IJN Shokaku

Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴; meaning "Soaring Crane") was the lead ship of her class of two aircraft carriers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the Pacific War. Along with her sistership Zuikaku, she took part in several key naval battles during the war, starting the attack on Pearl Harbor where she destroyed air fields and other land facilities. During the Indian Ocean Raid, April 1942, Shōkaku dive bombers sank the armed merchant cruiser HMS Hector and helped to sink the light carrier HMS Hermes and the steamship SS Sagaing. At the battle of the Coral Sea later that May - assisted by Zuikaku - Shōkaku aircraft scored primary credit for sinking the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. Shōkaku dive bombers also sank the destroyer USS Sims and helped to sink the fleet oilier USS Neosho. However, she was in turn crippled by bomb hits and taken out of action. In August, Shōkaku saw action again at the battle of the Eastern Solomons where she helped to cripple the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise but failed to score an overall victory. This was made up for later that October at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands where Shōkaku aircraft helped to sink the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and badly damaged the Enterprise; taking several bomb hits but remaining combat capable. However, throughout 1943 Shōkaku was mainly reserved for the Kantai Kessen plan and primarily transited between naval ports and rendezvoused in failed attempts to enact a large scale battleline engagement. Shōkaku finally saw action again at the battle of the Philippine Sea, 19 June 1944, where she damaged the battleship USS South Dakota but was finally torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Cavalla.