text: japanese aircraft carrier hōshō hōshō ( , literally " phoenix in flight " ) was the world 's first commissioned ship that was designed and built as an aircraft carrier , and the first aircraft carrier of the imperial japanese navy ( ijn ) . commissioned in 1922 , the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment , techniques , such as take - offs and landings , and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics . the ship provided valuable lessons and experience for the ijn in early carrier air operations . hōshō 's superstructure and other obstructions to the flight deck were removed in 1924 on the advice of experienced aircrews . hōshō and her aircraft group participated in the shanghai incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the sino - japanese war in late 1937 . during those two conflicts , the carrier 's aircraft supported imperial japanese army ground operations and engaged in aerial combat with aircraft of the nationalist chinese air force . the small size of the ship and her assigned ( usually around 15 aircraft ) limited the effectiveness of her contributions to combat operations . as a result , the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to japan from china and she became a training carrier in 1939 . during world war ii , hōshō participated in the battle of midway in june 1942 in a secondary role . after the battle , the carrier resumed her training role in japanese home waters for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage from air attacks . she was used as a repatriation transport after the war , making nine trips to bring some 40 , 000 japanese soldiers and civilians to japan from overseas locations . hōshō was scrapped in japan beginning in 1946 . design and description construction of a seaplane carrier was authorized by the japanese government in its " eight - six " fleet program of 1918 . a planned sister ship , named , was cancelled in 1922 before any construction started . hōshō was the second warship , after the british hms hermes , to be designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier , but was launched and completed earlier than hermes . hōshō was planned as a seaplane carrier like the british hms campania with a forward flying - off deck , 32 aircraft , four low - angle 14 - centimeter ( 5 . 5 in ) guns , and four anti - aircraft ( aa ) guns . the plan was revised after reports were received from japanese observers with the royal navy in europe about the desirability to be able to land aircraft on the ship . the new requirements were modeled on hms furious after she received her rear flight deck in 1918 . the ship was to be capable of 30 knots ( 56 km / h ; 35 mph ) and fitted with a forward flight deck , superstructure and funnels amidships , and a large hangar aft . shortly thereafter based on observations of landing trials on furious and hms argus , the world 's first flush - decked aircraft carrier , hōshō 's flight deck design was revised in april 1919 . the superstructure was removed and the funnels were moved to one side to create an unobstructed , full - length flight deck , and the ship was reclassified as an aircraft carrier . the ship 's hull was based on that of a large cruiser and she was given a small island . her three funnels were mounted on the starboard side and swiveled to lie horizontal during flight operations . hōshō 's designed speed was reduced to 25 knots ( 46 km / h ; 29 mph ) , based on british experiences during world war i. general characteristics hōshō was completed with an overall length of 168 . 25 meters ( 552 ft 0 in ) . she had a beam of 17 . 98 meters ( 59 ft 0 in ) and a mean draft of 6 . 17 meters ( 20 ft 3 in ) . the ship displaced 7 , 470 long tons ( 7 , 590 t ) at standard load , and 9 , 494 long tons ( 9 , 646 t ) at normal load . her crew totaled 512 officers and men . the ship was almost completely unarmored . propulsion hōshō had two parsons geared turbine sets with a total of 30 , 000 shaft horsepower ( 22 , 000 kw ) driving two propeller shafts . eight kampon type b water - tube boilers with a working pressure of 18 . 3 kg / cm2 ( 1 , 790 kpa ; 260 psi ) and a temperature of 138 ° c ( 280 ° f ) provided steam to the turbines , although only four were oil - fired . the other four used a mix of oil and coal . the ship 's designed speed was 25 knots , but she made 26 . 66 knots ( 49 . 37 km / h ; 30 . 