Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Japanese aircraft carrier Junyo
Junyo, moored at Sasebo, Japan, on 26 September 1945 | |
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 20 March 1939 as Kashiwara Maru |
| Launched: | 26 June 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 3 May 1942 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1947 |
| Struck: | 30 November 1945 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 26,949 tons |
| Length: | 719 ft 7 in (219.33 m) |
| Beam: | 87 ft 7 in (26.70 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 25 knots (46 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 1,224 |
| Armament: | Twelve 5 inch (130 mm) guns Up to seventy-six 25 mm anti-aircraft guns 6 x 28 5 inch (130 mm) AA rockets (from 1944) |
| Aircraft: | 53 |
Junyo (Japanese: 隼鷹 junyō meaning "peregrine falcon") was a Hiyo -class aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down at Nagasaki as the passenger liner Kashiwara Maru but purchased by the Japanese Navy in 1940 and converted to an aircraft carrier.
She fought in the Pacific campaign of World War II. In May 1942 she was assigned to support the invasion of the Aleutian Islands, a diversion from the attack on Midway. On 3 June 1942, along with Ryujo, she launched airstrikes against Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. On 5 June she launched further strikes and was attacked by United States bombers but was not damaged.
Following the loss of four Japanese fleet carriers in the battle of Midway, Junyo was one of only three large carriers in the Japanese Navy (the others were Zuikaku and Shokaku). This made Junyo an important ship, and great efforts were made to use her as a fleet carrier, even though she had a lower speed and smaller air group than purpose-built fleet carriers.
Captain Okada Tametsugu assumed command on 20 July 1942. In late October 1942, during the Guadalcanal Campaign, Junyo took part in the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. On 26 October 1942 her planes attacked the carrier USS Enterprise, the battleship USS South Dakota and the light cruiser USS San Juan, scoring hits on the latter two.
In mid-November 1942, she played a covering role in the three-day-long Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In Spring 1943, her planes were sent to Rabaul, with those of other Japanese carriers, for land-based attacks on the Allied forces gathering at Guadalcanal. In June 1943, Junyo helped protect a important convoy sent to reinforce the Japanese garrison on Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands.
On 5 November 1943 off Bungo Suido, Junyo was hit by a torpedo from USS Halibut. Four crew were killed and the steering damaged. Junyo was docked at Kure for repairs.
In May 1944, with Captain Shibuya Kiyomi in command, Junyo was assigned to Operation A-Go, a sortie to repulse the expected Allied invasion of the Mariana, Palau or Caroline Islands. In the resulting battle of the Philippine Sea on 20 June 1944 Junyo was hit by two bombs at about 17:30. Her smokestack and mast were destroyed and her deck damaged. Her air operations were stopped, but she was able to withdraw without further damage, unlike her sister ship Hiyo , sunk by torpedoes. However, most of her planes were lost in the battle.
After repairs at Kure, she was assigned to the Philippines but without planes she was unable to take part in the battle of Leyte Gulf, being relegated to transport duties.
On 3 November 1944 she was attacked by the submarine USS Pintado near Makung but her escort destroyer Akikaze deliberately intercepted the torpedoes and sank with no survivors.
On 9 December 1944, Junyo was carrying 200 survivors of Musashi and was accompanied by the battleship Haruna and the destroyers Suzutsuki , Fuyutsuki , and Maki . The task force was attacked at midnight by the American submarines Sea Devil, Plaice and Redfish. Junyo was hit by three torpedoes, killing 19 men. Several compartments were flooded, giving her a 10°–12° list to starboard, but she was able to make way on one engine. Maki was also damaged by a torpedo. By 04:00 the Japanese task force entered shallow waters where the American submarines could not follow.
Junyo was drydocked at Kure, but repairs were abandoned in March 1945. The lack of materials, fuel and carrier planes meant that there was no need for fleet carriers. Junyo remained moored at Sasebo until the end of the war.
She was scrapped in 1947.
Hayataka
Junyo is sometimes referred to in World War II American sources as Hayataka. This mistake probably derives from a misreading of the characters in the ship's name (隼鷹 junyō, meaning "peregrine falcon", can also be read as hayataka), passed to American interrogators by a Japanese prisoner of war after the battle of Midway.
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