Moresby were started by the Japanese command back in February 1942 by issuing the relevant directive. Real preparations for the landing operation began in April. To provide air support for the main landing forces during the capture of Port Moresby, at the first stage, the Japanese planned to capture the island of Tulagi (Solomon Islands) to base their aircraft on it.

To cover the landing forces from the air, the Japanese command allocated the Shoho light aircraft carrier (12 A6M2 Zero fighters and 9 B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers).

The main strike force in the operation was an aircraft carrier formation under the command of Vice Admiral Takagi, consisting of two aircraft carriers (Shokaku and Zuikaku) and escort ships (two cruisers and six destroyers). The air groups of squadron aircraft carriers were equal in number and quality and consisted of 126 combat aircraft (42 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, 42 Aichi D3A1 Val dive bombers and 42 Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers).

Fighters A6M2 "Zero" on the deck of the aircraft carrier "Zuikaku" (Photo site scalemodels.ru)

The plans of the Japanese to capture Port Moresby were no secret to the allied command, which, knowing the secret cipher, received information from the enemy's correspondence. Measures were taken to strengthen forces and means in threatened directions.

Commander's decision Pacific Fleet Admiral Nimitz, the 17th Operational Force was formed under the command of Rear Admiral F.D. Fletcher as part of two squadron aircraft carriers, escort ships (8 cruisers and 13 destroyers) and support ships (two tankers).

US Navy aircraft carrier Lexington with its air group, 1942 (Photo by ww2live.com)

The air groups of two American aircraft carriers (Lexington and Yorktown) included 143 combat aircraft (44 Grumman F4F-4 and F4F-3A Wildcat fighters, 74 Douglas SBD-3 Downtless dive bombers and 25 torpedo bombers " Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator").

Fighter "Grumman" F4F-3A "Wildcat", May - June 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

The main carrier-based fighter on American aircraft carriers was the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, which almost replaced the previous modification F4F-3 (F4F-3A). An engine of the same power of 1200 horsepower had the best high-altitude performance. At the same time, the maximum flight speed slightly decreased (515 km per hour at an altitude of 5730 m), but the rate of climb increased noticeably from 702 (624) to 880 meters per minute. According to the pilots, the new modification of the fighter turned out to be less maneuverable and more inert.

Fighter "Grumman" F4F-4 "Wildcat", 1942 (Figure site wardrawings.be)

The fighter received manually folding wings, which made it easier to place it on the flight deck and in the hangars of an aircraft carrier. The hydraulic wing folding mechanism developed later did not take root in practice due to the savings in take-off weight.

Fighter "Grumman" F4F-4 "Wildcat" takes off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, 1942 (Fig. site pinimg.com)

The F4F-4 Wildcat had more powerful weapons: the number of 12.7 mm machine guns increased from four to six. At the same time, the total ammunition load decreased from 1720 to 1440 rounds. Two 113-kg bombs could be suspended under the wings.

The protection of the pilot has improved: an armored pallet has appeared under the seat and the dimensions of the armored back have increased. The F4F-4 received sealed fuel tanks and armored oil coolers.

The F4F-4 Wildcat that has survived to this day (Photo by allwantsimg.com)

F4F-4 "Wildcat" in an air battle with its main rival - the Japanese fighter "Mitsubishi" A6M2 "Zero" was noticeably inferior to it in terms of maneuverability. However, a slightly better rate of climb and the ability to quickly pick up speed in a dive allowed an experienced F4F-4 pilot to launch a frontal attack and destroy the enemy with a powerful salvo of six 12.7-mm machine guns. An accurate one-second salvo from the Wildcat tore the Zero literally to pieces in the air.

Fighter F4F-4 "Wildcat" in a duel with A6M2 "Zero", 1942 (Fig. site img.wp.scn.ru)

Compared to the A6M2 Zero, the F4F-4 had a higher survivability, withstanding numerous hits. When landing on water, having a small margin of buoyancy, the fighter provided the pilot with the opportunity to leave the plane in a rescue boat within a few minutes. At the same time, the narrower track of the Wildcat chassis made it difficult to land on deck, and in the hands of less experienced pilots could lead to an accident, the death of the pilot and the loss of the aircraft.

Fighter "Mitsubishi" A6M2 "Zero", 1942 (Figure site wardrawings.be)

At the time of the US entry into World War II, the Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber, which made its first flight back in 1935, was already considered obsolete. The all-metal low-wing aircraft had wings folded for ease of placement on the deck and was equipped with an air-cooled engine with a capacity of 900 horsepower. The crew was accommodated in a three-seater cabin in tandem.

Torpedo bomber TBD-1 "Devastator" from the aircraft carrier "Lexington", May 1942 (Fig. site wardrawings.be)

In horizontal flight, the torpedo bomber developed a maximum speed of 332 km per hour (without outboard weapons) and maintained a cruising speed of 205 km per hour. A low landing speed of 100 km per hour, acceptable maneuverability and good controllability made landing on an aircraft carrier an easy task even for a poorly trained pilot. In comparison with classmates, the Devastator had not high flight range (700 km with a torpedo) and practical ceiling (5945 m).

Torpedo bomber "Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator" (Photo from A. Haruk's book "Attack aircraft of the Second World War - attack aircraft, bombers, torpedo bombers", 2012)

The main armament of the Devastators was the 907-kg Mk.13 torpedo, which was notable for its unreliable fuse, hull defects, and low speed. Instead of a torpedo, two 277-kg or 454-kg bombs could be suspended. Small arms included one synchronous 7.62 mm machine gun in front of the cockpit and one turret 7.62 mm machine gun fired by a radio operator.

"Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator", armed with a torpedo (Fig. Website www.artes.su)

With a suspended torpedo, the TBD Devastator was notable for its low maneuverability, which led to heavy losses from naval anti-aircraft artillery during the attack.

Acting according to the planned plan, on May 3, 1942, the Japanese landed troops on the island of Tulagi, located northeast of the island of Guadalcanal (the Solomon Islands). There were no troops on the island by the time of the landing, the Australian garrison left it in advance.

Having received a message from intelligence about the capture of Tulagi by the Japanese, the allied command decided to launch an air strike on the landing forces. In the early morning of May 4, the air group of the American aircraft carrier Yorktown attacked Japanese ships in the harbor of the island. The air raid involved 28 SBD-3 Downtless dive bombers and 12 TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers under cover of 18 F4F-4 Wildcat fighters. The results of three consecutive air raids (103 sorties) turned out to be modest: four landing barges, a destroyer and a couple of minesweepers were sunk, several enemy ships were damaged. Yorktown's losses were two Wildcat fighters and one Devastator torpedo bomber.

A more important result of the strike by the Yorktown air group, according to military historians, was that the Japanese command realized that the enemy had revealed his intentions. The landing of the main landing force and the capture of Port Moresby had to be temporarily postponed until the destruction of the Allied aircraft carrier strike force.

Scheme of actions of the warring parties in the Coral Sea (Photo by ww2history.ru)

Over the next two days, the opposing sides made efforts to mutually search for the main forces. The success of the upcoming battle depends on whoever detects and strikes the enemy first.

On May 6, four American B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers from Port Moresby Air Force Base accidentally discovered and attacked the Japanese light aircraft carrier Shoho without causing any damage to it.

Mutual searches continued. Inaccurate intelligence, haste in decision-making and a banal incident led to the fact that the opponents launched air strikes on secondary targets the next morning. A direct duel of aircraft carrier formations was yet to come.

So, on the morning of May 7, the American tanker Neosho and the destroyer Sims came under attack by Japanese aircraft. A strike air group from the aircraft carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku sank the destroyer with direct hits from three bombs. The Neosho tanker, after being hit by seven aerial bombs, lost speed and caught fire, but did not sink, as the Japanese thought, leaving it in thick clouds of smoke. The loss of the attacking side amounted to two aircraft. In the evening, the agony of the tanker was interrupted by two torpedoes destroyer Americans and took the survivors.

The American tanker Neosho is on fire, May 7, 1942 (Photo by www.delsjourney.com)

In turn, the light aircraft carrier Shoho was hit by air groups from the American aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown. 93 carrier-based aircraft participated in the raid.

The unexpected attack prevented Shoho from raising its fighters. Left without air cover, the aircraft carrier held out for no more than a quarter of an hour. A direct hit by 13 1000-pound SBD-3 Downtless dive bombers and seven Devastator torpedoes caused numerous fires, a strong explosion, after which the Shoho capsized and sank. The Americans lost only three aircraft during the raid.

The sinking Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho is on fire, May 7, 1942 (Photo by www.history.navy.mil)

Later, military historians will question the number of direct hits on an unarmored, relatively small ship (length about 205 meters, a total displacement of 14,200 tons), as a result of which it should have simply been torn to pieces.

"Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator" in a torpedo attack (Photo by weapons-of-war.ucoz.ru)

Upon learning of the death of the Shoho aircraft carrier, Vice Admiral Inoue, commander of the entire operation to capture Port Moresby, ordered the return of the landing force back to Rabaul, located in the northeast of the island of New Britain.

On the morning of May 8, 1942, enemy aircraft carrier formations were at a distance of about 200 nautical miles when their commanders received reports from reconnaissance aircraft about the discovery of the main enemy forces (Americans at 08.20, Japanese at 08.22).

Vice Admiral Takagi, the commander of the Japanese aircraft carrier formation, in advance (at about 07.00), without waiting for reports from intelligence, decided to launch a strike air group in the amount of 69 combat aircraft (33 D3A1 Val dive bombers and 18 B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers under the cover of 18 fighter "Zero"). Attack aircraft received a specific combat mission already in the air. The admiral tried to buy time.

