Japanese aircraft carrier Akitsu Maru

The Akitsu Maru was a Japanese finished in January 1942 escort aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. In some sources, the Akitsu Maru and her sister ship, the designated Nigitsu Maru as the world's first amphibious assault ships. Because of bad relations between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Army found it necessary to operate their own aircraft carrier as escorts for the transport ship convoy the army.

Construction

When Akitsu Maru, it was originally a passenger ship, which was acquired prior to the completion by the Japanese Navy. About the fuselage a flight deck was installed during renovations. Since the ship did not have a hangar for aircraft, aircraft between the flight deck and the original deck of the passenger ship were turned off. From the flight deck of normal aircraft could launch a landing on the deck was not possible for technical reasons. Therefore, the Akitsu Maru was mainly used as a ferry, transporting the aircraft from Japan to bases in the Pacific Islands. As originally envisaged main task you should do in landing operations with their air support aircraft. For landing operations, the Akitsu Maru could accommodate 27 Daihatsu landing craft.

Technical details

The machinery of the escort carrier had four boilers and drove in two screws. The machine generated an output of up to 7,500 hp, so a speed of 20 knots could be achieved. The water displacement was 11,800 tons.

Fate

On 18 November 1943, the Akitsu Maru and destroyer escort giving Tomazuru by the American submarine USS Crevalle at the entrance to Manila Bay were torpedoed. Erroneously reported the submarine sinking of the escort carrier. Definitively the Akitsu Maru was sunk on 15 November 1944, the submarine USS Queenfish.