Career
Laid down:	4 May 1940
Launched:	5 October 1944
Commissioned:	19 November 1944
Fate:	Sunk on 29 November 1944 by the submarine Archer-Fish
General characteristics
Displacement:	71,890 tons full load 68,059 tons standard
Length:	266.1 m (872.9 ft )
Beam:	36.9 m (121 ft) waterline 40 m (131.3 ft) flight deck
Draught:	10.8 m (35.4 ft)
Propulsion:	12 Kanpon oil-fired boilers, geared steam turbines, 4 screws, 153,000 hp (114 MW)
Speed:	27 knots (51 km/h)
Range:	10,000 nm. at 27 knots   (18,400 km at 50 km/h)
Complement:	2,515
Armament:	Sixteen 127 mm (5' inch) / 40-caliber guns, twelve 120 mm (4.7 inch) / 45-caliber guns, 145 - 25 mm/60-caliber anti-aircraft guns, twelve 28-barreled 127 mm (5 inch) AA rocket launchers
Armor:	127 mm (5 inch) side belt, 100 mm (4 inch) deck, 79 mm (3.1 inch) flight deck
Aircraft:	47 (capable of storing 120)

Shinano (Japanese:信濃) was an aircraft carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. It was laid down as the third of five projected Yamato-class superbattleships. Image File history File links Shinano. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_Japan. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... USS Archer-Fish (SS/AGSS-311) was a Balao-class submarine. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... A knot is a unit of speed abbreviated kt or kn. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... Four aircraft carriers, (bottom-to-top) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences of late 20th century carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and in most cases recover aircraft, acting as a sea... For Combined Fleet, please see that article. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Yamato class battleships ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) were the largest naval vessels of World War II and were the largest, heaviest battleships ever constructed to this day, displacing 72,800 metric tons (at full load) and armed with nine 46 cm (18. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ...

Shinano's keel was laid down in June 1940 at Yokosuka Navy Yard (now United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka), but construction was suspended in the summer of 1941 to free manpower and resources for approaching hostilities. For other uses, see Keel (disambiguation). ... U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. ...

Following the disastrous losses at the Battle of Midway, Shinano was selected for conversion to a supercarrier. The conversion process placed a heavy emphasis on armor. For example, the flight deck was designed with 17,700 tons of steel--enough to withstand a 1,000-pound bomb. With a full-load displacement of almost 72,000 tons, it was the largest aircraft carrier ever built until the commissioning of the supercarrier USS Forrestal in 1955.^[1] Shinano was designed as a support carrier, using its extensive machine shops and large fuel capacity to service aircraft operating on other carriers. It would have had a very small air group of its own but a large number of unassigned aircraft to replace losses on other carriers. With a maximum speed of 27 knots, it was faster than any American submarine afloat at the time. Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Chester W. Nimitz Frank J. Fletcher Raymond A. Spruance Isoroku Yamamoto Chuichi Nagumo Tamon Yamaguchi† Strength 3 carriers, ~50 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft 4 carriers, 7 battleships, ~150 support ships, 248 carrier aircraft, 16 floatplanes Casualties 1 carrier... USS Enterprise, a supercarrier, and the conventionally-sized aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle USS A supercarrier is a ship belonging to the largest class of aircraft carrier, and generally has a displacement greater than 75,000 tons. ... The supercarrier USS Forrestal (CV-59), formerly AVT-59 and CVA-59, was named after former Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... A knot is a unit of speed abbreviated kt or kn. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ...

The ship's very existence was kept a closely-guarded secret. A tall fence was erected on three sides of the engraving dock, and those working on the conversion were confined to the yard compound. As a result, Shinano was the only major warship built in the 20th century to have never been officially photographed during its construction. Under these conditions, Shinano was launched on October 5, 1944 and formally named on October 8. She left the yard for builders' trials on November 11, 1944, and was commissioned on November 19. For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The ceremonies involved in commissioning ships into a military force are based in traditions thousands of years old. ...

On November 28, Shinano sailed for Kure for further outfitting, escorted by three destroyers. Captain Toshio Abe commanded a crew of 2,176 officers and men. In addition, there were 300 shipyard workers and 40 civilian employees. Abe opted for a nighttime passage after finding out that he had no available air support for a daytime passage. The destroyer commanders argued for a daytime passage, citing the weariness of their crews (they had been involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf) and the need for vital repairs. However, Abe felt that a daytime passage without air cover was an invitation to disaster. Kure (呉市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... USS McFaul underway in the Atlantic Ocean. ... Combatants  United States  Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Takeo Kurita (Centre Force) Shoji Nishimura â€  (Southern Force) Kiyohide Shima (Southern Force) Jisaburo Ozawa (Northern Force) Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts...