The American strike air group, raised into the air around 09.15, consisted of 82 combat aircraft from two aircraft carriers (46 SBD-3 Downtless dive bombers, 21 TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers and 15 F4F-4 Wildcat cover fighters).

Torpedo bombers "Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator" heading for the target, May 1942 (Photo by www.helmo.gr)

Both attack air groups could meet in a head-on air battle about halfway to the target, but, following at different heights, having no radar, they dispersed without finding each other.

The Lexington's radar promptly detected the approach of the Japanese and made it possible to organize air defense of the compound.

The weather favored the Japanese strike group. The aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown were in good visibility. The Japanese attack began at 11:18. Their main blow fell on the more bulky and less maneuverable Lexington, on the port side of which two torpedoes hit. The aircraft carrier retained its speed and ability to receive aircraft. A direct hit by two 60-kg bombs caused small fires on the ship. There were no signs of serious trouble. However, a series of gasoline vapor explosions began on the ship. The fire reached alarming proportions, it was not possible to extinguish it. At four o'clock in the afternoon, a strong explosion damaged the flight deck. The evacuation of personnel began. After the explosion of cellars with torpedoes, the ship was already doomed. At eight o'clock in the evening, after four torpedoes fired by her destroyer, the aircraft carrier sank. Together with the ship, 36 aircraft of his air group went to the bottom.

The crew of the aircraft carrier Lexington leaves the sinking ship, May 8, 1942 (Photo by sfw.so)

The more maneuverable Yorktown dodged torpedoes, one 800-pound bomb that hit it did not cause significant damage to it, the fire it caused was quickly extinguished. Japanese losses during the attack amounted to 20 strike aircraft.

The air group of the American aircraft carrier Yorktown launched an attack on Shokaku at 10.57. The second Japanese aircraft carrier "Zuikaku" managed to take cover behind the rain front. The actions of American aviation were extremely disorganized. The air groups of the two aircraft carriers acted inconsistently and not simultaneously. Part of the strike aircraft from the Lexington, not finding the enemy, returned back.

Fighter A6M2 "Zero" in a dogfight with the F4F-4 "Wildcat" (Figure site media.digitalpostercollection.com)

The results of the air strike on Shokaku were disappointing. None of the torpedoes fired at the ship hit the target, they either missed or did not explode after hitting. Three air bombs that hit the aircraft carrier disabled the flight deck, the aircraft workshop and caused a fire. "Shokaku" has lost the ability to receive aircraft. American losses amounted to 17 aircraft.

Dive bombers SBD-3 "Downless" (Fig. site warwall.ru)

Torpedo bomber "Douglas" TBD-1 "Devastator" (Fig. Site ftim.ucoz.ru)

The results of the hostilities in the Coral Sea were generally positively assessed by the American command - an attempt to capture Port Moresby, the most important strategic point in the region, by forces amphibious assault was torn off. The Japanese lost one light aircraft carrier "Shoho", the damaged "Shokaku" was out of order for a long time.

For the first time in combat operations at sea, carrier-based aircraft became the main striking force of the fleet. Strike aircraft carrier formations operated at a great distance from the enemy, outside the line of sight.

Literature:
1. Shant K., Bishop. Aircraft carriers. The most formidable aircraft-carrying ships of the world and their aircraft: The Illustrated Encyclopedia / Per. from English / - M .: Omega, 2006.
2. Beshanov V.V. Encyclopedia of aircraft carriers / Under the general editorship of A.E. Taras - M .: AST, Minsk: Harvest, 2002 - (Library of military history).
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5. Patients A.G. Aircraft carriers. Illustrated encyclopedia - M.: Yauza: EKSMO, 2013.
6. Patients A.G. Pearl Harbor. " Pyrrhic victory"Imperial Fleet - M .: Yauza: EKSMO, 2014.
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11. Kharuk A.I. Fighters of the Second World War. The most complete encyclopedia - M .: Yauza: EKSMO, 2012.

Internet resources:
http://www.airwar.ru;
http://pro-plane.ru;
http://wp.scn.ru;
http://www.aviastar.org;
http://www.avionslegendaires.net
http://wardrawings.be/WW2;
http://www.airpages.ru;
http://fototelegraf.ru.

“I will die on the deck of the Nagato, by which time Tokyo will have been bombed 3 times”
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

The defeat of Japan in World War II seems so natural that there can be no options and discrepancies here. The total superiority of the United States in natural, human and industrial resources, multiplied by a powerful economy and high level development of science - in such conditions, America's victory in the war became only a matter of time.

If with common causes Since the defeat of the Japanese Empire is extremely obvious, the purely technical side of the naval battles in the Pacific is of genuine interest: the Imperial Japanese Navy, once one of the most powerful fleets in the world, died under the blows of numerically superior enemy forces. He died in terrible agony, suffering and torment. Armor warped and rivets flew out, plating burst, and streams of gushing water collided in a roaring whirlpool on the decks of the doomed ship. The Japanese fleet was leaving for immortality.

Nevertheless, before their tragic death, the Japanese sailors were marked by a number of bright victories. "Second Pearl Harbor" off Savo Island, a pogrom in the Java Sea, a daring raid by aircraft carriers into the Indian Ocean ...

As for the famous attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base, the role of this operation is largely exaggerated by American propaganda: the US leadership needed to rally the nation in the face of the enemy. Unlike Soviet Union where every child understood that a terrible war was taking place on the territory of his own country, the United States had to wage a naval war on foreign shores. This is where the tale of the “terrible attack” on the American military base came in handy.

Memorial on the hull of the lost "Arizona" (the battleship was launched in 1915)

In reality, Pearl Harbor was a pure failure for Japanese carrier-based aviation - all "success" was the sinking of four decrepit battleships from the First World War (two of which were raised and restored by 1944). The fifth damaged battleship, Nevada, was refloated and returned to service by the summer of 1942. In total, as a result of the Japanese raid, 18 ships of the US Navy were sunk or damaged, while a significant part of the "victims" escaped with only cosmetic defects.

At the same time, not a single bomb fell on:

Power plant, shipyards, port cranes and mechanical workshops. This allowed the Yankees to begin restoration work within an hour after the end of the raid.

Giant 10/10 dry dock for battleship and aircraft carrier repairs. The unforgivable mistake of the Japanese carrier-based aviation will become fatal in all subsequent battles in the Pacific: with the help of their superdock, the Americans will restore damaged ships in a matter of days.

4,500,000 barrels of oil! The tank capacity of the U.S. Naval refueling station at Pearl Harbor at that time exceeded all the fuel reserves of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Fuel, hospitals, berths, ammunition depots - Japanese pilots "gave" the US Navy the entire infrastructure of the base!

There is a legend about the absence of two US Navy aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack: they say, if the Japanese had sunk the Lexington and the Enterprise, the outcome of the war could have been different. This is an absolute delusion: during the years of the war, the US industry handed over 31 aircraft carriers to the fleet (many of which did not even have to participate in battles). If the Japanese had destroyed all aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers in the Pearl Harbor, along with Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Islands, the outcome of the war would have been the same.

We should dwell separately on the figure of the "architect of Pearl Harbor" - the Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. There is no doubt that he was an honest military and competent strategist, who more than once warned the leadership of Japan about the futility and disastrous consequences of the coming war with the United States. The admiral argued that even with the most favorable development of events, the Imperial Japanese Navy would last no more than a year - then the inevitable defeat and death of the Japanese Empire would follow. Admiral Yamamoto remained true to his duty - if Japan is destined to die in an unequal battle, he will do everything so that the memory of this war and the exploits of Japanese sailors will go down in history forever.

Japanese aircraft carriers en route to Hawaii. In the foreground - "Jikaku". Ahead - "Kaga"

Some sources call Yamamoto one of the most outstanding naval commanders - around the figure of the admiral, the image of an "oriental sage" has formed, whose decisions and actions are full of genius and "incomprehensible eternal truth." Alas, real events showed the opposite - Admiral Yamamoto turned out to be completely mediocre in tactical matters of fleet management.

The only successful operation planned by the admiral - the attack on Pearl Harbor - demonstrated a complete lack of logic in the choice of targets and disgusting coordination of Japanese aviation. Yamamoto was planning a "stunning blow". But why were the fuel storage and infrastructure of the base untouched? - the most important objects, the destruction of which could really complicate the actions of the US Navy.

"They don't take a hit"

As Admiral Yamamoto predicted, the Japanese military machine moved forward uncontrollably for six months, bright flashes of victories one after another illuminated the Pacific Theater of Operations. Problems began later - the continuous strengthening of the US Navy slowed down the pace of the Japanese offensive. In the summer of 1942, the situation almost got out of control - the tactics of Admiral Yamamoto with the splitting of forces and the allocation of "shock" and "anti-ship" groups of carrier-based aviation led to a disaster at Midway.

But the real nightmare began in 1943 - the Japanese fleet suffered defeat one after another, the shortage of ships, aircraft and fuel was becoming more and more acute. The scientific and technical backwardness of Japan made itself felt - when trying to break through to the squadrons of the US Navy, Japanese planes fell from the sky like cherry petals. At the same time, the Americans confidently flew over the very masts of the Japanese ships. There were not enough radars and sonar stations - more and more often Japanese ships became victims of American submarines.

The Japanese defensive perimeter was bursting at the seams - colossal reserves allowed the Americans to land troops simultaneously in different regions of the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime ... more and more new ships appeared in the vastness of the Pacific theater of operations - the US industry daily handed over to the fleet a couple of new combat units (destroyers, cruisers, submarines or aircraft carriers).