68 mph ) from 31 , 117 shaft horsepower ( 23 , 204 kw ) on her sea trials on 30 november 1922 . she carried 2 , 700 long tons ( 2 , 700 t ) of fuel oil and 940 long tons ( 960 t ) of coal , an extraordinary total for such a small ship , to give her a range of 8 , 680 nautical miles ( 16 , 080 km ; 9 , 990 mi ) at 12 knots ( 22 km / h ; 14 mph ) . to reduce rolling and increase stability for aircraft operations , a produced by the american sperry gyroscope company was installed . the installation initially proved unreliable as the japanese technicians were badly trained by sperry , but eventually the system proved its worth as the technicians gained experience . flight deck arrangements hōshō 's flight deck was 168 . 25 meters ( 552 ft 0 in ) long and 22 . 62 meters ( 74 ft 3 in ) wide . the forward end sloped down at an angle of − 5 ° to help aircraft accelerate during takeoff . a small island was mounted well forward on the starboard side and contained the ship 's bridge and air operations control center . the island was fitted with a small tripod mast intended to mount the ship 's fire - control system . fifteen different types of landing equipment were evaluated before the british longitudinal wire system was adopted . low landing speeds of the time meant that aircraft had little difficulty in stopping , but their light weight made them vulnerable to wind gusts that could blow them over the side of the carrier , and the longitudinal wires helped to prevent that . forward of the island was a collapsible crane for loading aircraft into the forward hangar . the flight deck , unlike those on royal navy carriers , was superimposed on the ship 's hull rather than constructed as a strength deck supporting the carrier 's hull structure . a system of lights and mirrors along the flight deck assisted pilots in landing on the carrier . hōshō was the only japanese aircraft carrier with two hangars . the forward hangar was 67 . 2 by 9 . 5 meters ( 220 ft 6 in by 31 ft 2 in ) and only one deck in height as it was intended to house nine small aircraft , such as fighters . the two - story rear hangar measured 16 . 5 by 14 meters ( 54 ft 2 in by 45 ft 11 in ) at the forward end and 29 . 4 by 12 meters ( 96 ft 5 in by 39 ft 4 in ) at the rear end . it was designed to house six large aircraft , such as torpedo bombers , as well as six reserve aircraft . each hangar was served by an aircraft elevator . the forward elevator was 10 . 35 by 7 . 86 meters ( 34 . 0 by 25 . 8 ft ) and the aft elevator measured 13 . 71 by 6 . 34 meters ( 45 ft 0 in by 20 ft 10 in ) . air group hōshō had a normal capacity of fifteen aircraft , subject to the limitations of her hangars . she was first commissioned with an air group of nine mitsubishi ( type 10 ) fighters and three to six mitsubishi b1m3 ( type 13 ) torpedo bombers . in 1928 , the fighters were replaced by the ( type 3 ) . three years later the air group consisted of nakajima a2n ( type 90 ) fighters and mitsubishi ( type 89 ) torpedo bombers . in 1938 nakajima a4n ( type 95 ) fighters and yokosuka ( type 92 ) bombers flew from the ship . in 1940 the air group was modernized with mitsubishi a5m ( type 96 ) " claude " fighters and yokosuka ( type 96 ) " jean " bombers . armament hōshō was armed with four 50 - caliber 14 cm / 50 3rd year type guns , two on each side . the two forward guns had a firing arc of 150 ° , including straight ahead , while the rear guns could fire 120 ° on either side . they fired 38 - kilogram ( 84 lb ) projectiles at a rate of six to ten rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of about 850 m / s ( 2 , 800 ft / s ) ; at 35 ° , they had a maximum range of 19 , 750 m ( 21 , 600 yd ) . a heavy gun armament was provided for hōshō ; as carrier doctrine was just evolving at this time , the impracticability of carriers engaging in gun duels had not yet been realized . her large flight deck and lack of armor made her a vulnerable target in surface battles . a pair of 40 - caliber 8 cm / 40 3rd year type guns on disappearing mounts provided hōshō 's only anti - aircraft defense . they were positioned on the flight deck , just forward of the rear elevator . these guns fired 5 . 67 – 5 . 99 - kilogram ( 12 . 5 – 13 . 