Japan's military commanders had high hopes for Shinano, hoping that it could turn the tide in a conflict that Japan was obviously losing. In fact, they placed so much importance on the vessel that Abe was slated to be promoted to rear admiral when he arrived at Kure. However, at the time it left on its maiden voyage, most of its compartments had not been tested for watertightness. Although all but 700 members of the carrier's crew had seen combat duty, they weren't well-trained in damage control procedures. Also, four of its 12 boilers were not in service for want of parts. Abe actually requested a delay in the sailing date because of these factors, but was turned down almost out of hand by headquarters, largely due to fears of an impending American bombing raid on the home islands. Even with only eight functioning boilers, Abe was able to coax 20 knots out of Shinano--still faster than the American subs that roamed the waters off the south coast of Honshū.^[1] The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Shinano had only been at sea for a few hours when it was sighted by USS Archer-Fish, a Balao-class submarine under the command of Commander Joseph F. Enright. Although Abe had far superior firepower at his disposal, he thought that Archer-Fish was the flagship of a wolf pack. In Abe's view, Archer-Fish was a decoy to lure away one or more of the screening destroyers, giving the rest of the pack a clear shot at Shinano. In fact, he actually ordered one of the destroyers to turn back when he spotted it making a run at Archer-Fish--thus losing his best chance to send it to the bottom. Abe's every move was defensive in nature, with his main focus on getting Shinano to Kure safely. Abe's mood became even more defensive after finding out one of the main shaft bearings had overheated--cutting his top speed to 18 knots--the same speed as most American subs. In his haste to avoid the supposed wolf pack, his zigzagging put Shinano right in the path of Archer-Fish a few hours later.^[1] USS Archer-Fish (SS/AGSS-311) was a Balao-class submarine. ... The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II. An evolutionary improvement over the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. ... The term wolf pack refers to the mass-attack tactics against convoys used by U-boats of the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic and submarines of the United States Navy against Japanese shipping in the Pacific Ocean in World War II. Karl Dönitz used the term Rudel...

At 03:17, Archer-Fish fired six torpedoes. Four shallow-running torpedoes struck Shinano between the anti-torpedo bulge and the waterline. Although the ship initially continued under way, it lost power around 06:00. The crew was unable to contain the flooding and Shinano sank at 11:00. Approximately 1400 of the 2500 crew died. The dead included Abe and both of his navigators, who went down with the ship. The anti-torpedo bulge (also known as an anti torpedo blister) is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars. ...

American Naval Intelligence didn't even know Shinano existed when it left port, but had suspected there was a third Yamato-class battleship. Archer-Fish was initially given credit for sinking a 28,000-ton carrier. It wasn't until after the war that the Americans discovered that Archer-Fish had brought down a 72,000-ton leviathan. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ...

Postwar analysis by the US Naval Technical Mission to Japan concluded that Shinano had serious design flaws. Specifically, the joint between the antiprojectile armor on the hull and the anti-torpedo bulge on the underwater body was poorly designed; Archer-Fish's torpedoes all exploded along this joint. Additionally, the force of the torpedo explosions dislodged an H-beam in one of the boiler rooms. The dislodged beam turned into a giant battering ram that punched a hole between two of the boiler rooms.^[2] In addition, the failure to test for watertightness played a role. Survivors claimed that they were unable to control the flooding because the water poured in too fast; some claimed to have seen rivets between seams burst and allow water to surge through.^[1]

To this day, Shinano is the biggest warship in history to be caught and sunk by a submarine.

Commanding Officers

Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Toshio Abe - 15 August 1944 - 19 November 1944

Capt. / RADM* Toshio Abe - 19 November 1944 - 29 November 1944 (KIA)

Nomenclature

Like other Japanese battleships, Shinano took its name from an old Japanese province. Shinano Province was located in present-day Nagano Prefecture. As with Kaga, and Akagi, Shinano retained its original name despite being converted from a battleship to an aircraft carrier. This article is about a battleship as a type of warship. ... Shinano (信濃国; -no kuni) is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano prefecture. ... Nagano Prefecture (長野県; Nagano-ken) is located on Honshu island, Japan. ... Kaga (Japanese: 加賀, formerly Kaga Province, in present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... The Akagi (Japanese: 赤城) was an aircraft carrier serving with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The only ship in her class, Akagi played a major part in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, but was sunk along with three other large carriers by dive bombers from US carriers Enterprise...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Enright, Joseph; James W. Ryan (2000). Sea Assault. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-97746-8.  Originally published as Shinano! (ISBN 031200186X) in 1987.
2. ^ Reports of the US Naval Technical Mission to Japan, Ship and Related Targets