The ugly truth about the Imperial Japanese Navy has been revealed: Admiral Yamamoto's bet on an aircraft carrier fleet has failed! In the conditions of the total superiority of the enemy, the Japanese aircraft carriers died as soon as they reached the combat zone.

Japanese carrier-based aviation achieved notable success in raiding operations - a raid on Ceylon or Pearl Harbor (if you do not take into account missed opportunities). The surprise factor and the large combat radius of aviation made it possible to avoid return fire and return to base after the successful completion of the mission.

The Japanese had an equal chance of winning squadrons with the US Navy (Battle of the Coral Sea, Midway, Santa Cruz). Here everything was decided by the quality of training of pilots, crews of ships and, most importantly, His Majesty Chance.

But in conditions of numerical superiority of the enemy (i.e., when the probability of falling under return fire was equal to 100%), the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet did not even have a ghostly hope for any favorable outcome of the situation. The principle of "winning not by numbers, but by skill" turned out to be useless - any fire contact ended in the imminent and inevitable death of an aircraft carrier.

It turned out that the once formidable aircraft carriers completely "do not hold a blow" and drown like puppies, even with a weak effect of enemy fire. Sometimes, a few hits from conventional bombs were enough to sink an aircraft carrier. It was a death sentence for the Imperial Navy - aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft proved to be extremely ineffective in a defensive war.

The battle of Midway Atoll best of all told about the disgusting survivability of aircraft carriers: a group of 30 Dontless dive bombers, under the command of Captain McCluskey, who broke through, literally burned two Japanese attack aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga in just a minute (burned through boxes of hulls sank by evening ). A similar fate befell the aircraft carriers Soryu and Hiryu on the same day.

American attack aircraft carrier Bellow Wood after a kamikaze attack

Everything is known in comparison: in October 1944, the Japanese squadron of 12 battleships and cruisers walked for several hours under continuous attacks from more than 500 American carrier-based aircraft. Without any air cover and with primitive air defense systems. The result was only the death of the Suzuya cruiser and heavy damage to a couple of other ships. The rest of the squadron of Admiral Takeo Kurita safely left the zone of American aviation and returned to Japan.

It’s even scary to imagine what would happen if large aircraft carriers were in the place of the Yamato and Nagato battleships - a hail of small-caliber bombs would cause uncontrolled fires on the flight and hangar decks, and then an early death of ships from internal explosions.

The reason for the poor state of Nagato's add-ons is - nuclear explosion with a capacity of 23 kt.
The old Japanese battleship turned out to be stronger than nuclear fire!

The squadron of Admiral Kurita happily escaped death. Meanwhile, in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, a real massacre took place:

On June 19, 1944, the heavy aircraft carrier Taiho was sunk. A single torpedo hit from the submarine Albacore did not cause significant damage, but caused a depressurization of the fuel line. A minor imperceptible problem turned into a disaster - 6.5 hours after the torpedo attack, the Taiho was torn to shreds by an explosion of gasoline vapors (1,650 dead sailors).
The trick was that the brand new Taiho aircraft carrier was destroyed in its first combat campaign, just three months after launching.

A day later, on June 20, 1944, under similar circumstances, the strike aircraft carrier "Hiyo" was lost. The only difference is that the carrier-based aircraft dropped the fatal torpedo.

The fantastic sinking of the supercarrier Sinano 17 hours after its first entry into the sea is just a common curiosity in the history of naval battles. The ship was not completed, the bulkheads were not sealed, and the crew was not trained. However, in every joke there is a share of a joke - eyewitnesses reported that one of the torpedo hits fell exactly in the area of jet fuel tanks. Perhaps the crew of the aircraft carrier was very lucky - at the time of the sinking, the Sinano was empty.

It seems that the aircraft carrier "Shokaku" has problems with the flight deck

However, aircraft carriers failed for less significant reasons. During the battle in the Coral Sea, three aerial bombs took the heavy aircraft carrier Shokaku out of the game for a long time.

The song about the rapid death of Japanese aircraft carriers would not be complete without mentioning their opponents. The Americans faced the same problem - the slightest impact of enemy fire caused terrible fires on board aircraft carriers.

In October 1944, just from the hit of two 250-kg bombs, the light aircraft carrier Princeton completely burned down.

In March 1945, the aircraft carrier Franklin was heavily damaged - only two 250-kg bombs hit the ship, which caused one of the largest US Navy tragedies in terms of the number of victims. Bombs fell in the center of the flight deck - the fire instantly engulfed 50 aircraft fully fueled and ready to take off. Result: 807 dead, a completely destroyed air wing, uncontrolled fires on all decks of the ship, loss of speed, a 13-degree list to port and readiness to sink the aircraft carrier.
The Franklin was saved only due to the absence of the main enemy forces nearby - in a real battle, the ship would certainly have been flooded.

The aircraft carrier "Franklin" has not yet decided whether to stay afloat or sink
Survivors pack their bags and prepare to evacuate

Kamikaze got the aircraft carrier "Interpid"

Fire on the aircraft carrier "Saint Lo" as a result of a kamikaze attack (the ship will die)

But the real madness began with the advent of Japanese kamikaze. The “live bombs” falling from the sky could not damage the underwater part of the hull, but the consequences of their fall on the flight deck lined with aircraft were simply terrible.

The incident on the strike aircraft carrier Bunker Hill became a textbook: on May 11, 1945, the ship was attacked by two kamikaze off the coast of Okinawa. In a terrible fire, Bunker Hill lost its entire air wing and more than 400 crew members.

From all these stories, the obvious conclusion follows:

The Imperial Japanese Navy was doomed - building a heavy cruiser or battleship instead of the Taiho aircraft carrier would have made no difference. The enemy had a 10-fold numerical superiority, coupled with overwhelming technical superiority. The war was already lost by the time the Japanese planes struck Pearl Harbor.

Nevertheless, it can be assumed that having highly protected artillery ships instead of aircraft carriers, the Imperial Navy, in the situation in which it found itself by the end of the war, could prolong its agony and cause additional damage to the enemy. The American fleet easily smashed the Japanese aircraft carrier groups, but every time they met with a heavy Japanese cruiser or battleship, the US Navy had to pretty "tinker".

Admiral Yamamoto's bet on aircraft carriers proved disastrous. But why did the Japanese continue to build aircraft carriers until the very end of the war (even rebuilt last battleship type "Yamato" in the aircraft carrier "Shinano")? The answer is simple: the dying industry of Japan could not build anything more complicated than an aircraft carrier. It will sound incredible, but 70 years ago an aircraft carrier was structurally quite simple and cheap, much simpler than a cruiser or battleship. No electromagnetic supercatapults or nuclear reactors. The simplest steel box for servicing the same small and simple aircraft.

True, an aircraft carrier trough will sink even from small-caliber bombs, but the aircraft carrier's crew hopes that they will have to fight only against a deliberately weak and unprepared enemy. Otherwise - the manner of "overkill".

Epilogue

Low survivability is inherent in the very idea of an aircraft carrier. Aviation needs SPACE - instead, it is driven onto the cramped decks of a rocking ship and forced to carry out takeoff and landing operations with a runway length three times shorter than required. The dense layout and overcrowding of aviation equipment inevitably serves as a source of increased accident rate of an aircraft carrier, and the general lack of security and constant work with flammable substances lead to a natural result - a serious sea battle is contraindicated for an aircraft carrier.

8-hour fire aboard the aircraft carrier Oriskani (1966). The explosion of a magnesium flare (!) led to a massive fire in the hangar, with the death of all aircraft in it and 44 sailors from the crew of the ship.

The terrible fire on the aircraft carrier Forrestal (1967), which became the largest tragedy in terms of the number of victims in the post-war history of the US Navy (134 dead sailors).

A repetition of similar events aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise (1969).

Urgent measures were taken to increase the survivability of aircraft carriers, automatic deck irrigation systems and other special equipment appeared. It would seem that all the troubles behind.

But ... 1981, an unsuccessful landing of an electronic warfare aircraft EA-6B Prowler. Explosions rumble on the flight deck of the Nimitz nuclear aircraft carrier, flames rise above the ship's superstructure. 14 victims, 48 wounded. In the fire, in addition to the Prowler itself and its crew, three F-14 Tomcat interceptors burned down. Ten Corsair II and Intruder attack aircraft, two F-14s, three Viking anti-submarine aircraft and a Sea King helicopter were seriously damaged. "Nimitz" at one point lost a third of its wing.

A similar case on the aircraft carrier "Midway"

An ineradicable problem with safety and survivability will haunt aircraft carriers as long as there is a circus called "carrier-based aviation."

The Japanese aircraft carrier "Akagi", the result of the restructuring of the battle cruiser of the same name, was an experimental and one of a kind ship. Together with the aircraft carrier "Kaga", she became one of the first ships of the Imperial Navy, which can be called strike aircraft carriers, the color of the Japanese fleet in World War II, a symbol of its greatest triumph and its greatest defeat. His aircraft destroyed US battleships and cruisers at Pearl Harbor, then participated in a series of victorious battles of Japan in the winter and spring of 1942, to finally die with his ship in a catastrophic battle for the Land of the Rising Sun that broke out at Midway Atoll.

