was an
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
built for 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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
(IJN) during the mid-1930s. A
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
, , was intended to follow ''Sōryū'', but ''Hiryū''s design was heavily modified and she is often considered to be a separate
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
. ''Sōryū''s aircraft were employed in operations during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
in the late 1930s and supported the
Japanese invasion of French Indochina
The , () was a short undeclared military confrontation between Japan and Vichy France in northern French Indochina. Fighting lasted from 22 to 26 September 1940; the same time as the Battle of South Guangxi in the Sino-Japanese War, which was ...
in mid-1940. During the first months of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, she took part 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 Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
, the
Battle of Wake Island
The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island. The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the ...
, and supported the
conquest of the Dutch East Indies. In February 1942, her aircraft
bombed Darwin, Australia, and she continued on to assist in the Dutch East Indies campaign. In April, ''Sōryū'' aircraft helped sink two British
heavy cruiser
A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...
s and several merchant ships during the
Indian Ocean raid.
After a brief refit, ''Sōryū'' and three other carriers of the
1st Air Fleet (''Kidō Butai'') participated in the
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, 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 t ...
in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll (colloquialism, colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an Insular area#Unorganized unincorporated territories, unorganized and unincorpo ...
, the carriers were attacked by aircraft from the island and the carriers , , and .
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
s from ''Yorktown'' crippled ''Sōryū'' and set her afire. Japanese destroyers rescued the survivors but the ship could not be salvaged and was ordered to be
scuttled
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull.
Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...
so as to allow her attendant destroyers to be released for further operations. She sank with the loss of 711 officers and enlisted men of the 1,103 aboard. The loss of ''Sōryū'' and three other IJN carriers at Midway was a crucial strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to the Allies' ultimate victory in the Pacific.
Design and description
''Sōryū'' was one of two large carriers approved for construction under the Imperial Japanese Navy's
1931–32 Supplementary Program (the other being her near-sister ''Hiryū''). In contrast to some earlier Japanese carriers, such as and , which were conversions of
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...
and
battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
hulls respectively, ''Sōryū'' was designed from the
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
up as an aircraft carrier and incorporated lessons learned from the
light carrier .
The ship had a length of
overall, a
beam of and a
draught of . She
displaced at
standard load and at normal load. Her crew consisted of 1,100 officers and
ratings.
[Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 47]
Machinery

''Sōryū'' was fitted with four geared
steam turbine
A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
sets with a total of , each driving one
propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...
using steam provided by eight
Kampon
The was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of n ...
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...
s.
[ The turbines and boilers were the same as those used in the s. The ship's power and slim, cruiser-type hull, with a length-to-beam ratio of 10:1, gave her a speed of and made her the fastest carrier in the world at the time of her commissioning. ''Sōryū'' carried of ]fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
which gave her a range of at .[ The boiler uptakes were trunked together to the ship's starboard side amidships and exhausted just below ]flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
level through two funnels
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...
curved downwards.[Peattie, p. 239]
Flight deck and hangars
The carrier's flight deck was wide and overhung her superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
at both ends, supported by pairs of pillars.[ ''Sōryū''s ]island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
was built on a starboard-side extension that protruded beyond the side of the hull so that it did not encroach on the width of the flight deck. Nine transverse arrestor wires were installed on the flight deck and could stop a aircraft. The flight deck was only above the waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water.
A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...
and the ship's designers kept this distance low by reducing the height of the hangars.[Brown 1977, p. 18] The upper hangar was and had an approximate height of ; the lower was and had an approximate height of . Together they had an approximate total area of .[ This caused problems in handling aircraft because the wings of a ]Nakajima B5N
The Nakajima B5N (, World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II. It also served ...
"Kate" torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...
could neither be spread nor folded in the upper hangar.[
Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by three ]elevators
An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...
, the forward one abreast the island on the centerline and the other two offset to starboard.[Chesneau, p. 166] The forward platform measured , the middle one , and the rear .[ They were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to .][ ''Sōryū'' had an ]aviation gasoline
Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, wh ...
capacity of for her planned aircraft capacity of sixty-three plus nine spares.[
]
Armament
''Sōryū''s primary anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of six twin-gun mounts equipped with 50-caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...
12.7-centimeter Type 89 dual-purpose gun
A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.
