The Ships of Battlegroup: Japan Soryu (CV)

Displacement	15,900 tons	Belt Armor	2.2 inches
Overall Length	746.5 feet	Deck Armor	Nil
Beam	85.3 feet	Aircraft Complement	71
Speed	34.5 knots	Main Guns	12 × 5″

Launched on December 23, 1935 and commissioned on December 29, 1937, Soryu was similar to but not really a sister ship to the larger Hiryu. The name “Soryu” means “Green or Gray-Blue Dragon”. An unusual feature was, as with the earlier Akagi, the location of the ship’s “island.” Soryu was supposed to operate in conjunction with her carrier division partner, Hiryu and it was felt that air traffic control would be enhanced if the aircraft upon take off would marshal in opposite directions. So Soryu’s superstructure island was constructed on the “standard” side of the flight deck, that is, to starboard. She would travel on the portside of the formation with Hiryu and, upon take off, her aircraft would circle to port. This put Hiryu’s island to the portside of the flight deck and her air group circling to starboard. This was an interesting concept, but wartime experience showed it to be an unnecessary complication. Another notable feature was starboard funnels that were below flight deck level and vented downward.

Japan started World War II in the Pacific with the best-trained aircrews and some of the best carrier aircraft in the world. Their problem was that as the veterans fell, there were no experienced aircrew to replace them and Japanese industry proved unable to produce reliable new aircraft models in the quantities to fight a total war. Soryu participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, assisted in the second (successful) attack on Wake Island and made devastating raids across the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Her career came to an abrupt end at the Battle of Midway. As the four large Japanese aircraft carriers were recovering a strike made on Midway Island, the initial American strikes from Midway Island and carrier strikes by torpedo planes were butchered practically on the ocean’s surface. This drew the Japanese CAP (Combat Air Patrol) down and enabled the American carriers’ Dauntless SBD dive bombers to attack unopposed from altitude and they smashed the Akagi, Kaga and Soryu as their planes were being rearmed. All three carriers, plus the Hiryu, which was hit later on June 4, sank the following day. The gutted Soryu, which had been hit by aircraft from the Yorktown (CV-5), was finished off by Japanese destroyer torpedoes on June 5, 1942.

For contemporary foreign aircraft carriers, see: Ark Royal .

Where did we get all these fascinating historical tidbits and factoids? See the Bibliography for the culprits.