The Ryūhō (龍鳳?, "Dragon phoenix")was a Japanese light aircraft carrier. Sole ship of her class, she was converted from a submarine tender. During World War II she operated mainly as an aircraft transport but did participate in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Ryūhō in 1945.
| |
| Career (Japan) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Ryūhō |
| Namesake: | Japanese for Dragon Phoenix |
| Ordered: | 1920 |
| Laid down: | 12 April 1933 |
| Launched: | 16 November 1933 as submarine tender Taigei |
| Commissioned: | 31 March 1934 |
| Reclassified: | 30 November 1942 as light aircraft carrier Ryūhō |
| Struck: | 30 November 1945 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Ryūhō-class aircraft carrier[1] |
| Displacement: | 16,700 tons full load |
| Length: | 215.6 m |
| Beam: | 23 m |
| Draught: | 6.7 m |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines 4 boilers 52,000 shp 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h) |
| Range: | 9,700 nmi. at 18 knots (18,000 km at 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 989 |
| Armament: | 4 × 5 inch (127 mm) guns 38 × 25 mm anti-aircraft guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 31 |
In Dec 1941, submarine depot ship Taigei was decommissioned and drydocked at the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard, Japan, undergoing a conversion to become an aircraft carrier. In Apr 1942, she was the only ship to become damaged by the Doolittle Raiders (500-pound bomb on the bow, plus several incendiary bomb hits). When the ship re-emerged on 30 Nov 1942, the carrier was re-christened Ryuho. The newly converted carrier joined the 3rd Fleet. In Dec 1942, she ferried 20 light bombers with their crews from Japan to Truk. At 0910 hours on 12 Dec, she was hit by a torpedo on the starboard side from the American submarine Drum, forcing her to spend time at Yokosuka for repairs. On 13 Mar 1943, she began a series of ferrying missions between various Japanese bases in from Singapore to the Central Pacific Ocean. In May 1944, she joined the Combined Fleet at Tawi Tawi, Philippine Islands. In the following month, she participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, launching aircraft against US Navy Task Force 58 and nearly lost all of them. At 0610 hours on the next day, 20 Jun, her group was attacked by TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from the carrier USS Enterprise, damaging her from near misses. Deprived of most of her aircraft after the battle, she returned to Japan for patrol and training missions. On 25 Oct 1944, she returned to ferrying duty by transporting aircraft from Sasebo, Japan to Keelung, Taiwan. Between 7 and 15 Nov, she was briefly the flagship of Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa. On 31 Dec 1944, she set sail for Taiwan once again with a load of 58 Ohka special attack aircraft, accompanied by 9 empty oil tankers bound for Singapore, escorted by destroyers Hamakaze, Isokaze, Yukikaze, Shigure, and Hatakaze. After successfully disembarking the aircraft, she was found by 12 American TBF Avenger aircraft, but none scored a hit while Ryuho's anti-aircraft guns shot down one of the torpedo bombers. She departed for Japan on 12 Jan with Isokaze in escort, arriving at Kure, Japan on 18 Jan. This was to be the last Japanese carrier mission outside Japanese waters.
On 19 Mar, Ryuho was attacked near Kure, receiving three 500-pound bomb hits and two 140-millimeter rocket hits. Her flight deck was severely damaged between her two elevators, the No. 1 boiler was punctured, the stern settled two meters into the water, and a fire broke out. 20 were killed and 30 were wounded in the attack. She made it to Kure on 1 Apr, but since Japan no longer had aircraft to operate from carriers, it was decided that she was not to be repaired. After the war, she was scrapped in 1946.
The final mission[edit]
On 31 December 1944, Ryūhō sailed for Taiwan with a load of 58 Ohka kamikaze planes. Accompanying her were nine empty oil tankers bound for Singapore, and the destroyersHamakaze, Isokaze, Yukikaze, Shigure and Hatakaze.
Upon reaching Taiwan and unloading her cargo, Ryūhō was among the targets of a major series of American carrier-based air raids all over the island. Twelve TBF Avengers attacked her but none scored a hit, and Ryūhō's gunners shot down one of them. Ryūhō departed for Japan on 2 January 1945 escorted by Isokaze; when she arrived at Kure on 18 January,Ryūhō also gained the distinction of being the last Japanese aircraft carrier to venture outside the home waters of Japan.
Ryūhō was attacked by Task Force 58 aircraft on 19 March near Kure, suffering hits by three 500 lb (227 kg) bombs and two 5.5-inch (140 mm) rockets. The damage was severe: the flight deck bulged upward between the two elevators, the No. 1 boiler was punctured by a bomb fragment, the stern settled six feet (2 m) into the water, and a raging fire broke out. Twenty crewmen were killed and 30 were wounded. Upon returning to Kure on 1 April, Ryūhō was considered to be a total loss. She was struck from the Navy List on 30 November and scrapped in 1946.
Armament notes[edit]
Light AA increased to 54 x 25 mm and 6 x 13.2 mm in 1943; to 61 x 25 mm, 21 x 13.2 mm and 6 28-barrel AA rocket launchers in 1944.
Submarine tender Taigei date unknown
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