Escort Aircraft Carriers (original) (raw)

Units of the Class	Characteristic	History
Akitsu Maru Nigitsu Maru	Displacement: 11.800 Tm Length wl Length oa 480 ft 498 ft 8 in Beam 64 ft Draught 25 ft 9 in Machinery Turbines; 4 Boilers and 1 shaft Performance 8.600 SHP; 20 kts Flight Deck 404 ft x 74 ft, 1 Lift Aircrafts 20 Artillery 10 x 75 mm.; 2 x 77 mm. AA	Imperial Japanese Navy was not the only service to operate with carriers. In early 1941, the Imperial Army projected to convert some merchant ships into assault ships under their command. These vessels could be used both as troop transports and aircraft's transports Reconstruction was limited to redirecting boiler uptakes to the starboard side to emerge in a single funnel. A small flight deck was fitted over the superstructure. JAAF aircrafts could not only be transported, but also flown off to assist landing forces in the rapid establishment of a land-based air defense unit. Twenty standard landing crafts could be carried. Details of wartime operations not known. Both ships, Akitsu Maru and Nigitsu Maru, were sunk by submarines during 1944.
Chigusa Maru Yamashiro Maru	Displacement: 11.800 Tm Length wl Length oa 151 m 157 m Beam 20 m Draught 9 m Machinery Turbines; 2 boilers and 1 shaft Performance 4.500 SHP; 15 kts. Range 9.000 NM; 13 knots Flight Deck 152 m x 23 m; no lift Aircrafts 8 Artillery 16 x 25 mm. AA	Yamashiro Maru commissioned: 27 January 1945 Imperial Japanese Army acquired two tankers in 1944 to convert into escort carriers for army convoys. These carriers operated with Japanese Army's fighters Ki-44 in a limited air and ASW defense role over troop convoys. Only Yamashiro Maru was commissioned. Yamashiro Maru was the only ship of this class which was commissioned. She was sunk by USS aircrafts in February 1945.
Kumano Maru	Displacement: 8.000 Tm. Length wl Length oa 480 ft 501 ft Beam 64 ft 3 in Draught 23 ft Flight Deck 361 ft x 60 ft 6 in; no lifts Machinery Turbines; 4 boilers and 2 shaft Performance 10.000 SHP ;15 kts. Range 6.000 NM a 17 kts. Aircrafts 37 Artillery 8 x 75 mm., 6 x 25 mm.	Commissioned: 30 March 1945 According to concept of amphibious assault ship, Imperial Japanese Army acquired a small transport ship for conversion with a similar scheme to Akitsu Maru class. The army aircrafts could be deployed to assist landing forces in the rapid establishment of a land-based air defense unit but not could be recovered. 13 standard or 40 smaller landing crafts could be carried. Kumanu Maru was not employed in operational services. After the war, she was used as transport.

� 2001- Francisco Jos� Diaz y Diaz and Luis Alberto Gomez Mu�oz. Leon. Spain