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4 views

Akagi Bookplate

Uploaded by

Chris Huss
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HIJMS Akagi

Akagi was the queen of Japanese flattops, the flagship of First Air Fleet. A conversion from a
battle cruiser hull (much like her contemporaries, the US. Lexington-class carriers), she still
possessed the lean lines of her original design. Akagi was a unique looking aircraft carrier. At
the time of her construction, there were not many air craft carriers in the navies around the
world, hence there were no "standard design" at this early stage, which resulted in her unique
configuration: triple-flight deck, unconventional port-side island, and six 8-in guns. Already
being the most expensive ship in the Japanese fleet, she underwent an expensive refitting in
1935 that gave her the full-length flight deck configuration that she would enter the Pacific War
with. The American pilots identified her as a carrier with a boxy superstructure and an
improbably high flight deck that towered six-stories above the main deck. After the 1935
refitting Akagi became the first Japanese carrier with a modern large flight deck, and it was the
operational experiences aboard the Akagi that forged the Japanese naval air power doctrine. She
participated in every major action in the early part of the war, including Pearl Harbor, the attack
against Port Darwin, operations in the Indian Ocean, and the Battle of Midway.

Commanded by Captain Kiichi Hasegawa, Akagi was Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo's flagship
for the striking force for the attack on Pearl Harbor that attempted to cripple the United States
Pacific Fleet. Akagi and the other five carriers, from a position 230 nautical miles (260 mi)
north of Oahu, launched two waves of aircraft on the morning of 7 December 1941. In the first
wave, 27 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers from Akagi torpedoed the battleships
Oklahoma, West Virginia, and California while 9 of the ship's Mitsubishi A6M Zeros attacked
the air base at Hickam Field. In the second wave, 18 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers from the
carrier targeted the battleships Maryland and Pennsylvania, the light cruiser Raleigh, the
destroyer Shaw, and the fleet oiler Neosho while nine "Zeros" attacked various American
airfields. One of the carrier's Zeros was shot down by American anti-aircraft guns during the
first wave attack, killing its pilot. In addition to the aircraft which participated in the raid, three
of the carrier's fighters were assigned to the CAP. One of the carrier's Zero fighters attacked a
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber that had just arrived from the mainland, setting it on
fire as it landed at Hickam, killing one of its crew.

HIJMS Akagi
Unfortunately, with her unique design came a unique weakness as well, and the weakness
presented itself during the Battle of Midway. Aside from the fact that her anti-aircraft weaponry
were of an older and slow-firing design, they were also positioned poorly. Her anti-aircraft
batteries were positioned on the port and starboard sides of the ship, twenty or so feet below the
flight deck, therefore guns on each side could only fire at targets on the same side of the ship.
Additionally, port side guns are additionally blocked by the island, further reducing the
effectiveness of the weapons. This was one of the many reasons why she was fatally attacked at
Midway on 4 Jun 1942 at the hands of American dive bombers. The fatal shot was scored by
American pilot Lieutenant Richard Best whose bomb landed at the aft edge of the middle
elevator. Best's 1,000-lb bomb crashed through the flight deck and exploded in the upper
hangar, instantly killing many Japanese crewmen working in the enclosed hangar and hurling
everything from men to aircraft over the edge of the flight deck. When Captain Taijiro Aoki
abandoned the ship (he was the last to leave her), she had already been burning for nearly nine
hours.
Akagi took two bomb hits at 1026, tearing into below decks. The most damaging hit on Akagi
came in the form of a near miss by Ensign Frederick Thomas Weber, which jammed the ship's
port rudder, rendering her essentially unnavigable. Initially refusing to leave the ship, Admiral
Chuichi Nagumo, in operational command, was finally convinced by Captain Taijiro Aoki to
transfer his flag to another ship after explaining to the admiral that commanding a fleet would
be impossible on a burning ship without working radio; they transferred to the light cruiser
Nagara. Her engine somehow came back to life at 1203, but it was somewhat useless as she
could only sail in circles to starboard due to rudder damage. At 1338, the Emperor's portrait was
removed in preparation for abandoning ship, which commenced at 1350. Her hull remained
afloat until 0200 the next morning when she was scuttled by two or three torpedoes from one or
more of the Destroyer Division Four ships, Arashi, Nowaki, Hagikaze, and Maikaze; Akagi was

the first Japanese capital ship in WW2 to be scuttled by her own fellow ships in the Pacific. As
she went down, survivors aboard destroyers shouted, "Banzai! Akagi banzai!"”

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