Untitled Document
Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku
“This is the happiest day of my life” — such were the words of Pacific Navy Commander Chester W. Nimitz on October 25, 1944 upon learning of the destruction of the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku.
Zuikaku means “lucky crane” in Japanese, and while Dragon or Tiger might have served as more fitting names for the ship, the designation Lucky was accurate enough. Fortune smiled on the carrier in almost all its endeavors: she participated in the Pearl-Harbor assault, attacked the Marshall Isles, took part in the Indian Ocean raid (where she sank the carrier Hermes), and saw action in the Coral Sea battle (where she damaged the carrier Yorktown and sank the carrier Lexington). The Zuikaku lost many aircraft and crewmen in the latter engagement, compelling her to miss the Battle of Midway. Instead, she was sent as part of an expedition corps to capture the Aleutian Islands.
Analysis of the first aircraft carrier battles indicated that aircraft fire constituted the foremost danger to the carriers. In response to this discovery, the Zuikaku underwent substantial modifications in its life support system, especially with respect to fire prevention.
The modified carrier took part in the Battle of Guadalcanal (where she heavily damaged the carrier Enterprise and sank the carrier Hornet), and in the famous Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, which saw the destruction of the Shokaku, a carrier of similar design. By this point, battle luck had abandoned the Japanese navy, and it was impossible for them to confront the Americans, whose numbers were double those of the Japanese. The Shokaku was consumed by fire after receiving 3 torpedoes from the Cavalla SS-244 submarine. On the following day, luck forsook the Zuikaku as well: her deck took 5 bomb hits and the ship caught fire. However, the fire was extinguished, and the carrier managed to reach its base.
The Lucky Crane met her end during the attempt to destroy the American landing party at Leyte
Bay, when the carrier posed as a bait within Admiral Ozawa’s squadron. After three waves of attacks by the American aircraft, which pummelled the carrier with a torpedo and three bombs, and then again with five torpedoes and four bombs, the “lucky” carrier succumbed to destruction.
Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku in the "Pacific Storm"
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