Unryū-class Aircraft Carrier

The were World War II Japanese aircraft carriers. Sixteen ships of the class were planned under the Maru Kyū Programme (Ship #302 in 1941) and the Kai-Maru 5 Programme (#5001–5015 in 1942). However, only three of the ''Unryū''-class carriers were completed.

Design

In the lead-up to the Pacific War the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attempted to build a large number of fleet carriers. For them to be built quickly, the design for these ships was based on the aircraft carrier rather than the newer and more sophisticated or the .Stille (2005), p. 37

The ''Unryū''-class aircraft carrier design was very similar to that of ''Hiryū''. The ships were lightly built, and the main difference from ''Hiryū'' was that the carriers' island was placed on the starboard side of the ships. The carriers were capable of carrying 63 aircraft in two hangars, and were fitted with two elevators. The ''Unryū'' class carried a smaller quantity of aviation fuel than ''Hiryū'' with fuel tanks protected by concrete. The ships were fitted with the same propulsion system used in the aircraft carrier to reach , though was instead fitted with two turbines of the same type used in destroyers and had a maximum speed of . The carriers also had a similar armament as ''Hiryū'' and were equipped with two Type 21 radars and two Type 13 radars.Stille (2005), p. 38

Construction

The first three ''Unryū''-class aircraft carriers were laid down in 1942 and construction of a further three began the next year. Eventually, only three (, , and ) were completed and construction of the other three carriers (, and ) was abandoned in 1945.

Ships in classes

''Unryū'' class

Project number was G16. General production model of the ''Unryū'' class. 3 carriers were completed. The IJN unofficial designation for ''Unryū'' and ''Amagi'' were ,Shizuo Fukui, p.273 ''Ship Number 5002–5006'' were Shizuo Fukui, p.274 also.
* ''Unryū'' (built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal used the same boilers and turbines as the heavy cruiser ''Suzuya''.
* ''Amagi'' and ''Kasagi'' (built by Mitsubishi, Nagasaki Shipyard) were equipped with surplus stock of the ''Ibuki''-class cruiser machinery.The Maru Special (1981), p.55
* ''Katsuragi'' and ''Aso'' (built by Kure Naval Arsenal) were equipped with two sets of the machinery, because Japanese industrial power became scarce. Dead space was replaced by fuel tanks.
* ''Ship Number 5002'' and ''5005'' (built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal) were to have been built simultaneously using 's dock. However, they were cancelled because ''Shinano'' was continued.Shizuo Fukui, p.331

''Ikoma'' class

The ''Ikoma'' subclass was a simplified and sped-up construction model of the ''Unryū'' class. They were equipped with shift-arrangement machinery (four sets of parallel boilers and one turbine).Shizuo Fukui, p.275 Therefore, their funnels were intended to be spaced out. The IJN unofficial designation for this class was .

Photos

File:Capsized Japanese aircraft carrier Amagi at the Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan, on 8 October 1945 (NNAM.1996.488.037.007).jpg, ''Amagi'' wrecked at Kure, October 1945
File:IJN carrier Amagi capsized off Kure in 1946.jpg, ''Amagi'', August 1946
File:Aircraft carriers under attack at Kure 19 March 1945.jpg, ''Katsuragi'' and (above) under attack on 19 March 1945
File:Katsuragi (AWM 099798).jpg, ''Katsuragi'' as repatriation transport on 31 January 1946
File:Japanese aircraft carrier Kasagi cropped.jpg, ''Kasagi'', 2 November 1945
File:Japanese aircraft carrier Aso.jpg, ''Aso'', 20 December 1946
File:Japanese aircraft carrier Ikoma.jpg, ''Ikoma'', 23 May 1946

Footnotes

References

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* Shizuo Fukui, ''"Stories of Japanese aircraft carriers"'', Kōjinsha (Japan) August 1996,
* History of Pacific War Extra, ''"Perfect guide, The aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy & Army"'', Gakken (Japan), April 2003,
* Daiji Katagiri, ''Ship Name Chronicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet'', Kōjinsha (Japan), June 1988,
* , National Archives of Japan, ''"List of main points and features of surface vessels under construction"'', Reference code: A03032074600
* Monthly Ships of the World, (Japan)
** No. 481, ''Special issue, "History of Japanese Aircraft Carriers"'', May 1994
** No. 736, ''Special issue, "History of Japanese Aircraft Carriers" (New edition)'', January 2011
* The Maru Special, Ushio Shobo (Japan)
** ''Warship Mechanism Vol. 3, "Mechanisms of Japanese 29 Aircraft Carriers"'', August 1981
** ''Japanese Naval Vessels No. 23, "Japanese aircraft carriers I"'', January 1979
* Senshi Sōsho, Asagumo Simbun (Japan)
** Vol. 31, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941"'', November 1969
** Vol. 88, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (2), "And after the outbreak of war"'', October 1975

Notes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Unryu class aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier classes