Ships -

27Feb

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Aircraft Carriers, Japanese aircraft carrier

Japanese aircraft carrier Taihō

Taihō (大鳳, "Great Phoenix") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Possessing heavy belt armor and featuring an armored flight deck (a first for any Japanese aircraft carrier), she represented a major departure from prior Japanese aircraft carrier design and was expected to not only survive multiple bomb, torpedo, or shell hits, but also continue fighting effectively afterwards. Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, she was laid down on 10 July 1941, launched almost two years later on 7 April 1943 and finally commissioned on 7 March 1944. She sank on 19 June 1944 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea due to explosions resulting from design flaws and poor damage control after suffering a single torpedo hit from the American submarine USS Albacore. Design Ta...

27Feb

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United States of America Submarines, Submarines

Gato-class Submarine

The Gato class of submarines were built for the United States Navy and launched in 1941–1943; they were the first mass-production U.S. submarine class of World War II. Together with their near-sisters the Balao and Tench classes, their design formed the majority of the United States Navy's World War II submarine fleet. Named after the lead ship of the class, USS Gato, the Gatos and their successors formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Gato's name comes from a species of small catshark. Like most other U.S. Navy submarines of the period, boats of the Gato class were given the names of marine creatures. In some references, the Gatos are com...

25Feb

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Ships, Submarines, United States of America Submarines

USS Albacore (SS-218)

USS Albacore (SS-218) USS Albacore (SS-218) was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, winning the Presidential Unit Citation and nine battle stars for her service. During the war, she was credited with sinking 13 Japanese ships (including two destroyers, the light cruiser Tenryū and the aircraft carrier Taihō) and damaging another five; not all of these credits were confirmed by postwar Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) accounting. She also holds the distinction of sinking the highest warship tonnage of any U.S. submarine. She was lost in 1944, probably sunk by a mine off northern Hokkaidō on 7 November. Albacore was the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the albacore. Construction and...