IJN Kaga (1927)

Imperial Japanese Navy KAGA,

Fleet Aircraft Carrier

The Kaga, second IJN fleet aircraft carrier

IJN Kaga was the third IJN carrier to enter service, converted, as her sister ship Akagi, on a cancelled capital ship of the original 8-8 plan, according to the Washington treaty.

But contrary to the former, Kaga was not the first admiralty choice for a conversion.

She was based on a battleship. Battlecruisers were the obvious choice, made already by the Royal Navy and US Navy.

The IJN planned for a coherent class of two similarly converted vessels, Akagi and Amagi. But the latter was so badly damaged during the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 that there was no other choice than going back to the only most advanced capital ship in construction at that time. And it was Kaga, of the Tosa class.

She would later constitute with Akagi, the Zuikaku class, Hiryu and soryu the famous First air fleet, or "Kido Butai", the elite unit of carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and best of its kind in December 1941.

Kaga underwent the first conversion as Akagi, but adapted to her different hull, resulting in a longer process.

As Akagi, she was entirely rebuilt in the next decade, following the progress of aviation, but was even completed sooner.

She became a veteran of the Chinese Campaign, and made a team with IJN Akagi into the newly created 1st Carrier Division of the Kido Butai.

She thus participated in the Pearl harbour attack, the raid on Darwin and Java, the Indian Ocean raid, missed the Coral Sea but was in action at Midway, under overall command of Chuichi Nagumo.