On June 14, 1917, the Japanese leadership adopted the "8-4 Comprehensive Fleet Program", which provided for the construction of three battleships (Mutsu, Kaga and Tosa) and two battlecruisers (Amagi and Akagi) over the next seven years. ), nine cruisers, twenty-seven destroyers, eighteen submarines and three auxiliary ships.
"Akagi" (of the same type as "Amagi") was laid down on December 6, 1920 at the naval shipyard in Kure. Bookmark "Amagi" took place ten days later - December 16, 1920 at the shipyard in Yokosuka. February 5, 1922 - on the eve of the signing of the so-called "Washington Treaty", an international agreement on the limitations of naval weapons - the command of the Imperial Navy ordered to stop the construction of all ships. By this time, both battlecruisers were in a state of 40% readiness.

If the construction of the Akagi as a battlecruiser had been completed, it would have been the first Japanese ship armed with 410-mm main guns, with a displacement of more than 41,000 tons and a speed of 30 knots. It would be the most powerful ship of the Imperial Navy, surpassing many battleships in terms of its tactical and technical data. The Washington Treaty put an end to this project, but the Japanese managed to defend the hull and not let it be scrapped.
The design work associated with the conversion of the finished battlecruiser hull into an aircraft carrier was very difficult and complex. The conversion of the battlecruiser Akagi into an aircraft carrier began at the shipyard in Kure on November 9, 1923. By this time, the chief designer of the project, Captain 1st Rank Kikuo Fujimoto (together with Captain 1st Rank Suzuki), returned to plans for rebuilding the ship. During a large earthquake that hit the Kanto district on September 1, 1923, the Amagi's hull was so badly damaged that on April 14, 1924 the ship had to be excluded from the lists of the fleet. On May 12, 1924, the hull of the unfortunate ship was scrapped. Instead of "Amagi" as an aircraft carrier, it was decided to rebuild the battleship "Kaga". This battleship was laid down on July 19, 1920 at the shipyard in Kobe. On November 17, 1921, the ship was launched, and on February 5, 1922, an order was received to suspend work. After 5 months, on July 11, 1922, the hull was towed to a shipyard in Yokosuka. On November 19, 1923, an order appeared to begin the completion of the Akagi and Kaga as aircraft carriers.

The restructuring of the ships took place in three stages and was a rather complicated process, because the hulls of a battleship and a battlecruiser had to be converted into aircraft carriers. The main difficulty was the location of the armor belts. "Akagi" received an armor belt 79 mm thick along the main deck (96 mm was originally planned). The remaining parts of the hull were protected by armor 57 mm thick. Armor of the same thickness protected anti-torpedo boules. An additional armored belt ran along the bottom of the boules, which not only protected the bottom of the ship from torpedoes, but was also a power element in the ship's structure. The thickness of the armor of the main belt was reduced from 254 to 152 mm. Further restructuring of the ship added a headache for the designers. There was no experience in building aircraft carriers. The absence of any prototypes forced the developers to create an experimental design, in which errors inevitably appeared. The Akagi aircraft carrier became an experimental testing ground for all subsequent ships of this class. All design errors were taken into account in the construction of the Kaga aircraft carrier, which became the first prototype, the design of which reflected all the basic principles of the Japanese aircraft carrier.

Akagi was launched on April 22, 1925. On March 25, 1927, the ship was solemnly raised naval ensign. Captain 1st Rank Yoitaro Umitsu took command of the brand new aircraft carrier. It is curious to note that the American opponent, the aircraft carrier Lexington, was launched on October 3, 1925 and entered service on December 14, 1927.

In the process of completing and equipping the aircraft carrier, Japanese shipbuilders gained vast experience related to the design of aircraft hangars, the exhaust system, the placement of main battery guns and the layout of decks. It was possible to successfully modernize some components of the ship, but, in general, the result was unsatisfactory. The biggest and at the same time the most intractable problems were the exhaust system and the design of the flight deck.
On October 24, 1934, a serious modernization of the already outdated aircraft carrier began at the shipyard of the Navy in Sasebo. Work continued until August 31, 1938. Throughout the entire service life, the aircraft carrier also underwent numerous minor repairs and alterations.
Initially, the aircraft carrier had three flight decks arranged in three levels. On the upper deck, it was possible to perform both landing and takeoff of aircraft. The middle deck, only 15m long, was intended for Nakajima A1N1 fighters. Lower deck 55m long - for Mitsubishi 2MT1 torpedo bombers. The ship had the opportunity to organize a continuous flight cycle - the aircraft landed on the upper deck, descended into the hangar, prepared for re-flight and started from the lower or middle deck. However, this scheme has not stood the test of practice.
The upper flight deck was a 10 mm thick sheet of steel laid over teak sheathing. The deck rested on iron beams attached to the ship's hull. The flight deck had a segmental design and consisted of five segments with a total length of 190.1 m. The segments were interconnected using compensatory devices that allowed the deck to bend depending on the work of the hull on the wave. Thus, the flight deck carried no mechanical load.
A serious drawback of the aircraft carrier was the absence of walls near the hangars, which were installed later after several accidents occurred due to flooding of the hangars with water. The lack of functionality of such a layout of flight decks led to the fact that accidents and accidents with aircraft often occurred. Therefore, it was decided to remove additional flight decks and extend the main deck for the entire length of the aircraft carrier. Instead of dismantled decks, an additional fully enclosed hangar appeared. After the reconstruction and before her death, Akagi had the longest flight deck among all the aircraft carriers of the Imperial Navy. Modernization power plant was to replace boilers operating on mixed fuels with boilers operating exclusively on fuel oil. As a result, it became necessary to increase the capacity of the ship's fuel tanks to 5770 tons in order to provide her with a cruising range of 8200 nautical miles when moving at a speed of 16 knots. The turbines were left the same, only the ventilation system of the power compartment was slightly improved. As a result of all the alterations, the power of the power plant increased to 133,000 hp, which allowed the ship to develop a maximum speed of 31.2 knots during acceptance tests.

The updated Akagi now had a displacement of 36.5 thousand tons, a length of 260 and a width of 32 meters. According to the state, he could carry on his decks an air force consisting of 12 fighters, 38 torpedo bombers and 19 dive bombers. With such characteristics, the ship in the Japanese Navy entered into battle with the forces of the US Navy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in which aircraft from its decks participated in two attack waves of Japanese naval aviation against the base of the enemy fleet. Then Akagi took part in the attack on the Bismarck Archipelago on January 20-23, 1942, and, having completed the operation off the western coast of New Guinea, on January 27, 1942, Akagi returned to the Truk base.
From April 5 to April 22, 1942, as part of the formation of Vice Admiral Nagumo, the aircraft carrier participated in the raid of the Japanese fleet in the area of Ceylon. Ahead was the Battle of Midway, a watershed battle in which Japan's best carrier forces were destined to die.

On May 27, 1942, at 6:00 am, aircraft carriers carrying aircraft from the 1st Air Fleet left the Japanese base of Hasirajima. Moving ahead was the Akagi, the flagship of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The aircraft carrier was commanded by Captain 1st Rank Taijiro Aoki. The rest of the aircraft carriers of the squadron followed: Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu. The cover group consisted of the high-speed battleships Haruna and Kirishima, the heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma, the light cruiser Nagara, 12 destroyers and auxiliary vessels.

On June 2, the Japanese squadron entered a zone of thick fog and, observing complete radio silence, changed course, heading straight for their original position, located 200 miles northwest of Midway. Opponents discovered each other around 9:40 am on June 3. The Americans spotted a Japanese convoy 500 miles west of Midway. Raised on alarm "Flying Fortresses" from the island airfield unsuccessfully fought back. At night, Catalina flying boats damaged the Japanese tanker Akebono Maru with torpedoes.

On June 4, at 04:30, planes took off from four Japanese aircraft carriers and headed for Midway. The air detachment (commander - senior lieutenant Joichi Tomonaga) included 108 aircraft. At the suggestion of Captain 2nd Rank Fuchida, Vice Admiral Nagumo sent air reconnaissance, which was supposed to patrol seven sectors (the 1st sector was patrolled by aircraft from the Akagi). The Japanese feared the appearance of American aircraft carriers in the Midway area. After raiding Midway, at 07:00, Tomonaga sent a radio message to the flagship, announcing the need for a second raid.

At 8:20 a.m., a radio message from a reconnaissance aircraft arrived on board the Akagi about the discovery of an American aircraft carrier formation.

At 0855, Vice Admiral Nagumo ordered aircraft returning from Midway to begin. All planes landed within 23 minutes and at 09:18 the Japanese ships began their rendezvous with the American squadron at full speed. Meanwhile, the aircraft carriers were in full swing re-arming and refueling the returned aircraft (this standard procedure took 90 minutes), which were soon to strike a second strike - now against American ships.

Suddenly, American carrier-based torpedo bombers Douglas TBD-1 "Devastator" appeared. Due to a misunderstanding and negligence, they were practically devoid of cover. In addition, the attack of dive bombers and torpedo bombers turned out to be poorly coordinated, so the clumsy Devastators flying near the water became easy prey for Japanese fighters, which shot down almost all American torpedo bombers.

At about 10:20 Akagi took off steeply into the wind and prepared for the launch of the aircraft. Here, American SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers fell on the Japanese aircraft carrier from the sky. The dive bombers carried 1000-pound (454 kg) bombs.

At 10:25, the first bomb detonated in the water 10 meters from the side of the aircraft carrier, flooding the flight deck and the interior of the ship with streams of water. The second bomb, dropped by the crew of 1st Lt. Edward J. Kroeger, exploded in the area of the central lift, damaging the flight deck. The bomb explosion destroyed several planes on the deck and in the hangars, other cars caught fire. The third bomb, dropped by the crew of Ensign T. Weber, exploded on the very edge of the take-off deck, without causing serious damage to the aircraft carrier. However, the explosion of this bomb caused a fire in the fuel tanks of the aircraft, which were standing at the end of the flight deck, waiting for the launch.

