![Japanese seaplane tender Chiyoda 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Japanese_seaplane_tender_Chiyoda_1938.jpg)
was a
light aircraft carrier
A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only one-h ...
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 surrender ...
during
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 opposin ...
. Originally constructed as the second vessel of the
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
s in 1934, she continued to operate in that capacity during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
and the early stages of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
until her conversion into a light aircraft carrier after 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 Adm ...
. She was sunk during the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...
by a combination of naval bombers, cruiser shellfire and destroyer-launched torpedoes.
Background
The ''Chitose''-class seaplane tenders were procured by the Imperial Japanese Navy under the
2nd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme of 1934 as purpose-built ships, whereas their predecessors were all conversions of merchant or auxiliary ship designs. During the 1930s, the Imperial Japanese Navy made increasing use of
naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
as scouts for its cruiser and destroyer squadrons. Due to restrictions imposed by the
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
and
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...
, the number of aircraft carriers was strictly regulated; however, there was no limitation as to seaplane tenders.
Design
''Chiyoda'' was designed from the start on the premise that the design from the waterline upwards could be modified to suit a variety of missions. The hull and engine design was based on a high speed oiler, with a maximum speed of , but the ship was completed as a seaplane tender, with four aircraft
catapult
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...
s for launching seaplanes, and cranes for recovering landed aircraft on her aft deck.
As designed, ''Chiyoda'' carried a complement of
Kawanishi E7K
The Kawanishi E7K was a Japanese three-seat reconnaissance seaplane mainly in use during the 1930s. It was allocated the reporting name Alf by the Allies of World War II.
Design and development
In 1932 the Imperial Japanese Navy requested the K ...
Type 94 "Alf" and
Nakajima E8N
The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese ship-borne, catapult-launched, reconnaissance seaplane of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with a central main-float and underwing outriggers. During the Pacific War, it was ...
Type 95 "Dave"
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s. Her armament consisted of four
12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns and twelve
Type 96 25 mm AA guns.
Propulsion was of four boilers, which operated two geared
steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s providing and two propellers. With two additional diesel engines operating ''Chiyoda'' could attain .
With the loss of four large aircraft carriers 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 Adm ...
, the Imperial Japanese Navy rushed a project to convert the ''Chitose''-class into light aircraft carriers as partial compensation. A wooden flight deck was installed, with two elevators. The bridge was moved to the front end of the new hangar deck, and the boiler exhaust gases was discharged through pipes to the starboard side below the flight deck, and the diesel engines had smaller, separate smokestacks also on the starboard side. As converted, the ship could carry 30 aircraft.
Operational history
As a seaplane tender
''Chiyoda'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 14 December 1936 and
launched on 19 November 1937 at
Kure Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
History
The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the J ...
and was
commissioned on 15 December 1938. On completion, she was assigned directly to the
Combined Fleet
The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...
under the command of Captain
Tomeo Kaku and was dispatched to the front lines in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
paired with the seaplane tender . She remained engaged in combat operations in China until May 1940.
[IJN Seaplane/Midget Submarine Carrier CHIYODA: Tabular Record of Movement](_blank)
/ref>
On returning to Kure Naval Arsenal on 23 May 1940, ''Chiyoda'' underwent her first major modification, with her aircraft capacity reduced from 24 to 12 aircraft, and the space used to store 12 Type A Kō-hyōteki-class submarine
The class was a class of Japanese midget submarines (''Kō-hyōteki'') used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine. Thus, the midget ...
s. This rebuild was completed on 23 June, and ''Chiyoda'' was assigned to the 4th Fleet based at Truk in September. Captain Kaku Harada was appointed captain in August. ''Chiyoda'' returned to participate in a naval review
A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
held on 11 October in Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire. Afterwards, she was reassigned back to the Combined Fleet and began training operations on the use of her midget submarines through September, developing tactics for attacking other vessels (using ''Chitose'' as a target) and penetrating enemy naval bases. At the time of 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, j ...
, ''Chiyoda'' was docked at Kure and continued training operations to 20 March 1942, when she was assigned to Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu
Marquis was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.
Born as HIH Kitashirakawa-no-miya Teruhisa, as the younger son of HIH Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, his title was devolved from royal status that that of the ''kazoku'' pe ...
’s 6th Fleet together with the submarine tender and ''Aikoku Maru
was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone.