Description
Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
s mounted on projecting sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercra ...
s, three on either side of the carrier's hull.[ The guns had a range of , and a ]ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior roof that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings can ...
of at an elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was fourteen rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was around eight rounds per minute. The ship was equipped with two Type 94 fire-control directors to control the guns, one for each side of the ship,[Parshall & Tully, p. 143] although the starboard director on the island could control all of the Type 89 guns.[Brown 1977, p. 19]
The ship's light AA armament consisted of fourteen twin-gun mounts for license-built Hotchkiss 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 AA guns. Three of these were sited on a platform just below the forward end of the flight deck.[ The gun was the standard Japanese light AA weapon during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it largely ineffective. According to historian Mark Stille, the weapon had many faults including an inability to "handle high-speed targets because it could not be trained or elevated fast enough by either hand or power, its sights were inadequate for high-speed targets, it possessed excessive vibration and muzzle blast". These guns had an effective range of , and a ceiling of at an elevation of +85 degrees. The effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute because of the frequent need to change the 15-round ]magazines
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
. The Type 96 guns were controlled by five Type 95 directors, two on each side and one in the bow.[
]
Armor
To save weight ''Sōryū'' was minimally armored; her waterline belt of of Ducol steel only protected the machinery spaces and the magazines
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
. Comparable figures for ''Hiryū'' were over the machinery spaces and the aviation gasoline
Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, wh ...
storage tanks increasing to over the magazines. ''Sōryū''s waterline belt was backed by an internal anti-splinter bulkhead. The ship's deck was only 25 mm thick over the machinery spaces and thick over the magazines and aviation gasoline storage tanks.[
]
Construction and service
Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions for aircraft carriers, ''Sōryū'' was named "Blue (or Green) Dragon". The ship was laid down at the 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 ...
on 20 November 1934, launched on 23 December 1935 and commissioned on 29 December 1937.[ She was assigned to the ]Second Carrier Division
was an aircraft carrier unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet. At the beginning of the Pacific War, Pacific Campaign of World War II, the Second Carrier Division consisted of the fleet carriers ''Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū, ...
after commissioning. Her air group was initially intended to consist of eighteen Mitsubishi A5M
The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation , experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-''Shi'' Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi ''Ka''-14, was a WWII-era Japanese Aircraft carrier, carrier-based fighter ...
("Claude") monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
fighters, twenty-seven Aichi D1A2 ("Susie") Type 96 dive bombers, and twelve Yokosuka B4Y ("Jean") Type 96 torpedo bombers, but the A5Ms were in short supply and Nakajima A4N1 biplanes were issued instead. On 25 April 1938, nine A4Ns, eighteen D1A2s, and nine B4Ys transferred to Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
to support forces advancing up the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
. The air group advanced with the successful Japanese offensive, despite the defense by the Chinese Air Force and the Soviet Volunteer Group
The Soviet Volunteer Group was the volunteer part of the Soviet Air Forces sent to support the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1941. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact ...
; it was transferred to Wuhu
Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of China, province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei City to the n ...
in early June and then to Anqing
Anqing ( zh, s=, t=安慶, p=Ānqìng, l=, also Yicheng, Nganking and formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province of China, province, China, People's Republic of China. Its popu ...
. Little is known of its operations there, but its primary role during this time was air defense. One fighter pilot of the group was killed after he shot down a Chinese aircraft. Leaving a few fighters and their pilots behind to serve as the nucleus of a new fighter unit, the air group returned to ''Sōryū'' on 10 July. The ship supported operations over Canton in September, but her aircraft saw no aerial combat. She returned home in December and spent most of the next year and a half training.
In September–October 1940, the ship was based at Hainan Island
Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea ...
to support the Japanese invasion of French Indochina
The , () was a short undeclared military confrontation between Japan and Vichy France in northern French Indochina. Fighting lasted from 22 to 26 September 1940; the same time as the Battle of South Guangxi in the Sino-Japanese War, which was ...
. In February 1941, ''Sōryū'' moved to Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
to reinforce the blockade of southern China.[Hata, Izawa & Shores, p. 151] Two months later, the 2nd Carrier Division was assigned to the First Air Fleet, or ''Kido Butai'', on 10 April.[Tully] ''Sōryū''s air group was detached in mid-July and transferred to Hainan Island to support the occupation of southern Indochina.[ ''Sōryū'' returned to Japan on 7 August and became flagship of the 2nd Division. She was relieved of that role on 22 September as she began a short refit that was completed on 24 October. The ship arrived at ]Kagoshima
, is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Etymology
While the ...
two days later and she resumed her former role as flagship of the Division.[
]
Pearl Harbor and subsequent operations
In November 1941 the IJN's Combined Fleet, under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and J ...
