IJN Ryujo

The IJN Ryujo was a light aircraft carrier used by Japan during the Sino-Japanese War and WW2. Built by Mitsubishi in Yokohama shipyard, she was laid down in 1929 and launched in 1931. After two years of sea trials, she was commissioned in service of the Imperial Japanese Navy on May 9, 1933. However, the ship would be rebuilt one year later, between 1934 and 1936.

Like other Japanese carriers, the IJN Ryujo had no island on her flight deck. The bridge was located below the forward part of flight deck on the bow section of ship. Although it had originally been designed to carry 24 aircraft in a single hangar, the Imperial Japanese Navy determined that such small group of aircraft would not be effective as a fighting force. As a result, a second hangar was added, giving her the capacity to carry 48 aircraft. This modification increased her tonnage from 8,000 to 10,600 tons.

In August 1934, Ryujo was sent back to the yards to address stability problems. Thus, the work was mainly intended to reduce instability and improve sea-keeping. To achieve this, the hull was strengthened, the underwater bulges were enlarged, and the armament reduced as more ballast was added. It was fitted with two geared steam turbines, with two shafts, as a propulsion system, which was fed by twelve boilers.

Below, the IJN Ryujo sailing in the Pacific after modifications

Operational History

During the Japanese invasion of China, the IJN Ryujo was used to provide fire support to the Japanese Army with her dive bombers. When World War II broke out, she was employed extensively during the initial period of the Pacific war. Ryujo's aircraft also provided close support to the Japanese landings in the Philippines in December 1941 as well as to the invasion of Java in February 1942.

Ryujo also took part in the Japanese Navy Aleutians diversionary attack, thus avoiding the Battle of Midway. Being part of the Japanese fleet assigned to counter the American invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942, she participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, during which she was sunk by four bombs and one torpedoes dropped from the USS Saratoga's aircraft.

Specifications

Type: light aircraft carrier

Displacement: 10,600 tons

Length: 179.9 m (590.3 feet)

Beam: 20.8 m (68.2 feet)

Draft: 7.1 m (23.3 feet)

Propulsion: two geared turbines, with two shafts, twelve water-tube boilers, generating 65,000 SHP.

Maximum Speed: 29 knots

Range: 10,000 nautical miles

Aircraft: 48 fighters, dive-bombers and torpedo-bombers

Armament: eight 127-mm and four 25-mm AA guns

Compliment: 924 sailors and officers

Below, Ryujo in 1937.

Aerial view of Ryujo