Underwater for 81 years, the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi was one of the most powerful warships of its time.
The Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi, lost at the Battle of Midway, has once again been glimpsed by human eyes.
The once mighty aircraft carrier, a participant in the early naval battles of World War II including Pearl Harbor, was mortally wounded by American dive bombers before being scuttled in three miles of water. Though discovered in 2019, the ship has only now been surveyed and viewed by a team of underwater explorers.
Lost For 77 Years
The wreck of the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Akagi was discovered in 2019 by a team from Vulcan Inc. aboard the organization’s research vessel R/V Petrel during a mapping expedition of the region. The Petrel has discovered a number of warship grave sites, including the cruiser USS Indianapolis, aircraft carriers USS Hornet and USS Wasp, and the deepest warship wreck ever found, the destroyer USS Johnston.
The Akagi was found in 17,322 feet of water, or 3.2 miles underwater. The ship was detected via sonar, and its was identity confirmed after measurements taken via sonar lined up with the sunken aircraft carrier. The ship is located in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), part of the Hawaiian islands chain. The monument is in the United States’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), meaning that although it is international waters the U.S. government has sole authority over its economic development.
Watch: The first glimpse of the sunken aircraft carrier Akagi.
The visual survey of the Akagi was performed by a team from NOAA-funded Ocean Exploration Trust aboard the vessel E/V Nautilus, during a 27-day research mission throughout the remote, northwestern region of the PMNM. The team also explored other iconic WWII wrecks in the area including the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga and the USS Yorktown.
The Akagi’s wreckage appears buckled and shows signs of heavy damage. Spending 81 years in salt water hasn’t helped the ship either, with heavy corrosion evident. The wreck is too deep for most sea life, but sea anemones adorn the outside of the hull and superstructure. Researchers identified the mon on the bow of the ship, the once-gold painted chrysanthemum and symbol of the Japanese imperial throne.
The Red Castle
The Akagi leaving Sulawesi in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), on March 26, 1942. In the background are other carriers and battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier strike force. She would be sunk less than three months later.
The aircraft carrier Akagi (“red castle”) was one of the most powerful warships of its time. It began construction as a battlecruiser in 1923, but the passage of the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited the fleets of the major world powers, meant that Japan had to finish the hull as something else. The hull was finished as an aircraft carrier instead, and the Akagi was commissioned in 1927.
The Akagi was 855 feet long with a beam (width) of 103 feet. She had a full-length flight deck and a comparatively tiny island superstructure to direct flight operations. Rebuilt in 1938, her final form included three elevators between the flight deck and hangar and two large hangars. The carrier had a maximum speed of 31 knots, had a crew of 2,000, and could carry a mix of 91 fighters, scout planes, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers.
Two Japanese aircraft carriers viewed through the mists of the Pacific Ocean as they prepare to launch their attack against Pearl Harbor. Picture from a Japanese film of the attack.
The Akagi was part of the Kido Butai, a six-carrier strike force of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s First Air Fleet. Unlike American carriers, which often trained as the eyes and ears of the battleship fleet, the Kido Butai trained as an independent force capable of multi-carrier air attacks against enemy fleets. Once such attack was the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, in which the Akagi and five other carriers took part.
After Pearl Harbor, the Akagi took part in the invasion of Rabaul, which later became a major Japanese base in New Guinea. It next took part in an air raid on Darwin, the invasion of Java, and an air raid on Colombo, Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka).
The four aircraft carriers lost at Midway, top to bottom: Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. Akagi was clearly the largest and most powerful.
The Battle of Midway
After a whirlwind seven months rampaging across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, fate caught up with the Akagi approximately 250 nautical miles northwest of the American island of Midway. U.S. naval intelligence, having deduced that Midway was Japan’s next target for invasion, alerted the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Three American carriers pounced on the four carriers of the Kido Butai’s 1st Carrier Striking Force as they supported the attack on Midway, their planes armed with the wrong munitions for a sea battle.
The combined air power of the American aircraft carriers inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese, sinking the Japanese carriers Sōryū and Kaga outright. The Hiryū, heavily damaged, sank the next day. The Akagi found herself in the crosshairs of VB-6, a dive bomber squadron assigned to the carrier USS Enterprise. Twenty eight Dauntless dive bombers attacked the Akagi, scoring four hits. The mighty carrier, heavily damaged and deemed unsalvageable, was scuttled by firing torpedoes into her flaming hull, finally sending her to the bottom.
A squadron of Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers fly in formation over the USS Enterprise, 1941.
The Takeaway
The filming of the Akagi closes the book on one of the most storied aircraft carriers of all time. The Imperial Japanese Navy never recovered from its losses at Midway, and after the war Japan became the thriving country it is today. Today, the navies of the two countries train to fight together, united in the defense of democracy. The Akagi is not just a shipwreck, it is the gravestone of Japanese authoritarianism.
Kyle Mizokami
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
Watch Next
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Pop Mech Pro
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