, prepared to participate in Japan's initiation of war with the United States by conducting a preemptive strike against the US Navy's Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
, Hawaii. On 22 November, ''Sōryū'', commanded by Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Ryusaku Yanagimoto, and the rest of the ''Kido Butai'' under Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Chuichi Nagumo, including six fleet carriers from the First, Second, and Fifth Carrier Divisions, assembled in Hitokappu Bay at Etorofu Island. The fleet departed Etorofu on 26 November and followed a course across the north-central Pacific to avoid commercial shipping lanes. At this time ''Sōryū'' embarked 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1940 to 1945. The ...
fighters, 18 Aichi D3A
The Aichi D3A (Navy designation "Type 99 Carrier Bomber"; World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, Allied reporting name "Val") is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Na ...
"Val" dive bombers, and 18 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers. From a position north of Oahu
Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...
, ''Sōryū'' and the other five carriers launched two waves of aircraft on the morning of 8 December 1941 (Japan time).Japan Standard Time
, or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC (UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to a ...
is 19 hours ahead of Hawaiian Standard Time, so in Japan, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened on 8 December.
In the first wave, eight of ''Sōryū''s B5Ns were supposed to attack the aircraft carriers that normally berthed on the northwest side of Ford Island
Ford Island () is an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been known as Rabbit Island, Marín's Island, and Little Goats Island; its native Hawaiian name is ''Mokuumeume''. The island had an area of ...
, but none were in Pearl Harbor that day; six B5Ns attacked the ships that were present, torpedoing the target ship
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...
, causing her to capsize
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is Turtling (sailing), upside down in the water. The act of reco ...
, and the elderly light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
, damaging her. Two of the B5N pilots diverted to their secondary target, ships berthed alongside "1010 Pier", where the fleet flagship was usually moored. That battleship was in drydock and her position was occupied by the light cruiser and the minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...
. One torpedo passed underneath ''Oglala'' and struck ''Helena'' in one of her engine rooms; the other pilot rejected these targets and attacked the battleship . Her other ten B5Ns were tasked to drop armor-piercing bombs on the battleships berthed on the southeast side of Ford Island ("Battleship Row") and may have scored one or two hits on them. Her eight A6M Zeros strafe
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
d parked aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa
Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located west of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The base was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later served as the hub for all ...
, claiming twenty-seven aircraft destroyed in addition to five aircraft shot down.[
''Sōryū''s second wave consisted of nine A6M Zeros and seventeen D3As.][Polmar & Genda, p. 166] The former attacked Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, losing one Zero to American anti-aircraft guns. On the return trip, the Zero pilots claimed to have shot down two American aircraft while losing two of their own.[ The D3As attacked various ships in Pearl Harbor, but it is not possible to identify which aircraft attacked which ship. Two of them were shot down during the attack.
While returning to Japan, Vice Admiral ]Chūichi Nagumo
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the ''Kido Butai'', in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and over the next months in successful raids on Darwin in A ...
, commander of the First Air Fleet, ordered that ''Sōryū'' and ''Hiryū'' be detached on 16 December to attack the defenders of Wake Island
Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
who had already defeated the first Japanese attack on the island.[ The two carriers reached the vicinity of the island on 21 December and launched twenty-nine D3As and two B5Ns, escorted by eighteen Zeros, to attack ground targets. They encountered no aerial opposition and launched thirty-five B5Ns and six A6M Zeros the following day. They were intercepted by the two surviving ]Grumman F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based
A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircra ...
fighters of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-211
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron, currently consisting of F-35B Lightning II stealth STOVL strike fighter jets. Known as the "Wake Island Avengers" and the "Bastion Defender ...
. The Wildcats shot down two B5Ns before they were shot down themselves by the Zeros. The garrison surrendered the next day after Japanese troops were landed.