2 lb ) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of about 680 m / s ( 2 , 231 ft / s ) ; at 45 ° , this provided a maximum range of 10 , 800 meters ( 11 , 800 yd ) , and they had a maximum ceiling of 7 , 200 meters ( 23 , 600 ft ) at 75 ° elevation . their effective rate of fire was 13 to 20 rounds per minute . service early career hōshō 's keel was laid down by the asano shipbuilding company in - ku , yokohama , on 16 december 1920 . she was launched on 13 november 1921 and towed to yokosuka naval arsenal for completion on 10 january 1922 . hōshō was delayed by repeated design changes and late deliveries of equipment , pushing the commissioning date from march to 27 december 1922 . she was commissioned lacking much of her aviation equipment , and did not begin landing trials until 22 february 1923 . the first landings were made by british pilots under contract , who were quickly replaced by japanese pilots trained by the british aviation mission . after hōshō was commissioned , experienced aircrews requested changes , and the ship was modified by the yokosuka navy arsenal from 6 june to 20 august 1924 . the island , tripod mast , and aircraft crane were removed since they partially obstructed the flight deck and obscured pilot visibility . the forward part of the flight deck was made horizontal , and the 8 cm aa guns were moved forward , close to the position of the former island and out of the way of landing operations . after the island was removed , the carrier 's flight operations were controlled from a platform extending from the side of the flight deck , a design that would be repeated in subsequent japanese aircraft carriers . the ship was then assigned to the 1st fleet until 15 november 1924 . hōshō was fitted with a net used as a crash barrier aft of the forward elevator between 10 march and 2 july 1925 . the barrier was intended to prevent landing aircraft from colliding with aircraft preparing to take off , and stop them from falling into the open elevator well . the barrier was hydraulically operated and could be erected in three seconds . as the first of her kind , hōshō provided valuable experience and insight into carrier air operations for the ijn . the ship was used for testing aircraft and equipment , particularly various types of arresting gear and optical landing aids . the lessons learned influenced the design and construction of ryūjō and the subsequent conversions of akagi and kaga into aircraft carriers . hōshō was actively used to develop carrier operational methods and tactics for the ijn during the 1920s . she was assigned to the first carrier division with akagi on 1 april 1928 . during the 1930s hōshō was fitted with three different types of transverse arresting gear for trials . shanghai along with kaga , hōshō was assigned to the first carrier division and sent to china during the shanghai incident that began in january 1932 . operating with the third fleet , hōshō arrived at the mouth of the yangtze river on 1 february . her aircraft participated in the ijn 's first aerial combat on 5 february when three fighters , escorting two attack aircraft , were engaged by nine chinese fighters ; one chinese fighter was damaged . two days later , the two carriers sent some of their aircraft to kunda airfield where they flew ground attack missions in support of the imperial japanese army . between 23 and 26 february , kaga and hōshō bombers attacked chinese airfields at hangzhou and suzhou , destroying a number of chinese aircraft on the ground . on 26 february , six fighters from hōshō , escorting nine attack aircraft from kaga on one of the bombing raids , shot down two of five chinese fighters that engaged them . the first carrier division rejoined the combined fleet on 20 march , after a ceasefire had been declared on 3 march . fourth fleet incident hōshō participated in the combined fleet maneuvers of 1935 where she was attached to the ijn fourth fleet . the fleet was caught out in a typhoon on 23 september . the carrier and a number of other japanese ships were badly damaged in what was referred to as the " fourth fleet incident . " the ship 's forward flight deck collapsed and part had to be cut away before the carrier could proceed to yokosuka for repairs . the fourth fleet incident and the tomozuru incident of 1934 , in which a top - heavy torpedo boat capsized in heavy weather , caused the japanese command to investigate the stability of all their ships , resulting in a number of design changes to improve stability and increase hull strength . while the hōshō was at the dockyard between 22 november 1935 and 31 march 1936 , her stability was improved ; the forward flight deck 's supports were reinforced and increased in number ; the ship 's aa guns , aircraft crane and upper deck aviation fuel tanks were removed ; the funnels were fixed in the horizontal position with their mouths angled slightly downwards ; the front sides of hōshō 's forward hangar and bridge were reinforced ; and the ship 's hull was reinforced in the vicinity of her rear hangar to increase her longitudinal strength . at full load , her metacentric height after these changes was 1 . 