Design
''Aikoku Maru'' ...
''.
During 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 Adm ...
, ''Chiyoda'' was part of Main Body of the Japanese fleet. For this operation, she carried eight Type A Kō-hyōteki-class submarines, which were intended to be stationed at Kure Atoll
Kure Atoll (; haw, Hōlanikū, translation=bringing forth heaven; haw, Mokupāpapa, translation=flat island, label=none) or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ...
, which was to be seized as a seaplane base for operations against Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
. The operation was cancelled on the loss of the Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway, and ''Chiyoda'' returned to Hashirajima with her submarines on 14 June without having seen combat.
During June, ''Chiyoda'' was refit for operations in northern waters, and departed Yokosuka Naval District on 28 June, arriving at Japanese-occupied Kiska
Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...
in the Aleutian islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
on 5 July with a construction team to build a seaplane base. She was attacked by aircraft from the United States Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
11th Air Force
The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquart ...
on the same day, without damage and arrived back at Hashirajima on 19 July.
On 25 September, ''Chiyoda'' was reassigned to the Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
area in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and delivered eight Type A Kō-hyōteki-class submarines to Shortland Island
Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at .
The original name was a Melanesian word, while the current name was given to the island b ...
on 14 October. She was attacked by Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
aircraft on 29 October and 31 October, but suffered no damage, and on 6 November, after her return to Truk, she was attacked by the submarine , which fired three torpedoes at ''Chiyoda,'' all of which missed. ''Chiyoda'' returned to Yokosuka on 8 January 1943 and was converted from a seaplane tender to a light aircraft carrier at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama.
History
In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...
beginning 16 January, with the work completed on 21 December 1943.
Conversion
After conversion, ''Chiyoda'' was assigned to the 3rd Fleet and departed Yokosuka for Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
and Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
, Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...
and Davao on 1 March as part of emergency reinforcements following the fall of Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
to the US, returning to Kure on 10 April. On 11 May, she departed for Tawitawi with Air Group 653 as part of Operation A-Go, for the defense of the Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
. She was accompanied by the carriers ''Chitose'', , , , and by the battleship . 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 ...
on 19 June, she was part of the Van Force with carriers ''Chitose'', ''Zuihō'', battleships , ''Musashi'', , and cruisers , , and . She was hit by a bomb on 20 June on her aft flight deck, which killed 20 crewmen, wounded 30 more and destroyed two aircraft. She was withdrawn for repairs on 22 June. She remained at Kure through the end of July.[IJN Chiyoda: Tabular Record of Movement](_blank)
/ref>
Final battle
On 20 October 1944 ''Chiyoda'' departed Oita as part of Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. Ozawa has been noted for his unusual height, measuring in at over tall, although his exact height has not been reliabl ...
’s Decoy Force intended to lure the American fleet away from the landing beaches in the Philippines in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...
. This force included ''Zuikaku'', ''Zuihō'', ''Chitose'' and ''Chiyoda'', and the hybrid battleship-carriers and , though the six carriers were divested of all but 108 aircraft, accompanied by cruisers , , . Ozawa's ostensible carrier group was facing a force that included ten United States Navy carriers containing 600–1,000 aircraft. On 25 October, both ''Chiyoda'' and ''Chitose'' were sunk by a combination of naval bombers, cruiser shellfire and destroyer-launched torpedoes during the Battle off Cape Engaño
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fo ...
.
''Chiyoda'' was crippled by four bombs dropped by aircraft from the carriers and that left her dead in the water. The converted hybrid battleship-carrier ''Hyūga'' attempted to take her in tow, but was prevented by a third attack. The cruiser was ordered to remove ''Chiyoda''s crew, but this was also frustrated due to continuing danger from air and surface attack. After three attempts, ''Isuzu'' was forced to retreat with U.S. surface forces in sight and ''Chiyoda'' under naval gunfire. She was finished off by gunfire from four cruisers, , , and , along with nine destroyers, all under the command of Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Laurence DuBose. No survivors were permitted to be rescued,[ page 200] and Captain Jō Eiichirō and the entire crew of 1,470 officers and men went down with the ship at position . ''Chiyoda'' was removed from the navy list
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
on 20 December 1944.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiyoda
Chitose-class aircraft carriers
Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal
1936 ships
World War II aircraft carriers of Japan
World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea
Seaplane tenders of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign
Maritime incidents in October 1944
Ships lost with all hands