The carriers arrived at Kure on 29 December. They were assigned to the Southern Force on 8 January 1942 and departed four days later for the Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. The ships supported the invasion of the Palau Islands and the Battle of Ambon,[ attacking Allied positions on the island on 23 January with fifty-four aircraft. Four days later the carriers detached eighteen Zeros and nine D3As to operate from land bases in support of Japanese operations in the Battle of Borneo. On 30 January they destroyed two aircraft on the ground and shot down a ]Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
Short Empire flying boat flying to Surabaya
Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
to pick up refugees.
''Sōryū'' and ''Hiryū'' arrived at Palau on 28 January and waited for the arrival of the carriers ''Kaga'' and ''Akagi''. All four carriers departed Palau on 15 February and launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia
Darwin (Laragiya language, Larrakia: ') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 Australian census, ...
, four days later. ''Sōryū'' contributed eighteen B5Ns, eighteen D3As, and nine Zeros to the attack while flying Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
s (CAP) over the carriers. Her aircraft attacked the ships in port and its facilities, sinking or setting on fire eight ships and causing three others to be beached lest they sink. The Zeros destroyed a single Consolidated PBY Catalina
The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA- ...
flying boat; one D3A was lost. The Japanese aircraft spotted a ship on the return trip but had expended all their ordnance and had to be rearmed and refueled before they could attack the vessel. Several hours later, nine of ''Sōryū''s D3As located and bombed an American supply ship of , '' Don Isidro'', hitting her five times but failing to sink her. ''Sōryū'' and the other carriers arrived at Staring Bay on Celebes Island on 21 February to resupply and rest before departing four days later to support the invasion of Java.[ On 1 March 1942, the ship's D3As damaged the destroyer badly enough for her to be caught and sunk by Japanese cruisers. Later that day the dive bombers sank the ]oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...
. The four carriers launched an airstrike of 180 aircraft against Tjilatjep on 5 March, sinking five small ships, damaging another nine badly enough that they had to be scuttled
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull.
Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...
, and set the town on fire. Two days later they attacked Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
before returning to Staring Bay on 11 March[ to resupply and train for the impending Indian Ocean raid. This raid was intended to secure newly conquered Burma, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies against Allied attack by destroying base facilities and forces in the eastern Indian Ocean.
]
Indian Ocean raid
On 26 March 1942, the five carriers of the First Air Fleet departed from Staring Bay; they were spotted by a Catalina about southeast of Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
on the morning of 4 April. Nagumo closed to within of Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
before launching an airstrike the next morning. ''Sōryū'' contributed eighteen B5Ns and nine Zeros to the force. The pilots of the latter aircraft claimed to have shot down a single Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The ...
of 806 Naval Air Squadron, plus seven other fighters while losing one of their own. The D3As and B5Ns inflicted some damage to the port facilities, but a day's warning had allowed most of the shipping in the harbor to be evacuated. Later that morning the British heavy cruiser
A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...
s and were spotted and ''Sōryū'' launched eighteen D3As. They were the first to attack and claimed to have made fourteen hits on the two ships, sinking both in combination with the dive bombers from the other carriers.
On 9 April, ''Sōryū'' contributed eighteen B5Ns, escorted by nine Zeros, to the attack on Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...
. Her B5Ns were the first to bomb the port and her fighters did not encounter any British fighters. Meanwhile, a floatplane from the battleship spotted the small aircraft carrier , escorted by the Australian destroyer , and every available D3A was launched to attack the ships. ''Sōryū'' contributed eighteen dive bombers, but they arrived too late and instead found three other ships further north. They sank the oil tanker ''British Sergeant'' and the Norwegian cargo ship ''Norviken'' before they were attacked by eight Fulmars of 803 and 806 Naval Air Squadrons. The Royal Navy pilots claimed three D3As shot down for the loss of a pair of Fulmars; the Japanese actually lost four D3As with another five damaged. While this was going on, ''Akagi'' narrowly escaped damage when nine British Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...
bombers from Ceylon penetrated the CAP and dropped their bombs from . ''Sōryū'' had six Zeros aloft, along with fourteen more from the other carriers, and they collectively accounted for five of the British bombers for the loss of one of ''Hiryū''s Zeros. After launching the D3As that sank ''Hermes'' and the other ships, the First Air Fleet reversed course and headed southeast for the Malacca Strait
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
before recovering their aircraft; they then proceeded to Japan.