At 10:29 torpedoes suspended from the burning Keiths began to detonate. The torpedo bombers prepared for take-off were blown to pieces. The burning fuel spilled over the deck caused a fire - the fire began to spread rapidly throughout the ship. The stern of the aircraft carrier was shrouded in clouds of black smoke. The commander of the aircraft carrier's emergency team, Lieutenant Dobashi, tried in vain to flood the gun magazines and storage facilities for air bombs - the power supply system of the pumps failed. The CO2 fire extinguishing system failed even earlier, when a second bomb hit. To complete the picture, a bomb explosion at the stern of the aircraft carrier jammed the rudder blade in the 20 ° position to the port side. The machines worked at "full speed ahead", so the aircraft carrier began to circulate. An attempt to control the course of the ship with the help of machines failed - the ship's telegraph was also out of order. Communication with the engine room through the voice tube also did not work. At 10:43, the Zero fighters, standing on the starboard side opposite the conning tower, caught fire and began to explode. These explosions disrupted the Akagi's radio communications with other ships of the squadron.

Realizing that the flagship was doomed, Chief of Staff Kusaka asked Vice Admiral Nagumo to move his flag aboard another ship. At 10:46 Nagumo, along with his staff, left the ship on the ladder. At about 11:35 a.m., the detonation of the aircraft torpedo depot and the artillery cellar on the aircraft carrier's forecastle was detonated. Emergency crews fought the fires. The captain of the ship, Captain 1st Rank Aoki still hoped to save the aircraft carrier. However, the situation definitely got out of control and at 13:38 a portrait of Emperor Hirohito was transferred from the Akagi to the destroyer Nowaki.

At 18:00, Captain 1st Rank Taijiro Aoki, after assessing the number of dead and wounded and the extent of the fire, ordered the crew to leave the ship. The evacuation of the crew was carried out on boats that transported people to escort destroyers. Many sailors traveled by swimming. The destroyers "Arasi" and "Novaki" picked up everyone they could find. The pilots were also taken out of the water, who, having lost their base, landed on the water.

At 19:20 Captain 1st Rank Aoki sent a radio message to Vice Admiral Nagumo asking him to finish off the doomed ship. The radiogram was also received on board the battleship Yamato, and Admiral Yamamoto forbade sinking the aircraft carrier. After receiving a negative answer, Aoki returned to the ship and climbed to the maneuvering deck, still free of fire.

Admiral Yamamoto delayed ordering the sinking of the Akagi. He did not see the need for this, since the main forces of the Japanese fleet were moving east to meet the enemy by nightfall. When it became clear that the battle was lost, the admiral no longer hesitated. On June 5, 1942, at 03:50, Yamamoto ordered the agonizing aircraft carrier to be scuttled.

Vice Admiral Nagumo ordered the commander of the 4th destroyer division, captain 1st rank Kosaka Ariga, to sink the aircraft carrier. All four destroyers fired torpedoes at the doomed ship. At 4:55 Akagi disappeared into the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Officially, the aircraft carrier was excluded from the lists of the fleet on September 25, 1942.

In that battle, only six pilots from the Akagi air force were killed. The rest made a forced splashdown and were picked up by the crews of the destroyers. Of the 1,630 crew members of the Akagi, 221 were killed or missing.

Japanese aircraft carrier AKAGI

V. Ivanov

"Akagi" (of the same type as "Amagi") was laid down on December 6, 1920 at the naval shipyard in Kure. Bookmark "Amagi" took place ten days later - December 16, 1920 at the shipyard in Yokosuka. February 5, 1922 - on the eve of the signing of the so-called "Washington Treaty", an international agreement on the limitations of naval weapons - the command of the Imperial Navy ordered to stop the construction of all ships. By this time, both battlecruisers were in a state of 40% readiness.

The design work associated with the conversion of the finished battlecruiser hull into an aircraft carrier was very difficult and complex.

The conversion of the battlecruiser Akagi into an aircraft carrier began at the shipyard in Kure on November 9, 1923. By this time, the chief designer of the project, Captain 1st Rank Kikuo Fujimoto (together with Captain 1st Rank Suzuki), returned to plans for rebuilding the ship. During a large earthquake that hit the Kanto district on September 1, 1923, the Amagi's hull was so badly damaged that on April 14, 1924 the ship had to be excluded from the lists of the fleet. On May 12, 1924, the hull of the unfortunate ship was scrapped. Instead of "Amagi" as an aircraft carrier, it was decided to rebuild the battleship "Kaga". This battleship was laid down on July 19, 1920 at the shipyard in Kobe. On November 17, 1921, the ship was launched, and on February 5, 1922, an order was received to suspend work. After 5 months, on July 11, 1922, the hull was towed to a shipyard in Yokosuka. On November 19, 1923, an order appeared to begin the completion of the Akagi and Kaga as aircraft carriers.

Akagi was launched on April 22, 1925. On March 25, 1927, the naval flag was solemnly raised on the ship. Captain 1st Rank Yoitaro Umitsu took command of the brand new aircraft carrier.

It is curious to note that the American opponent, the aircraft carrier Lexington, was launched on October 3, 1925 and entered service on December 14, 1927.

On October 24, 1934, a serious modernization of the already outdated aircraft carrier began at the shipyard of the Navy in Sasebo. Work continued until August 31, 1938. Throughout the entire service life, the aircraft carrier also underwent numerous minor repairs and alterations.

Initially, the aircraft carrier had three flight decks arranged in three levels. On the upper deck, it was possible to perform both landing and takeoff of aircraft. The middle deck, only 15m long, was intended for Nakajima A1N1 fighters. Lower deck 55m long - for Mitsubishi 2MT1 torpedo bombers. The ship had the opportunity to organize a continuous flight cycle - the aircraft landed on the upper deck, descended into the hangar, prepared for re-flight and started from the lower or middle deck. However, this scheme has not stood the test of practice.

The upper flight deck was a 10 mm thick sheet of steel laid over teak sheathing. The deck rested on iron beams attached to the ship's hull. The flight deck had a segmental design and consisted of five segments with a total length of 190.1 m. The segments were interconnected using compensatory devices that allowed the deck to bend depending on the work of the hull on the wave. Thus, the flight deck carried no mechanical load.

A serious drawback of the aircraft carrier was the absence of walls near the hangars, which were installed later after several accidents occurred due to flooding of the hangars with water.

The lack of functionality of such a layout of flight decks led to the fact that accidents and accidents with aircraft often occurred. Therefore, it was decided to remove additional flight decks and extend the main deck for the entire length of the aircraft carrier. Instead of dismantled decks, an additional fully enclosed hangar appeared. After the reconstruction and before her death, Akagi had the longest flight deck among all the aircraft carriers of the Imperial Navy. The modernization of the power plant consisted of replacing boilers running on mixed fuels with boilers running exclusively on fuel oil. As a result, it became necessary to increase the capacity of the ship's fuel tanks to 5,770 tons in order to provide her with a cruising range of 8,200 nautical miles when moving at a speed of 16 knots. The turbines were left the same, only the ventilation system of the power compartment was slightly improved. As a result of all the alterations, the power plant power increased to 133,000 hp, which allowed the ship to develop a maximum speed of 31.2 knots during acceptance tests.

With such characteristics, the ship in the Japanese Navy entered into battle with the forces of the US Navy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in which aircraft from its decks participated in two attack waves of Japanese naval aviation against the base of the enemy fleet. Then Akagi took part in the attack on the Bismarck Archipelago on January 20-23, 1942, and, having completed the operation off the western coast of New Guinea, on January 27, 1942, Akagi returned to the Truk base.

From April 5 to April 22, 1942, as part of the formation of Vice Admiral Nagumo, the aircraft carrier participated in the raid of the Japanese fleet in the area of Ceylon. Ahead was the Battle of Midway, a watershed battle in which Japan's best carrier forces were destined to die.

Types of aircraft of the air group of the aircraft carrier "Akagi" in 1941-42: fighter A6M2 "Zero", dive bomber D3A1 "Val", torpedo bomber B5N2 "Kate" and carrier-based high-speed reconnaissance aircraft D4Y1-C "Kometa" ("Judy")

At 8:20 a.m., a radio message from a reconnaissance aircraft arrived on board the Akagi about the discovery of an American aircraft carrier formation.

"Akagi" under the bombs of the "Flying Fortresses".

"Carrier Killer" dive bomber SBD "Dauntless".

"Carrier Killer" carrier-based dive bomber SBD "Dauntless".

At about 10:20 Akagi took off steeply into the wind and prepared for the launch of the aircraft. Here, American dive bombers SBD "Dauntless" fell on the Japanese aircraft carrier from the sky. The dive bombers carried 1000-pound (454 kg) bombs. The second bomb, dropped by the crew of 1st Lt. Edward J. Kroeger, exploded in the area of the central elevator, damaging the flight deck. The bomb explosion destroyed several aircraft that were on the deck and in the hangars, other vehicles caught fire. The third bomb dropped by the crew of Ensign T .Weber, exploded on the very edge of the flight deck, without causing serious damage to the aircraft carrier.However, the explosion of this bomb caused a fire in the fuel tanks of the aircraft, which were standing at the end of the flight deck waiting for launch.At 10:29, torpedoes suspended on burning Keiths began to detonate The torpedo bombers prepared for takeoff shattered into pieces.The burning fuel spilled over the deck caused a fire - the fire began rapidly spread throughout the ship. The stern of the aircraft carrier was shrouded in clouds of black smoke. The commander of the aircraft carrier's emergency team, Lieutenant Dobashi, tried in vain to flood the gun magazines and storage of air bombs - the power supply system of the pumps failed. The CO2 fire extinguishing system failed even earlier, when a second bomb hit. To complete the picture, a bomb explosion at the stern of the aircraft carrier jammed the rudder blade in the 20 ° position to the port side. The machines worked at "full speed ahead", so the aircraft carrier began to circulate. An attempt to control the course of the ship with the help of machines failed - the ship's telegraph was also out of order. Communication with the engine room through the voice tube also did not work. At 10:43, the Zero fighters, standing on the starboard side opposite the conning tower, caught fire and began to explode. These explosions disrupted the Akagi's radio communications with other ships of the squadron.

