shoukaku (aircraft carrier)

A World War II aircraft carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

"Soaring Crane"

Lead ship of her class, approved in the 1937 3rd Supplementary Program. Designed as improved version of the Hiryu with heavier armor, often considered to be the most successful IJN carrier design.

After the Battle of Midway the air spaces around the aviation fuel tanks were filled with concrete. She was one of the six carriers involved in the Pearl Harbor attack and was later sunk in the Battle of the Philippine Sea from 3 torpedoes by the US submarine Cavalla.