On 19 April, while transiting the Bashi Straits between Taiwan and Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
en route to Japan, ''Akagi'', ''Sōryū'', and ''Hiryū'' were sent in pursuit of the American carriers and , which had launched the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo. They found only empty ocean, for the American carriers had immediately departed the area to return to Hawaii. The carriers quickly abandoned the chase and dropped anchor at Hashirajima anchorage on 22 April. Having been engaged in constant operations for four and a half months, ''Sōryū,'' along with the other three carriers of the First and Second Carrier Divisions, was hurriedly refitted and replenished in preparation for 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 ...
's next major operation, scheduled to begin one month hence. While at Hashirajima, ''Sōryū''s air group was based ashore at nearby Kasanohara, near Kagoshima, and conducted flight and weapons training with the other First Air Fleet carrier units.
Midway
Concerned by the US carrier strikes in the Marshall Islands, Lae-Salamaua, and the Doolittle raids, Yamamoto was determined to force the US Navy into a showdown to eliminate the American carrier threat. He decided to invade and occupy Midway Island
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...
, an action that he was sure would draw out the American carriers. The Japanese codenamed the Midway invasion Operation ''MI''.
On 25 May 1942, ''Sōryū'' set out with the Combined Fleet's carrier striking force in the company of ''Kaga'', ''Akagi'', and ''Hiryū'', which constituted the First and Second Carrier Divisions, for the attack on Midway Island. Her aircraft complement consisted of eighteen Zeros, sixteen D3As, eighteen B5Ns, and two preproduction reconnaissance variants (D4Y1-C) of the new Yokosuka D4Y dive bomber. Also aboard were three A6M Zeros of the 6th Kōkūtai
A ''kōkūtai'' () was a military aviation unit in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), similar to the Group (military aviation unit), air groups in other air arms and services of the time. Some comparable units included ''wing'' in th ...
intended as a portion of the aerial garrison for Midway.
With the fleet positioned northwest of Midway at dawn (04:45 local time) on 4 June 1942, ''Sōryū''s part in the 108-plane combined air raid was a strike on the airfield on Eastern Island with eighteen torpedo bombers escorted by nine Zeros. The air group suffered heavily during the attack; a single B5N was shot down by fighters, two more were forced to ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...
on the return (both crews rescued), and five (including one that landed aboard ''Hiryu'') were damaged beyond repair. The Japanese did not know that the US Navy had discovered their ''MI'' plan by breaking their cipher, and had prepared an ambush using its three available carriers, positioned northeast of Midway.
The carrier also contributed 3 Zeros to the total of eleven assigned to the initial combat air patrol (CAP) over the four carriers. By 07:00 the carrier had six fighters with the CAP that helped to defend the ''Kido Butai'' from the first US attackers from Midway Island at 07:10.[Parshall & Tully, p. 505] At this time, Nagumo's carriers were attacked by six US Navy Grumman TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
s from Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) that had been temporarily detached from the ''Hornet'' to Midway, and four United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
(USAAC) Martin B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company.
First used in ...
s, all carrying torpedoes. The Avengers went after ''Hiryū'' while the Marauders attacked ''Akagi''. The thirty CAP Zeros in the air at this time, including the six from ''Sōryū'', immediately attacked the American airplanes, shooting down five of the Avengers and two of the B-26s. The surviving aircraft dropped their torpedoes, but all missed. ''Sōryū'' launched three more Zeros to reinforce the CAP, at 07:10.
At 07:15 Admiral Nagumo ordered the B5Ns on ''Kaga'' and ''Akagi'' rearmed with bombs for another attack on Midway itself. This process was limited by the number of ordnance carts (used to handle the bombs and torpedoes) and ordnance elevators, preventing torpedoes from being stowed belowdeck until after all the bombs were moved up from their magazine, assembled, and mounted on the aircraft. The process normally took about an hour and a half; more time would be required to bring the aircraft up to the flight deck, and to warm up and launch the strike group. Around 07:40 Nagumo reversed his order when he received a message from one of his scout aircraft that American warships had been spotted. Depleted of ammunition, the first six of ''Sōryū''s CAP Zeros landed aboard the carrier at 07:30.
At 07:55, the next American strike from Midway arrived in the form of sixteen Douglas SBD Dauntless
The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main Carrier-based aircraft, ...
bombers of Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 241 (VMSB-241) under Major Lofton R. Henderson. ''Sōryū''s three CAP fighters were among the nine still aloft that attacked Henderson's planes, shooting down six of them as they executed a fruitless glide-bombing attack on ''Hiryū''. At roughly the same time, a dozen USAAC Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
es attacked the Japanese carriers, bombing from . The high altitude of the B-17s gave the Japanese captains enough time to anticipate where the bombs would land and successfully maneuver their ships out of the impact area. Four B-17s attacked ''Sōryū'', but they all missed.
