Shimane Maru-class escort carrier

Last updated
ShimaneMaru-1945.jpg
Shimane Maru, 28 July 1945
Class overview
NameShimane Maru
Builders Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
OperatorsNaval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by Shinyo
Succeeded byNone
Built1944–1945
In commission1945
Planned4
Completed1
Cancelled2
Lost2
General characteristics
Type Escort carrier
Tonnage10,002  gross register tons  (GRT)
Displacement11,989 tonnes (11,800 long tons) (standard)
Length160.5 m (527 ft) (o/a)
Beam20 m (66 ft)
Draught9.1 m (29 ft 10 in) (mean)
Installed power
Propulsion1 shaft; 1 steam turbine
Speed18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph)
Range10,000  nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Sensors and
processing systems
Type 3, Mark 1, Model 3 radar
Armament
Aircraft carried12

The Shimane Maru class was a pair of auxiliary escort carriers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II.

Contents

Four additional conversions were reportedly considered but not carried out. Although both ships were launched, only one was completed, and neither entered active service before being destroyed.

Design and description

The concept of the class was similar to British merchant aircraft carrier. The class consisted of two oil tankers of 10,002  gross register tons  (GRT) that were modified by the Navy to provide minimal anti-submarine air cover for convoys going from Southeast Asia to the Japanese homeland. The conversion consisted of fitting a full-length flight deck, a small hangar, and a single elevator. An island and catapults were not installed. The only other change was the rerouting of the boiler uptakes to the aft starboard side where they discharged in a typical downward-facing funnel.

The ships had a length of 160.5 meters (526 ft 7 in) overall and 150 meters (492 ft 2 in) between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 20 meters (65 ft 7 in) at the waterline and a mean draft of 9.1 meters (29 ft 10 in). They displaced 11,989 metric tons (11,800 long tons) at standard load. [1]

The Shimane Maru-class ships were fitted with a single geared steam turbine set with a total of 8,600 shaft horsepower (6,400 kW). It drove one propeller shaft using steam provided by two boilers. The ships had a designed speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) and a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). [2]

The flight deck was 154.99 meters (508 ft 6 in) long and had a maximum width of 23.01 meters (75 ft 6 in). [2] The hangar, built on top of the well deck, was served by a single elevator from the flight deck. It had a capacity of a dozen aircraft. [1]

Ships

ShipBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFate
Shimane Maru (しまね丸) Kawasaki Heavy Industries Shipyard, Kobe 8 June 194417 December 194428 February 1945Sunk 24 July 1945 by British aircraft
Ōtakisan Maru (大瀧山丸)Kawasaki Heavy Industries Shipyard, Kobe18 September 194414 January 1945NeverScrapped, 1948

Photo

Notes

  1. 1 2 Chesneau, p. 186
  2. 1 2 Jentschura, Jung and Mickel, p. 62
  3. "改造空母「しまね丸」爆撃". www.asahi-net.or.jp.

Bibliography


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