"Akagi" under attack by American bombers.

Burning Japanese aircraft carriers - an American diorama of the battle at Midway Atoll.

OrganizationJapanese Imperial Navy Manufacturer Naval Arsenal, Kure Construction started December 6, 1920(as battlecruiser) Launched into the water April 22, 1925 Commissioned March 27, 1927 Withdrawn from the Navy September 26, 1942 StatusSunk at the Battle of Midway June 5, 1942 Main characteristics DisplacementBefore modernization:
27,300 tons (standard)
34,364 tons (full)
After upgrade:
36,500 tons (standard)
41,300 tons (full) Length249 m Width31 m Draft8 m BookingWaistband: 152mm (14 degree outward tilt)
hull skin: 14.3 mm,
armor deck: 31.7-57 mm,
bevels: 38.1 mm Engines19 Kanpon-B type boilers
4 Tikhon turbines Power133,000 l. from. (97.8 MW) mover4 three-blade propellers travel speed31 knots (57.4 km/h) cruising range8200 nautical miles at 16 knots Crew2000 people Armament ArtilleryBefore modernization:
10 (2 × 2+6 × 1) 200mm/50;
After upgrade:
6 (6×1) 200mm Flak12 (6 × 2) 120mm/45
28 (14 × 2) 25 mm/60 type 96 (added during modernization 1935-1939) Aviation group91 aircraft (66 on the line, 25 dismantled) (1941)
18 A6M fighters
18 D3A dive bombers
27 B5N torpedo launchers Media files at Wikimedia Commons

Design

"Akagi" became the first experience in the construction of large aircraft carriers in Japan, so many elements were tested on it for the first time. The original origin of the ship as a battlecruiser also had an effect. The most unusual element was the presence of three flight decks at once. The upper flight deck with a length of 190 meters and a maximum width of 30.5 meters was intended for takeoff and landing of aircraft. The middle deck began in the bridge area and was only 15 meters long, and the width was severely limited by the gun turrets. The lower flight deck with a length of 55 meters and a maximum width of 23 meters was intended for the launch of torpedo bombers. The presence of three decks was supposed to make it easier for the crew to maintain aircraft and ensure the launch of the maximum possible number of aircraft in a limited time. "Akagi" was an aircraft carrier capable of simultaneously producing and receiving aircraft. The location of the flight decks made it possible to organize a continuous cycle. After starting and completing the mission, the aircraft landed on the main flight deck, it was lowered into the hangar, refueled, armed, and the aircraft again went into battle from the front deck. A serious drawback of the aircraft carrier was the absence of walls near the hangars, which were installed only later after several accidents occurred due to flooding of the hangars with water.

The aircraft carrier had two aircraft lifts: the bow, located on the starboard side, and the stern, located symmetrically along the diametrical plane. With the help of a bow lift, large aircraft were moved between the hangar and the flight deck. The stern lift served to move smaller aircraft. The main hangars on the aircraft carrier accommodated 60 aircraft and were located on three floors at the stern and two floors at the bow. Under the main hangars of the aircraft carrier there were warehouses of aviation weapons, from where ammunition, weapons, and torpedoes were supplied with the help of transporters. Aviation gasoline was stored at the lowest level above the double bottom. A special system supplied fuel to the flight deck and hangars. All work related to the preparation of aircraft for flight and post-flight maintenance (repair of breakdowns, refueling, replenishment of ammunition, re-equipment, etc.) was carried out in hangars. Both hangars - upper and lower - were divided into three compartments, each for a separate type of aircraft (fighters, torpedo bombers, bombers). This division made it possible to better organize the area of the hangars, and also corresponded to the types of carrier-based aircraft. In addition, torpedo bombers usually required a large parking area, and they also needed a lot of space to run. The location of torpedo bombers in another place on the aircraft carrier would make it difficult to launch and receive aircraft. The fire safety of the hangars was ensured by a special fire extinguishing system powered by carbon dioxide. In addition, fire pumps and carbon dioxide fire extinguishers were located in the hangars. If necessary, the fire could be extinguished with outboard water.

The power plant of the Akagi aircraft carrier consisted of 4 turbine groups with gears. The aircraft carrier inherited the power plant of the battlecruiser with little or no change. The design capacity of the machines is 131,000 hp. with., which allowed the ship to reach speeds of up to 30 knots. The ship had two power compartments. The bow propulsion compartment was powered by two external propellers, while the aft compartment was powered by two internal propellers. In addition to the armored belt, the power compartments were protected by a number of rooms located along the side.

The big problem for the creators of the ship was to design a smoke exhaust system. Used on the first Japanese aircraft carrier "Hose" a system with rotating chimneys did not meet the requirements of sailors and pilots. Smoke from the chimneys swirled over the flight deck and made it difficult for aircraft to land. It was decided to stop at a large pipe on the starboard side. The pipe was tilted at an angle of 120° so that the top of the pipe looked down. Behind the main stack was an additional chimney, directed vertically upwards and slightly elevated above the level of the flight deck. The auxiliary pipe was designed to remove smoke when the boilers were fired up. In general, this system did not satisfy even its creators, since the main chimney hung too low above the surface of the water and could be flooded or damaged during rolling or strong waves. All these fears were fully confirmed during the first few months of service. During this time, the pipe was filled with water more than once. The pipe cooling system, which, according to the creators, was supposed to lower the temperature of the smoke and reduce its turbulence, also failed the test. Moreover, the mixing of smoke with cold outside air led to an increase in the turbulence of the flow.

The hull armor was supposed to protect the power compartment, artillery cellars and aviation gasoline tanks located inside the citadel from shells, torpedoes and mines. The citadel stretched for 2/3 of the length of the hull and was protected from the sides by anti-torpedo bulges and armor, which was distinguished by high tensile strength. The thickness of the horizontal armor varied depending on which compartment a given armor plate protected.

Armament

Aviation

During the service, the aircraft carrier carried on board almost all types of pre-war Japanese carrier-based aircraft. Air group originally "Akagi" included 60 aircraft (28 Mitsubishi B1M3 torpedo bombers, 16 Nakadjima A1N fighters and 16 Mitsubishi 2MR reconnaissance aircraft). In the early 1930s, the bombers were replaced by Mitsubishi B2M aircraft.

The tactics of using Japanese carrier-based aircraft provided for a significantly larger share of attack aircraft compared to potential adversaries - the Americans. After modernization since 1938, the air group consisted of 66 aircraft ready to fly and another 25 disassembled (12 Mitsubishi A5M Claude fighters and 4 more dismantled, 19 Aichi D1A dive bombers and 5 dismantled and 35 Yokosuka B4Y "Jin" torpedo bombers "and 16 dismantled).

By the start of the Pacific War "Akagi", like all aircraft carriers of the Strike Force, was re-equipped with new types of aircraft. His air group during the Pearl Harbor attack included 63 aircraft (18 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, 27 Nakadjima B5N Kate torpedo bombers and 18 Aichi D3A1 Val dive bombers). The first ever battle of aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea demonstrated the need to strengthen the fighter cover of aircraft carriers, therefore, on their last trip to Midway Atoll "Akagi" set off with 24 fighters, 18 torpedo bombers and 18 dive bombers on board. The aircraft carrier, being the flagship of the strike fleet, was an attractive duty station, so its air group (especially strike aircraft) was staffed by the best pilots in the fleet.

Characteristics of the aircraft that were part of the aircraft carrier's air group "Akagi"
Type	American name	Speed, km/h	Flight range, km	Armament	Crew	Note
Mitsubishi B1M3, type 13	-	210	1779	four 7.7 mm machine guns, two 250 kg bombs or a torpedo	2	Torpedo bomber, bomber, biplane. 1927-32
Nakajima A1N2, type 3	-	241	340		1	Biplane Fighter. Licensed copy Gloster Gambet. 1929-35
Mitsubishi 2MR, type 10	-	204	-	four 7.7 mm machine guns, two 30-kg bombs under the wings	1	Biplane reconnaissance aircraft. 1927-30
Mitsubishi B2M1, type 89	-	213	-	two 7.7 mm machine guns, 500 kg bombs or 800 kg torpedo	3	Torpedo bomber, bomber, biplane. 1932-36
Aichi D1A2, type 96	Susie	309	927	three 7.7 mm machine guns, one 250 kg and two 30 kg bombs	2	Dive bomber, biplane. 1934-40 Created on the basis Heinkel He-50
Yokosuka B4Y, type 96	Jean	278	1580	one 7.7 mm machine gun, 500 kg bombs or 800 kg torpedo	3	Torpedo bomber, bomber, biplane. 1936-40
Mitsubishi A5M4, type 96	Claude	435	1200	two 7.7 mm machine guns, two 30-kg bombs under the wings	1	Fixed landing gear monoplane fighter, 1936-41
Aichi D3A1, type 99	Val	450	1400	250 kg bomb under the fuselage, two 60 kg bombs under the wings, three 7.7 mm machine guns	2	Dive bomber, 1940-42
Mitsubishi A6M2, type 0	Zero	545	1870	two 20-mm cannons and 7.7 mm machine guns, two 60-kg bombs under the wings	1	Fighter, 1941-42
Nakajima B5N2, type 97	Kate	360	1100	457 mm torpedo or more than 500 kg of bombs, 7.7 mm machine gun	2-3	Torpedo bomber, high-altitude bomber, 1937-42

Artillery

Initially, the Akagi was armed with ten 200-mm cannons with a length of 50 calibers: four cannons were in two-gun turrets installed along the sides in the middle flight deck area in front of the combat bridge. The remaining six guns are in casemates on both sides in the stern of the aircraft carrier. Initially, it was planned to install 120 mm guns in the casemates, but then they were replaced with 200 mm guns. Similar guns were on the early series of Japanese heavy cruisers. Japanese designers expected that in direct combat "Akagi" with American aircraft carriers "Saratoga" And "Lexington" the advantage will remain with the Japanese ship, since the American aircraft carriers carried only 8 guns of 203 mm caliber. However, the location of the guns on the Japanese aircraft carrier turned out to be very disadvantageous. If the Americans could concentrate the fire of all eight guns on each side, then the Japanese aircraft carrier could fire a side salvo of only five guns. During the modernization, two gun turrets were dismantled.

