was the second and last built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Zuikaku was one of the most modern Japanese aircraft carriers when commissioned, and saw successful action throughout numerous battles during the Pacific War.
Zuikaku started the war as part of Kidō Butai. Her aircraft struck airfields during the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the war. She also participated in the Indian Ocean raid, where her dive bombers sank or helped to sink several major British warships. Zuikaku and her sister were detached from Kidō Butai to support Operation Mo, the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, during which her torpedo bombers contributed to the sinking of the aircraft carrier at the Battle of the Coral Sea; however heavy airgroup losses and damage to Shōkaku resulted in both carriers missing the Battle of Midway. She and her sister fought US carriers at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and again at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands where she helped to sink the aircraft carrier . During the Battle of the Philippine Sea and Battle of Leyte Gulf, she was damaged by US carrier aircraft, being sunk in the latter engagement.
Zuikaku was one of six carriers to participate in the Pearl Harbor attack and was the last of the six to be sunk in the war (, , , and in the Battle of Midway; in the Battle of the Philippine Sea; and Zuikaku in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.)
A memorial for the fallen personnel of the Zuikaku is located at the grounds of Kashihara Shrine, located in the city of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan.
Service history
thumb|left|Zuikaku in November 1941
Zuikaku was laid down on 25 May 1938, launched on 27 November 1939, and formally commissioned on 25 September 1941. On the day of commissioning, Zuikaku departed on her maiden voyage from Kobe to Kure. Under the command of Captain Yokokawa Ichibei, Zuikaku departed for Oita Bight on October 7, arriving at her destination the next day where for the first time she joined her sister ship . Both ships made up Carrier Division 5. On the 9th, Zuikaku and Shōkaku raided Trincomalee, where they destroyed the cargo ship and damaged the monitor .
Sinking of HMS Hermes
Later that night, a Japanese floatplane launched from the battleship managed to locate the light carrier , and Zuikakus air group was the first to respond, quickly followed by Shōkaku. Bombers from the pair hit Hermes almost 40 times, smashing the carrier into a burning hulk. The pair were then joined by planes from the fellow aircraft carrier , who on her own sank the destroyer . The floating wreck of Hermes rapidly sank, having only managed to shoot down six attacking planes.
Alerted by intercepted and decrypted Japanese naval messages, the Americans dispatched the carriers and to stop the operation. On the same day as the carrier's initial attack, the US planes located the light carrier , which Lexingtons aircraft crippled before Yorktowns aircraft finished her off. Both Zuikaku and Shōkaku sent out plane squadrons to scout for the US carriers, but failed to make contact on the 7th.
On the 24th, a floatplane launched from the heavy cruiser spotted a large American task force, consisting of the aircraft carriers and , and their escorts, battleship , four cruisers, and eleven destroyers. Subsequently, both Zuikaku and Shōkaku launched 37 aircraft and attacked the US ships. Due to the haste of Japanese pilots, almost all attacks were focused on Enterprise to heavy results. The effectiveness of US anti aircraft, particularly of North Carolinas part, shot down many attacking aircraft, but in the end, both carriers crippled Enterprise with three bomb hits. They nearly sank her, with a squadron of seven dive bombers, three from Shōkaku and four from Zuikaku, nearly delivering the final blow when North Carolina shot down every single attacking plane.
Neither Zuikaku or Shōkaku were damaged during the battle, although Shōkaku barely avoided being bombed by Enterprise. However, together they lost 25 aircraft out of 37 launched, and planes from Saratoga sank the light carrier , while planes from Henderson Field sank the destroyer and the troopship Kinryu Maru. The battle is considered a US victory as Zuikaku and the other Japanese ships retreated without sinking a single American vessel.
Battle of Santa Cruz
While the US still maintained air superiority through Henderson field, their carrier force was greatly diminished. After her big action, Saratoga was crippled by a torpedo fired from the submarine , putting her out of action, while in September the aircraft carrier was sunk by three torpedo hits fired by the submarine . These actions left as the only American fleet carrier operating in the Pacific, shortly joined by the repaired Enterprise. Taking advantage of this, Zuikaku and Shōkaku were sent out to attack the remaining US carriers in a decisive battle, now joined by the aircraft carrier and the light carrier and their escorts. This would culminate in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
The force set out on October 11. On the 15th, a Japanese patrol plane spotted the destroyer towing a barge that carried fuel and bombs for US forces at Guadalcanal. Zuikakus air group quickly responded, and in a ten-minute battle hit Meredith with three torpedoes and a number of bombs, causing the destroyer to roll over and sink. The force continued on, and on the 26th was spotted by a Catalina seaplane, shortly followed by the attacks of both Hornet and Enterprise, just as the Japanese wanted. Dive bombers from Enterprise hit Zuihō with a bomb that prevented her from recovering aircraft, while dive bombers from Hornet scorched Shōkaku with at least 3–4 (and potentially up to 6) bomb hits and damaged the heavy cruiser Chikuma with two bombs. Zuikaku focused her attacks on Hornet, and hit her with three bombs. Two of her bombers that were shot down proceeded to crash into Hornet, one of which still had its bomb equipped which exploded on impact. Meanwhile, planes from Shōkaku hit Hornet with two torpedoes. The damage from both ships left Hornet dead in the water and heavily listing.
Zuikaku hit Hornet with another bomb while US destroyers attempted to scuttle Hornet (though due to the quality of US torpedoes, all either missed or failed to explode). Hornet slowly sank, and was listing at a 45-degree angle when she was discovered by the destroyers and . They fired their torpedoes, claiming three hits. Because of this, they are sometimes credited with sinking Hornet, but she was already sinking due to damage from the previous air attacks, and would have sunk regardless of any further damage, meaning it's debatable whether they deserve credit for Hornets sinking as opposed to the carrier's loss being pinned solely on the Shōkaku twins.