The CAP defeated the next American air strike from Midway, shooting down three of the eleven Vought SB2U Vindicator
The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, al ...
dive bombers from VMSB-241, which attacked the battleship ''Haruna'' unsuccessfully, starting at around 08:30. Although all the American air strikes had thus far caused negligible damage, they kept the Japanese carrier forces off-balance as Nagumo endeavored to prepare a response to news, received at 08:20, of the sighting of American carrier forces to his northeast. Around 08:30 ''Sōryū'' launched one of her D4Ys on a mission to confirm the location of the American carriers.
''Sōryū'' began recovering her Midway strike force at around 08:40 and finished shortly by 09:10. The landed aircraft were quickly struck below, while the carriers' crews began preparations to spot aircraft for the strike against the American carrier forces. The preparations were interrupted at 09:18 when the first American carrier aircraft to attack were sighted. These consisted of fifteen Douglas TBD Devastator
The Douglas TBD Devastator is a retired American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy, being the firs ...
torpedo bombers of VT-8, led by Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron from ''Hornet''. The three airborne CAP Zeros were landing aboard at 09:30 when the Americans unsuccessfully attempted a torpedo attack on ''Soryū'', but three of the morning's escort fighters were still airborne and joined the eighteen CAP fighters in destroying Waldron's planes. All of the American planes were shot down, leaving George H. Gay Jr.—the only surviving aviator—treading water.
Shortly afterwards, fourteen Devastators from Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6) from the ''Enterprise'', led by Lieutenant Commander Eugene E. Lindsey, attacked. Lindsey's aircraft tried to sandwich ''Kaga'', but the CAP, reinforced by three more Zeros launched by ''Sōryū'' at 09:45, shot down all but four of the Devastators, and ''Kaga'' dodged the torpedoes. ''Sōryū'' launched another trio of CAP Zeros at 10:00 and another three at 10:15 after Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3) from was spotted. A Wildcat escorting VT-3 shot down one of her Zeros.
While VT-3 was still attacking ''Hiryū'', American dive bombers arrived over the Japanese carriers almost undetected and began their dives. It was at this time, around 10:20, that in the words of Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully, the "Japanese air defenses would finally and catastrophically fail". At 10:25, ''Sōryū'' was attacked by thirteen Dauntlesses from ''Yorktown''s Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3). The carrier received three direct hits from 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs: one penetrated to the lower hangar deck amidships, and the other two exploded in the upper hangar deck fore and aft. The hangars contained armed and fueled aircraft preparing for the upcoming strike, resulting in secondary explosions and rupturing the steam pipes in the boiler rooms. Within a very short time the fires on the ship were out of control. At 10:40 she stopped and her crew was ordered to abandon ship five minutes later. The destroyers and rescued the survivors. ''Sōryū'' was still afloat and showed no signs of beginning to sink by early evening, so ''Isokaze'' was ordered to scuttle her with torpedoes so as to allow the destroyers to be used for possible operations that night. The destroyer reported at 19:15 that ''Sōryū'' had sunk at position .[ Losses were 711 crew of her complement of 1,103, 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.
The loss of ''Sōryū'' and the three other IJN carriers at Midway, comprising two-thirds of Japan's total number of fleet carriers and the experienced core of the First Air Fleet, was a crucial strategic defeat and contributed significantly to the ultimate Allied victory. In an effort to conceal the defeat, the ship was not immediately removed from the Navy's registry of ships, awaiting a "suitable opportunity"][Parshall & Tully, pp. 387–388, 419, 421] before finally being struck from the registry on 10 August 1942.[
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Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
* Bōeichō Bōei Kenshūjo (1967), ''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 ope ...
Hawai Sakusen''. Tokyo: Asagumo Shimbunsha.
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External links
Japanese warships – Sōryū
World War II DataBase: Sōryū
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soryu
Sōryū-class aircraft carriers
Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal
1935 ships
Aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan
World War II aircraft carriers of Japan
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Ships of the Battle of Midway
Scuttled vessels
World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
Maritime incidents in June 1942