大鳳
Carrier
Taihō was Japan's first armored fleet carrier and the sole ship of her class, featuring a 75–80 mm armored flight deck designed to withstand dive-bombing attacks. She was sunk on her maiden battle at the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944, after a single torpedo from USS Albacore ignited aviation fuel vapors that had been allowed to accumulate in the hangar.
- Armament
- 10cm/65口径九八式高角砲12門（連装6基）、25mm機銃51門（三連装17基）、携行式25mm機銃多数
- Fate
- Sunk by submarine
History
Taihō ("Great Phoenix") was the pinnacle of Imperial Japanese carrier design, conceived as a heavily protected fleet carrier capable of absorbing punishment that would sink lighter vessels. Approved under the 1939 Fourth Naval Armaments Supplement Programme and laid down at Kawasaki's Kobe shipyard on July 10, 1941, she was designed before the Pacific War began; the Battle of Midway, where Japan's unarmored carriers proved catastrophically vulnerable to dive-bombing attacks, later confirmed the concern behind her armored deck.
Her most distinctive feature was a 75–80 mm armored flight deck—the first on any Japanese carrier—backed by an armored hangar and an extensive system of belt and deck armor. This protection came at a cost: her aircraft capacity was limited to around 53–65 aircraft, smaller than the contemporary Shōkaku class. Her main battery consisted of twelve 10 cm/65 Type 98 dual-purpose guns in six twin mounts, providing strong anti-aircraft defense.
Commissioned on March 7, 1944, Taihō had barely completed her working-up when she was sortied as the fleet flagship of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa for Operation A-Go—the decisive engagement that became the Battle of the Philippine Sea. On the morning of June 19, 1944, during the massive "Marianas Turkey Shoot" air battle, USS Albacore (SS-218) fired a spread of six torpedoes at Taihō. One struck her forward elevator, jamming it and flooding the elevator pit with aviation fuel.
Rather than flooding the damaged spaces with seawater, a well-meaning but inexperienced damage-control officer opened ventilation fans to clear the fumes, instead spreading explosive fuel vapor throughout the ship. Six hours after the torpedo hit, a massive detonation tore through the hangar and magazines. Taihō sank approximately two hours later, taking roughly 1,650 of her 2,150 crew. Ozawa and his staff transferred to the cruiser Haguro before she sank. Her loss, together with Shōkaku sunk the same day, effectively destroyed Japan's remaining experienced carrier air groups.
Related sites (4)
- Built34.671, 135.183
Kawasaki Kobe Shipyard, Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo. Taihō was laid down here on July 10, 1941, launched April 7, 1943, and completed March 7, 1944.
- Homeport34.241, 132.565
Kure Naval Arsenal, Hiroshima Prefecture. Taihō arrived here from Kobe on 3 February 1944 and entered No. 4 dock for final outfitting; after commissioning she ran trials in the Inland Sea from Kure in March 1944. Her registered home port was the Maizuru Naval District.
- Training5.067, 119.650
Tawi-Tawi anchorage, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. In May 1944, Taihō and the Mobile Fleet assembled here for final preparations before Operation A-Go. Aerial photographs taken at this anchorage are among the few surviving images of the ship.
- Sunk12.083, 138.200
Philippine Sea, approximately 12°05′N 138°12′E. On June 19, 1944, Taihō was struck by a torpedo from USS Albacore (SS-218). Aviation fuel vapors spread through the ship and detonated catastrophically approximately six hours later; she sank roughly two hours after the explosion. Approximately 1,650 of her 2,150 crew were lost.
Images
