Mizuho off Tateyama, Japan, in 1940. |
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| Career (Japan) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mizuho |
| Laid down: | 1 May 1937 |
| Launched: | 16 May 1938 |
| Commissioned: | 25 February 1939 |
| Fate: | Sunk 2 May 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Mizuho |
| Displacement: | 10,930 tons standard |
| Length: | 183.6 meters (602 ft 4 in) (waterline) |
| Beam: | 18.8 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft diesel engines, 15,200 bhp (11.3 mW) |
| Speed: | 22 knots |
| Armament: | 6 (3 x 2) 14cm (5.5-inch)/50-caliber guns, 12 x 25mm anti-aircraft guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 24 seaplanes |
Mizuho (瑞穂) was a seaplane carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The ship was built at Kawasaki Shipbuilding at Kobe, Japan, and was completed in February 1939.[1][2]
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Mizuho was built to a similar design as the seaplane carrier Chitose, but with slightly less powerful diesel engines instead of Chitose's turbines.[3] She carried 24 seaplanes,[1] and was equipped to carry twelve miniature submarines,[1] although she could not carry full loads of both at one time.[3]
Mizuho participated in invasion support for much of her career;[1] her first mission was with the Fourth Surprise Attack Force.[2] On 1 March 1942, planes from Mizuho and Chitose damaged the American destroyer USS Pope (DD-225), which was later sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ryujo and gunfire from the heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myoko.[4]
The American submarine USS Drum (SS-228) torpedoed Mizuho at 23:03 hours on 1 May 1942 40 nautical miles (74 km) off Omaezaki, Japan. She capsized and sank at 04:16 hours on 2 May 1942 with the loss of 101 lives. There were 472 suvivors, of which 31 were wounded.[3][5][6]