Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū
 The Sōryū in January 1938 |
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| Career (Japan) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Soryu |
| Namesake: | Japanese: 蒼龍, meaning "blue (or green) dragon") |
| Laid down: | 20 November 1934 |
| Launched: | 23 December 1935 |
| Commissioned: | 29 December 1937 |
| Struck: | 10 August 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk by air attack at the battle of Midway, 4 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Sōryū class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 15,900 tons (standard), 19,500 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 222 m (728 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 21 m (70 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.44 m (24 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | Geared steam turbines, 113 MW (152,000 hp), 4 screws |
| Speed: | 63.9 km/h (34.5 knots) |
| Complement: | 1,103 |
| Armament: | 12 × 127 mm (5 in) DP guns (dual-purpose) 26 × 25 mm anti-aircraft guns 15 × 13.2 mm machine guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 57(+16) 18 Zeros, 18 Vals, 18 Kates (Dec. 1941) |
Sōryū (蒼龍, meaning "blue (or green) dragon") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor and was sunk at the battle of Midway.[1]
Sōryū was built at Kaigun Kosho, Kure, Japan and commissioned on 29 December 1937[1]. As opposed to some earlier Japanese carriers which were redesigns on battlecruiser (Akagi) or battleship (Kaga) hulls, she was designed from the start as an aircraft carrier. At close to 65 km/h (35 kts)[1], she was the fastest carrier in the world at launch.
At the outbreak of the Pacific War, commanded by Captain Ryusaku Yanagimoto, Sōryū, in Carrier Division 2, was one of six carriers making up the Kido Butai (Striking Force) that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. She launched two waves of air strikes against the US Naval base. Her first wave targeted Nevada, Tennessee, and West Virginia with armour-piercing bombs and Utah, Helena, California, and Raleigh with torpedoes, as well as attacked grounded aircraft at Barbers Point. Her second wave targeted California, Raleigh, Kaneohe and Navy Yard installations.
Combat history
From 21 December to 23 December 1941 Sōryū launched air strikes against Wake Island. In January 1942 she supported the invasion of the Palau Islands and the Battle of Ambon. On 19 February 1942 Sōryū launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia. In March 1942 she took part in the Battle of the Java Sea, helping sink the US tanker Pecos.
In April 1942 Sōryū took part in the Indian Ocean raid, launching air strikes against the Royal Navy base at Ceylon on 5 April 1942, and helping to sink the Royal Navy cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire. On 9 April she helped sink the British carrier Hermes and the escorting Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire.
On 19 April 1942 she pursued the American carriers Hornet and Enterprise after they launched the Doolittle Raid, but without success.
In June 1942 Sōryū was one of four carriers with Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's First Carrier Striking Force in the battle of Midway. Her aircraft complement consisted of 21 Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, 21 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers, and 21 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. [1] On 4 June 1942 she launched one wave of planes against the American base on Midway Island. At 10:25 while preparing to launch a second strike against an American carrier group, she was attacked by thirteen SBD Dauntless dive bombers from the American carrier Yorktown. Sōryū received three direct hits from 454 kg (1000 lb) bombs: one penetrated to the lower hangar deck, and the other two exploded in the upper hangar deck. The hangars contained armed and fueled planes in preparation for the upcoming strike, resulting in secondary explosions. Within a very short time the fires on the ship were out of control. At 10:40 she stopped and her crew were taken off by the destroyers Isokaze and Hamakaze. Sōryū sank at 7:13 PM at position . Losses were 711 crew of her nominal complement of 1103, including Captain Yanagimoto, who chose to remain on board. This was the highest mortality percentage of all the Japanese carriers lost at Midway, due largely to the devastation in both hangar decks.[1]
The official record (the Nagumo Report) implies that Sōryū sank of her own accord. Later research has revealed she was scuttled with torpedoes by Isokaze.
References
External links
- Japanese warships — Sōryū
- World War II DataBase: Sōryū
- Tabular record of movement from combinedfleet.com
- US Navy photos of Sōryū
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