11 meters ( 3 ft 8 in ) . six twin 13 . 2 mm type 93 hotchkiss machine guns were also fitted . sino - japanese war during the sino - japanese war , hōshō returned to the third fleet and supported land operations of the army in china around august or october 1937 with ryūjō , later joined by kaga . hōshō 's air unit began flying ground support missions in the shanghai area on 16 july . three of the ship 's nakajima a2n fighters engaged two martin b - 10 heavy bombers on 25 july , shooting down one of them . the ship departed on 1 september to refuel , but did not return to the shanghai area . accompanied by ryūjō , she sailed to the south china coast and began operations against chinese forces near canton on 21 september . on that day , hōshō contributed six fighters to escort bombers attacking airfields at and . they claimed six enemy aircraft shot down , but the range proved to be too long . five of the fighters ran out of fuel and had to ditch in the sea , although the aircrews were rescued . hōshō and ryūjō bombers continued with almost daily attack missions until the end of september . hōshō and ryūjō returned to the shanghai area on 3 october and hōshō 's aircraft were temporarily transferred to kunda airfield to support ground operations . on 17 october , hōshō transferred all of her aircraft to ryūjō and returned to japan . hōshō was placed in reserve on 1 december 1937 . her aircraft elevators were enlarged in 1939 : the forward elevator to 12 . 8 by 8 . 5 meters ( 42 by 28 ft ) and the rear elevator to 13 . 7 by 7 meters ( 45 by 23 ft ) . on 12 august 1939 hōshō was deemed useful as a training carrier and , in critical battles , as a platform for a4n1 ( type 95 ) fighters and ( type 96 ) torpedo bombers , for as long as those planes remained serviceable . a later investigation determined on 23 december 1940 that she could not operate the latest aircraft types like the mitsubishi a6m zero , the aichi d3a " val " , or the nakajima b5n " kate " in combat . also , the small size of the carrier 's limited the ship 's potential value to the fleet in any future conflicts . world war ii pearl harbor and midway hōshō began the pacific war in the third carrier division assigned to the 1st fleet under vice admiral shirō takasu . the carrier , captained by umetani , was tasked along with zuihō to provide air support , including scouting , anti - submarine patrols , and combat air patrol for the combined fleet 's " main body " battle - line of six battleships : nagato , mutsu , fusō , yamashiro , ise , and hyūga . with the main body , hōshō sortied from the inland sea on 7 december 1941 to provide distant cover for the carrier forces under chūichi nagumo which were attacking pearl harbor . the battleship force turned back 300 nautical miles ( 556 km ) east of japan , but hōshō became separated on 10 december due to radio silence restrictions while conducting anti - submarine air operations . the carrier was located by scout aircraft the next day 500 nautical miles ( 926 km ) east of the main body and returned to port at kure on 12 december . on 29 may 1942 , hōshō sortied from japan with the rest of the fleet for the operation which resulted in the battle of midway , providing modest air protection , scouting , and anti - submarine support for the main body , now consisting of the battleships yamato , nagato , and mutsu . her aircraft complement for the operation consisted of eight obsolete yokosuka b4y carrier attack aircraft ( torpedo bombers ) . with the main body trailing 300 nautical miles ( 556 km ) behind the carrier striking force , hōshō missed the major portion of the battle in which nagumo 's four fleet carriers were ambushed and fatally damaged by us carrier aircraft on 4 june . the next day , hōshō aircraft helped guide the remnants of nagumo 's force to a rendezvous with the main body . around the same time , one of hōshō 's aircraft , crewed by pilot shigeo nakamura and observer kiyoshi , discovered the burning , sinking hiryū . photographs of the abandoned carrier taken by have been described as " among the most dramatic of the war in the pacific " . with the battle lost , a significant strategic defeat for japan , the carrier returned to japan with the rest of the fleet , arriving at the hashirajima anchorage on 14 june . training ship after her return to japan , hōshō was transferred to the third fleet , unofficially assigned to the training fleet ( later called the mobile force training force ) , and officially assigned in october . she conducted flight training in the inland sea for aircraft that flew in from shore bases , since no aircraft were based on board hōshō . on 15 january 1943 , the 50th air flotilla was created for carrier aircrew training and both hōshō and ryūhō were assigned to the new unit . the two ships provided carrier landing training and served as target ships for torpedo training . in january 1944 , hōshō was reassigned to the 12th air fleet , then to the combined fleet , but continued to perform the same mission of training fleet carrier pilots in the inland sea . in this role , hōshō shuttled back and forth between kure and the western inland sea , spending equal amounts of time at each location . in order to service new and larger aircraft like the nakajima b6n " jill " torpedo bomber and the yokosuka d4y " judy " dive bomber , the flight deck was extended over 6 meters ( 19 ft 8 in ) at each end to a total length of 180 . 8 meters ( 593 ft 2 in ) from 27 march to 26 april 1944 . hōshō also received new arresting gear and a new crash barrier . the additional weight high up in the ship adversely affected her stability and she was restricted from operations in bad weather lest she capsize . at some point during the war the ship 's 14 cm guns were removed and she received about twenty 25 - millimeter type 96 autocannons in single mounts . they fired .25 - kilogram ( 0 . 55 lb ) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 900 m / s ( 3 , 000 ft / s ) ; at 50 ° , this provided a maximum range of 7 , 500 meters ( 8 , 202 yd ) , and an effective ceiling of 5 , 500 meters ( 18 , 000 ft ) . the 15 - round magazines needed to be changed frequently , and the maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute . after the modifications , hōshō continued to provide training to navy pilots in the inland sea , including acting as a target ship for torpedo training . at 05 : 30 on 19 march 1945 , possibly while berthed at kure , the carrier was caught in an air raid by carrier aircraft from the united states task force 58 . hōshō 's flight deck was damaged by three bomb hits which killed six crewmen . emergency repairs were made and her captain was ordered to keep her in readiness on 10 april . however , this order was revoked two days later and the carrier became a " 4th reserve ship " with most of her crew transferred elsewhere . hōshō was taken out of reserve as a " special guard ship " on 1 june and many of her crew were transferred back . during this time , the ship remained moored and camouflaged off at kure . hōshō was slightly damaged by a single bomb or aerial rocket hit when the allies attacked kure again in july 1945 . information is scarce on the extent of the ship 's involvement in the action , but it appears the carrier 's participation was minimal , as it embarked no aircraft at the time . hōshō was repaired within 15 days , but the termination of hostilities in september 1945 found the carrier still docked at kure . post - war after the war , hōshō served as a repatriation transport to retrieve japanese servicemen and civilians stationed overseas and return them to japan . in october and november 1945 , accompanied by the cruiser kashima , she carried 700 passengers from wotje atoll , 311 from jaluit atoll , and an undocumented number from enewetak atoll to uraga , kanagawa . in december 1945 , hōshō 's overhanging flight deck at the bow was cut off and her hangars were modified to carry more passengers . thereafter , she undertook more repatriation missions beginning with one to wewak on 5 january 1946 and subsequent trips to china . in total , the carrier made nine repatriation trips before 15 august 1946 and transported about 40 , 000 passengers . hōshō was transferred to the ministry of the interior on 31 august for disposal . she was scrapped in osaka from 2 september 1946 to 1 may 1947 by the shipbuilding company .