In an era of clashing naval powers, the formidable Akagi emerged as a symbol of the Imperial Japanese
Navy's prowess. She was transformed during times of innovation and uncertainty, boasting
a colossal flight deck and six powerful 8-inch guns that set her apart from her contemporaries.
Sailing the turbulent beginnings of the Pacific War, Akagi's presence left an indelible mark
on history as a trailblazer in uncharted waters, paving the way for future carriers.
However, the maritime behemoth faced a fateful mission that sealed her destiny.
At Midway, a decisive battle loomed and threatened to alter the course of the war.
In a harrowing turn of events, this pivotal confrontation would mark
the beginning of the end for the fearsome Imperial Japanese Navy…
Change of Plans
Akagi was initially designed as a battlecruiser to fulfill the
Imperial Japanese Navy's vision of creating a powerful fleet capable of
projecting force across the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean.
Still, this would change when the 1921 Washington Naval Conference agreement imposed restrictions
on the size and armament of capital ships, including battleships and battlecruisers like her.
However, the treaty allowed for the conversion of two existing capital
ship hulls into aircraft carriers, with a displacement limit of 33,000 tons each.
Recognizing the potential of naval aviation and the strategic advantages of aircraft carriers,
the Imperial Japanese Navy, or IJN, seized this opportunity and converted
the unfinished hulls of Akagi and her sister ship, Amagi, into aircraft carriers.
When Amagi was severely damaged in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, Kaga,
another battlecruiser hull, was chosen to replace her.
The conversion of Akagi into an aircraft carrier was an ambitious
undertaking, requiring extensive modifications to the ship's design.
The result was a vessel that boasted a unique combination of features,
reflecting its origins as a battlecruiser and the innovations of early naval aviation.
Akagi measured 855 feet in length, with a beam of 102.7 feet and a draft of 28.5
feet. Her displacement, when fully loaded, was around 37,100 tons, just above the treaty limit.
This large ship was powered by 19 Kampon boilers and four Gihon geared turbines,
which generated a total output of 131,200 shaft horsepower,
enabling the carrier to reach a top speed of approximately 31.5 knots.
While her original design featured three separate flight decks,
with the upper and middle decks used for takeoffs and the lower deck for landings,
a major modernization from 1935 to 1938 led to the lower two being eliminated.
With a single flight deck able to accommodate more aircraft, she now wielded enormous power.
The Mighty Akagi
Akagi's air wing was a formidable force composed of a mix of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters,
Aichi D3A Val dive bombers, and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers. The carrier's aircraft
complement varied throughout its service life but generally carried between 60 and 90 aircraft.
Incorporating both the design elements of a battle cruiser and the innovations of early
aircraft carriers, Akagi emerged as a symbol of Japan's rising naval power.
The vessel’s early days with the Imperial Japanese Navy were filled with intensive
training and exercises that molded her already disciplined crew into a well-oiled machine.
After the refitting, Akagi became the first Japanese carrier with a large modern
flight deck. Through operational experiences aboard the vessel,
the IJN was able to forge its naval airpower doctrine.
As an aircraft carrier, its primary strength lay in its air wing, consisting of fighter,
dive bomber, and torpedo bomber squadrons,
allowing for different missions and increasing her strategic value.
Early on December 7, 1941, sailing with five other carriers, Akagi began her
attack by launching two waves of aircraft meant to start a new stage in World War 2.
The Beginning
Descending on Pearl Harbor, the carrier's torpedo planes targeted the battleships USS Oklahoma,
USS West Virginia, and USS California. Meanwhile,
the dive bombers of the second wave attacked USS Maryland and USS Pennsylvania.
Withdrawing after the attack, Akagi, her sister ship Kaga,
and the rest of the carriers of the Fifth Carrier Division moved south
and supported the Japanese invasion of New Britain and the Bismarck Islands.
After Pearl Harbor, Akagi continued to play a crucial role in the IJN's
operations in the early days of the Pacific War.
In April 1942, the carrier took part in the Indian Ocean raid,
targeting British naval assets and Allied shipping to disrupt supply
lines to British forces in Asia and weaken the Royal Navy's presence there.
Akagi and the First Air Fleet set their sights on the British naval base at Colombo,
Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka. The raid resulted in the sinking of the cruisers
HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall, along with several merchant vessels.
On April 19, while passing Formosa, now Taiwan, Akagi and the carriers Soryu and
Hiryu were detached and ordered east to locate USS Hornet and USS Enterprise,
which had just launched the Doolittle Raid. Failing to find the Americans,
they called off the pursuit and returned to Japanese land.