The basis of anti-aircraft artillery was 12 120-mm guns with a length of 45 calibers. Anti-aircraft guns were placed in barbettes on both sides of the ship. During the modernization, the anti-aircraft armament of the aircraft carrier was reinforced with fourteen twin 25-mm machine guns, produced under a French license from the Hotchkiss company, located on platforms, seven on each side (3 on the bow and 4 on the stern). Fire control of medium-caliber artillery (heavy anti-aircraft artillery) was carried out using two fire control posts located on both sides of the ship. The first post was in front of the main chimney on a protruding sponson on the starboard side. From this control post, they directed the fire of the starboard anti-aircraft artillery. The second control post was on the port side under the main superstructure (in the sponson). For optical fire control of anti-aircraft artillery, Akagi was equipped with three stereoscopic rangefinders with a base of 4.5 meters. 120-mm anti-aircraft guns by the beginning of the war were clearly outdated, but the lack of funds did not allow them to be replaced. The designers considered that their low performance would be compensated by a large number of anti-aircraft guns.

History

Construction

The ship was originally designed and built as a battlecruiser, which was part of the construction of the 8-4 fleet. However, in 1922, in connection with the entry into force of the restrictions of the Washington Conference of 1922, the construction of a significant part of large ships was suspended.

It was allowed to use two hulls of some unfinished battlecruisers for conversion into aircraft carriers. In the United States, battlecruisers were used for this purpose. "Saratoga" And "Lexington", In Great Britain - Glories("Glorious") and "Corages"("Courageous"), in France - the battleship "Normandie", rebuilt into an aircraft carrier "Bearn". The Japanese chose the Akagi battlecruisers for conversion (35% readiness) and "Amagi". Re-equipment began in 1923, but soon as a result of an earthquake, the corps "Amagi" was catastrophically damaged and instead of it, a battleship was converted into an aircraft carrier "Kaga" . "Akagi" It was launched on April 22, 1925, becoming the first heavy aircraft carrier of the Japanese Navy. On March 27, 1927, the naval ensign was raised on it.

Start of service and modernization

In 1928, the aircraft carrier began to be based on its own air group and it became part of the 1st division of aircraft carriers. Since 1929, the division entered "Kaga", which "Akagi" acted together until death. In 1935, the ship was put into reserve, put on modernization at the shipyard in Sasebo.

Work on the modernization of the aircraft carrier began on October 24, 1934 at the Navy shipyard in Sasebo and continued until August 31, 1938. It was decided to remove additional flight decks and extend the main deck for the entire length of the aircraft carrier. Instead of dismantled decks, an additional fully enclosed hangar appeared. After the reconstruction and before her death, Akagi had the longest flight deck among all the aircraft carriers of the Imperial Navy. The dismantling of additional flight decks made it possible to increase the internal volume of the ship's hangars. As a result, it became possible to install a third lift in the bow. The design of ammunition depots (bombs and torpedoes) was changed, and the capacity of tanks with aviation gasoline was also increased.

The modernization of the power plant consisted of replacing boilers running on mixed fuels with boilers running exclusively on fuel oil. Two pipes (main and additional) were now combined into one (the additional pipe was removed, and the main one was increased in size and mechanically strengthened its walls). A small superstructure was placed on the left side, in which the navigation bridge and the deck aviation control bridge were located. Since the large chimney on the starboard side slightly shifted the ship's center of gravity, it was decided to install the superstructure on the port side. When upgrading the flight deck, the aircraft carrier had to dismantle two turrets of 200-mm guns, which were previously located in the area of the middle flight deck. The aircraft carrier's anti-aircraft armament was reinforced with fourteen twin 25-mm machine guns.

After modernization, the aircraft carrier again became part of the 1st division. In 1939-40. "Akagi" three times went to the coast of China and participated in the hostilities, supporting ground troops with his air group. In the spring of 1941, intensive training began in anticipation of a possible war against the United States and Great Britain. to the air group "Akagi" the best pilots of naval aviation were included. On November 4, 1941, the date and the main plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor were determined on board the aircraft carrier.

Pearl Harbor attack

On November 26, 1941, the aircraft carrier led the strike aircraft carrier formation that left Hitokapu Bay for the Hawaiian Islands. The aircraft carrier became Vice Admiral Nagumo's flagship. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft from six aircraft carriers suddenly attacked the American fleet at the naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack was carried out in two waves (echelons). In the first wave, there were 183 aircraft (49 horizontal bombers, 40 torpedo bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 fighters). The purpose of the first raid was to be the ships in the harbor, so it included aircraft armed with torpedoes and heavy bombs. The commander of the air group led the attack "Akagi" Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida. In the second wave, which took off after 1 hour and 15 minutes, there were 167 aircraft (54 horizontal bombers, 78 dive bombers and 35 fighters). Their goal was to be the port facilities of the naval base. The waves included the following aircraft with "Akagi" :

Air Group "Akagi" during the attack on Pearl Harbor
wave	group (commander)	Squadron (links)	aircraft type	Quantity
1st wave	1st Strike Group (Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida)	1st, 2nd, 3rd squadrons (40-45 links)	Nakajima B5N (bombers)	15
1st wave	1st Special Strike Group (Lt. Col. Shigeharu Murata)	4th, 5th squadrons (46-49 units)	Nakajima B5N (torpedo bombers)]	12
1st wave	1st Escort Group (Lt. Col. Shigeru Itai)	2nd squadron (1-3 units)	Mitsubishi A6M Zero	9
2nd wave	11th Strike Group (Captain Takehiko Chiahaya)	1st, 2nd squadrons (21-23, 25-27 units)	Aichi D3A	18
2nd wave	1st Escort Group (Captain Saburo Shindo)	1st squadron (1-3 units)	Mitsubishi A6M Zero	9

The actions of torpedo bombers "Akagi" proved to be magnificent: all 12 torpedoes hit the target: 6 torpedoes hit the battleship "Oklahoma"("Oklahoma"), which later received hits by three more torpedoes from aircraft carriers "Kaga" And "Hiryu". The battleship boarded and sank in shallow water, becoming one of two battleships that did not recover from the attack. Other 6 torpedoes hit the battleship "West Virginia"("West Virginia"), which also received 3 more torpedoes from Kaga and Hiryu aircraft. The ship also sank in shallow water and returned to service only in 1944. Bomber attacks were carried out much worse: out of 15 bombs, only 4 hit enemy ships: 2 bombs hit battleships "Tennessee"("Tennessee") and "Maryland"("Maryland"). The dive bombers of the second wave achieved two hits on the cruiser Rayleigh("Raleigh") and attacked ground targets. Losses during the raid amounted to 1 fighter and 4 dive bombers, several aircraft were seriously damaged.

:
My group of bombers was preparing to go on a combat course. Our goal was the battleships anchored off the eastern shore of about. Ford. Having reached an altitude of 3000 meters, I sent the lead aircraft forward. As we approached the target, enemy anti-aircraft fire began to focus on my group. Dark gray tangles of tears appeared everywhere. Most of the fire was carried out by naval artillery, but coastal batteries were also active. Suddenly, my plane was thrown violently, as if it had been hit by something heavy. When I looked around to find out what was the matter, the radio operator said to me:
- Broken fuselage and damaged rudder.
We were lucky - the plane was still subject to control, and this was the main thing, since we were approaching the target and had to accurately maintain the course. My plane was approaching the drop point, and I concentrated all my attention on the lead plane to catch the moment when it dropped the bombs. Suddenly, a cloud hid the enemy ships from us, and before I realized that we had passed the target, the lead aircraft made a turn and turned directly towards Honolulu. Because of the cloud, we missed the drop point and had to make a new approach.
While my group was making a second attempt at reaching the target, other groups were making similar passes, some of them having to do this three times before they were successful. We were almost on the combat course, when suddenly an explosion of terrible force was heard on one of the battleships. A colossal column of black and red smoke rose to a height of 1000 meters. Obviously, the ship's artillery cellar exploded. Even we felt the impact of the blast, although we were several miles from the harbor. Having entered the combat course, we met with strong concentrated fire from anti-aircraft artillery. At that moment, the lead aircraft successfully reached the target and dropped bombs. The rest of the aircraft in our group did the same. I immediately lay down on the bottom of the cabin and opened the observation hatch to watch for our bombs. It was seen how four bombs flew down. Ahead darkened our goal - two battleships standing side to side. The bombs got smaller and smaller until they were finally out of sight. I held my breath and suddenly saw two tiny puffs of smoke appear on the ship on the left. "Two hits!" I shouted, thinking our bombs had hit the battleship Maryland.

