was an aircraft carrier unit of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

First Air Fleet The , also known as the ''Kidō Butai'' ("Mobile Force"), was a name used for a combined carrier battle group comprising most of the aircraft carriers and carrier air groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the first eight months of the ...

. At the beginning of the Pacific Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Fifth Carrier Division consisted of the fleet carriers ''Shōkaku'' and ''Zuikaku''. These two ships participated in the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, using their aircraft to strafe airfields and provide fighter protection for bombers. On the way back to Japan after Pearl Harbor, the 5th Carrier Division was used to protect the main fleet from American submarines suspected of following the fleet. Additional campaigns in which the 5th Carrier Division took part included the Battle of the Coral Sea and the

Indian Ocean raid The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...

of 1942. The division experienced success with its aircraft sinking one British carrier and two British cruisers, as well as the American carrier the USS '' Lexington''. During the Coral Sea battle, ''Shōkaku'' was damaged and needed extensive repairs, and both carriers' aviation units took heavy losses, taking the division out of action for several months. As a result, the division was not present at the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

. After the Japanese defeat at Midway, ''Shōkaku'' and ''Zuikaku'', along with light carrier ''Zuihō'', were redesignated as the First Carrier Division and the Fifth Carrier Division was permanently dissolved.

Fate

After the 5th was dissolved, ''Shōkaku'' and ''Zuikaku'' would fight on for several years, but neither would survive the war. ''Shōkaku'' was sunk by the American submarine during the

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...

. Explosions due to aviation fuel ( avgas) accelerated the sinking, and she took over 1,000 men with her. ''Zuikaku'' would fight on until the Battle of Leyte Gulf when, as flagship of the

with Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa on board, she was attacked and sunk by US carrier aircraft, taking 800 men with her, along with the light carrier ''Zuiho''. Ozawa survived and transferred his flag to the light cruiser . By that point in the war, the Japanese Navy was hampered by a lack of fuel and experienced pilots, and thus the battle would be one-sided.

Organization

References

* * *''Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku'', {{cite web , url=http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Shokaku/ , title=KnowledgeRush , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927130042/http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Shokaku/ , archivedate=2011-09-27 , (USA) *''The Maru Special'', Ushio Shobō (Ushioshobokojinsha Co., Ltd.), Tōkyō, Japan. **Japanese Naval Vessels No. 6, ''Aircraft carrier Shōkaku, Zuikaku'', 1976. **Japanese Naval Vessels No. 12, ''Special type destroyers III'', 1978. **Japanese Naval Vessels No. 38, ''Japanese aircraft carriers II'', 1980. **Japanese Naval Vessels No. 41, ''Japanese destroyers I'', 1980. **Warship Mechanism Vol. 3, ''Mechanisms of Japanese 29 Aircraft Carriers'', 1981. * ''

Senshi Sōsho The , also called the , is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the op ...

'', Asagumo Shimbun, Tōkyō, Japan. ** Vol. 91, ''Combined Fleet #1, "Until outbreak of the war"'', 1975 ** Vol. 80, ''Combined Fleet #2, "Until June 1942"'', 1975 5 Units of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942