A little over a month later, Akagi sailed in company with Kaga, Soryu,
and Hiryu to support the invasion of Midway.
Little did her crew know that they were sailing toward a battle that
would seal their ship's fate and change the course of history.
Midway
On June 4, approximately 290 miles from Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean,
the Japanese carriers began the Battle of Midway,
launching a 108-warplane strike in what they hoped would be as successful as Pearl Harbor.
Throughout the morning, the Japanese carriers evaded
several attacks by Midway-based American bombers.
Just before 9:00am, Akagi recovered the Midway strike force and began preparing
aircraft for an attack on the recently discovered American carrier forces.
As preparations continued, American TBD Devastator torpedo bombers launched an assault upon the
Japanese carriers. Repelled and suffering heavy losses caused by the fleet's combat air patrol,
the American torpedo planes inadvertently pulled the Japanese fighters out of position.
This move allowed the American SBD Dauntless dive bombers to strike with minimal aerial resistance.
Akagi's unique design harbored an inherent weakness that became evident that day.
Placed on the port and starboard sides, about twenty feet below the flight deck,
the ship's guns could only target enemies on the side they were facing.
Not only were her anti-aircraft weapons outdated and slow-firing,
but they were also poorly positioned.
Additionally, the island obstructed the port-side guns, reducing their effectiveness.
On June 4, 1942, at 10:26am, Lieutenant Richard Best scored a shot on Akagi with
a 1,000-pound bomb, which landed at the aft edge of the middle elevator,
marking the beginning of the end for the once mighty aircraft carrier.
Disaster
The bomb dropped by Lieutenant Best penetrated the flight deck and exploded in the upper hangar,
hurling everything from men to aircraft over the flight deck's edge.
With the hangars packed wingtip to wingtip with fueled aircraft carrying bombs and torpedoes,
the Akagi fell into an uncontrollable disaster.
Soon, Captain Taijiro Aoki ordered the carrier's magazines to be flooded.
While the forward magazine flooded as intended,
the aft did not due to the damage sustained in the attack.
Hindered by pump problems, damage control parties could not subdue the fire,
and the vessel's situation worsened at 10:40am when her rudder jammed during evasive maneuvers.
At 10:46am, only 26 minutes after the initial attack,
First Air Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo reluctantly agreed to abandon his flagship
and descended a rope ladder to a launch that would take him to the awaiting Nagara vessel.
The following morning, Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, were abandoned and sent to the bottom of the sea.
According to military historians, if Lieutenant Best’s bomb had missed,
the entire course of the battle would have turned,
as the Japanese could have dealt a more severe retaliatory attack on the American carriers.
The critical American victory at the Midway Atoll is considered the turning point in the
Pacific War, halting Japanese expansion and dealing a crushing blow to its naval
capabilities, from which the Imperial Japanese Navy never fully recovered.
Resurfaced
Until October 2019, the location of all but one of the seven ships sunk during
the Battle of Midway, five Japanese and two American, remained elusive.
The research vessel Petrel, with a crew of deep-sea
explorers and historians renowned for finding several historically significant shipwrecks,
including USS Indianapolis, USS Lexington, and USS Juneau, embarked
on a mission to search for the Japanese vessels.
Their quest for Akagi took them to the waters around the Midway Atoll,
a remote location in the central Pacific Ocean where
Petrel utilized state-of-the-art technology to probe the deep-sea environment,
deploying side-scan sonar, autonomous underwater vehicles,
and remotely operated vehicles to meticulously scan the ocean floor.
Finally, at a depth of approximately 18,011 feet within the Papahanaumokuakea
Marine National Monument, Hawaii, the team discovered the wreck of Akagi.
Reportedly upright and largely intact, the vessel lay resting on its keel.
The team confirmed her identity using the identification number and,
following a thorough verification process, announced the discovery on October 20, 2019.
A mere two days prior, the Petrel team had uncovered the wreck of Kaga,
another aircraft carrier.
Akagi's discovery holds immense significance, offering tangible evidence of a critical moment
in World War 2 history. More than just a long-lost relic of the war, exploring the wreckage site has
provided valuable insights into the carrier's design, construction, and battle damage.
This newfound knowledge has enabled historians and researchers to construct
a more accurate and detailed account of the events that transpired during the
more than 80-year-old battle, ensuring that history continues to be written.