Combat in the Southwest Pacific

Following the successful attack on Pearl Harbor, a carrier strike force was sent to the South Pacific to assist in the occupation of the islands in that region (Operation R). January 14, 1942 "Akagi" arrived at the main base of the fleet - Truk Atoll. On January 20, 1942, the planes of the formation attacked Rabaul. Of the 109 aircraft, 20 B5N2 torpedo bombers and 9 A6M2 fighters took part in the raid. "Akagi". January 21, 1942 aircraft from aircraft carriers "Akagi"(18 D3A1 dive bombers and 9 fighters) and "Kaga" attacked Kavieng. The next day, the Japanese bombed Rabaul again, 18 dive bombers and 6 A6M2 fighters from Akagi took part in the attack. January 27, 1942 "Akagi" returned to Truk base.

After failed attempt to intercept an American carrier formation that had raided the Marshall Islands, the Japanese fleet attacked the Australian port of Darwin. On February 19, the first raid was carried out by 188 aircraft, including 18 B5N2 torpedo bombers, 18 D3A1 bombers and 9 A6M2 fighters with "Akagi". For an hour, the planes attacked ships, airfields and military buildings in the Port Darwin area. The attack took the Australians by surprise. 8 ships and vessels were sunk and 23 aircraft were destroyed. At this time, 18 dive-bombers from "Akagi" attacked at sea and sank 2 American transports. On February 25, a second attack was made on Port Darwin. On the way back, planes from an aircraft carrier discovered and sank an American tanker. "Picos"("Pecos") and destroyer "Edsall"("Edsall"). On March 5, 180 carrier-based aircraft attacked the port of Chilachap. The Japanese managed to sink eight ships and ships, destroy military buildings, railway buildings, residential and administrative buildings, several factories and warehouses.

Raid in the Indian Ocean

To neutralize the English Eastern Fleet on March 26, 1942, the Japanese Aircraft Carrier Strike Force of Vice Admiral Nagumo was sent to the Indian Ocean. April 5, 1942 128 aircraft (including 18 torpedo bombers and 9 fighters with "Akagi") attacked the port of Colombo, hoping to surprise the main body of the British fleet. However, shortly before the start of the raid, the commander of the Eastern Fleet, Vice Admiral D. Sommerville, transferred the main forces to a secret base on Addu Atoll. Only the old destroyer was sunk in the port "Tenedos"("Tenedos") and auxiliary cruiser "Hector"("Hector"). Many ships and vessels were damaged, 27 enemy aircraft were shot down, enterprises, railway buildings, hangars, administrative buildings and many other buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged.

Meanwhile, English cruisers were discovered at sea. Dorsetshire("Dorsetshire") and "Cornwall"("Cornwall"). 52 dive bombers were thrown against them: dive bombers with "Akagi" And "Soryu" attacked and sunk Dorsetshire, and aircraft from "Hiryu" - "Cornwell". Of the 52 bombs dropped, 49 hit the target.

On April 9, 1942, carrier-based aircraft attacked the port of Trincomalee. Not finding ships in the port, the Japanese pilots dropped bombs on port facilities, fuel tanks, air defense batteries and the airfield, causing significant damage to the enemy. However, the English ships from Trincomalee failed to escape. The detachment was discovered at sea and attacked by 85 dive bombers under cover of 6 fighters. An aircraft carrier was sunk "Hermes"("Hermes"), escort destroyer "Vampire" ("Vampire"), corvette "Hollyhock"("Hollyhock"), tanker "British Sergeant"("British Sergeant") and support vessel "Athelstone"("Athelstone"). In addition, the fighters shot down 4 Bristol "Blenheim" bombers over the formation. After that, the connection returned to the Pacific Ocean.

Battle of Midway Atoll and death

After returning from the Indian Ocean, the carrier strike force was ordered to prepare for a decisive battle with the American fleet, which was to take place after the capture of Midway Atoll. May 27, 1942 a huge fleet began to move. "Akagi", as usual, became the flagship of Vice Admiral T. Nagumo. On the morning of June 4, aircraft from Japanese aircraft carriers attacked the airfield on the atoll. There were 108 aircraft in the attacking wave (36 of each type), including 18 D3A Val and 9 A6M Zero from Akagi. The rest of the aircraft remained on the ships, preparing to attack the American ships, and the B5N "Kate" were armed with torpedoes. After the completion of the Midway attack, it was decided to re-raid. Aircraft began to arm with air bombs, but at that moment a message was received about the discovery of American ships. Nagumo ordered that conventional bombs be replaced again with torpedoes and heavy armor-piercing bombs to attack ships. Due to lack of time, the removed bombs were stored on the hangar deck.

At this time, attacks on the connection began. It was successively attacked by B-17 base bombers, torpedo bombers from Midway, and then carrier-based torpedo bombers from American aircraft carriers. All these attacks were successfully repulsed, however, in order to fight low-flying torpedo bombers, the cover fighters were forced to drop to the minimum height, leaving the squadron ships without protection from dive bombers. This allowed the American squadron SBD "Dauntless" from an aircraft carrier "Enterprise" attack under ideal conditions.

Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida - commander of the air group of the aircraft carrier "Akagi":
At 10.24, the order was given from the bridge to the megaphone to begin takeoff. The commander of the aviation combat unit waved a white flag - and the first fighter, gaining speed, with a whistle broke away from the deck. At this time, the signalman shouted: "Dive bombers!" I looked up and saw three enemy planes heading straight for our ship in a steep dive. Several hasty bursts of anti-aircraft guns were heard, but it was too late. American dive bombers were rapidly approaching. Here are a few black drops separated from their wings. Bombs! They flew right at me! Instinctively, I fell to the deck and crawled behind the control box. First I heard the terrifying roar of dive bombers and then a terrible explosion. Direct hit! A blinding flash was followed by another explosion. A wave of hot air threw me far to the side. Another explosion, but less powerful. The bomb apparently fell into the water next to the aircraft carrier. The barking of machine guns suddenly ceased, and there was an amazing silence. I got up and looked up at the sky. The American planes were no longer visible. …
Looking around, I was shocked at the devastation that had taken place within a few seconds. There was a huge hole in the flight deck, just behind the central elevator. The elevator itself was twisted like a strip of foil. The mangled sheets of deck plating curled up bizarrely. The planes were on fire, engulfed in thick black smoke. The flame grew stronger and stronger. I was horrified at the thought that the fire could cause explosions that would inevitably destroy the ship. Then I heard Massoud shout: - Down! Down! All who are not busy - down! Unable to do anything to help, I with difficulty went down the ladder to the room for pilots on duty. It was already packed full of victims. Suddenly there was another explosion, followed by several more. During each explosion, the bridge shook. Smoke from the burning hangar poured down the aisles to the bridge and into the quarters for pilots on duty. We had to look for another shelter. Climbing up the bridge again, I saw that the Kaga and Soryu were also damaged and enveloped in huge puffs of black smoke. It was a terrible sight.

At 10:25, the first 1000-pound bomb (454 kg) detonated in the water 10 meters from the side of the aircraft carrier, flooding the flight deck and the interior of the ship with streams of water. The second bomb exploded near the central lift, damaging the flight deck. The bomb explosion destroyed several planes on the deck and in the hangars, other cars caught fire. The third bomb exploded on the very edge of the flight deck, without causing serious damage to the aircraft carrier. However, the explosion of this bomb caused a fire in the fuel tanks of the aircraft, which were standing at the end of the flight deck, waiting for the launch.

At 10:29, torpedoes suspended on burning aircraft began to detonate. The torpedo bombers prepared for takeoff were shattered into pieces. The burning fuel spilled over the deck caused a fire - the fire began to spread rapidly throughout the ship. To complete the picture, a bomb explosion at the stern of the aircraft carrier jammed the rudder at 20° to port and the aircraft carrier began to circulate. At 10:43, the Zero fighters, standing on the starboard side opposite the conning tower, caught fire and began to explode. These explosions disrupted the Akagi's radio communications with other ships of the squadron.

At 10:46 Nagumo left the ship with their staff. At about 11:35 a.m., the detonation of the aircraft torpedo depot and the artillery cellar on the aircraft carrier's forecastle was detonated. The evacuation of the wounded to the cruiser Nagara was completed by 11:30. The crew of the ship made every effort to localize the fires, but it gradually became clear that the fire was getting out of control. At 18:00, Captain 1st Rank Taijiro Aoki, after assessing the number of dead and wounded and the extent of the fire, ordered the crew to leave the ship. At 19:20, Captain 1st Rank Aoki sent a radio message to Vice Admiral Nagumo asking him to finish off the doomed ship.

On June 5, 1942, at 03:50, Yamamoto ordered the agonizing aircraft carrier to be scuttled. Vice Admiral Nagumo ordered the commander of the 4th destroyer division, captain 1st rank Kosaka Ariga, to sink the aircraft carrier. Four destroyers fired torpedoes at the defenseless ship. At 4:55 Akagi disappeared into the waves of the Pacific Ocean at 30°30"N and 179°08"W. e. In total, out of 1630 crew members of the Akagi, 221 people died and went missing, including only 6 pilots. The main part of the pilots of the air group was saved and continued fighting as part of other units. Dull, Paul S. A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. - Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1978. - ISBN 0-87021-097-1.

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