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The Shinyo was a Japanese escort carrier produced by converting the German passenger line Scharnhorst. She was the only one of a series of similar carriers not to have been based on a Japanese ship that had been designed with that conversion in mind, but despite that she was very similar to the Taiyo class of carriers.
The Scharnhorst had been built at Bremen in 1934. At the start of the Second World War she had been trapped in the Pacific, and had been purchased by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They had originally intended to use her as a troop transport, but after the battle of Midway it was decided to convert her into a training carrier.
Like the other converted liners the Shinyo was a flush-deck carrier with a single hanger served by two elevators. She could carry 27 operational aircraft, with another six in reserve. Unlike the Japanese liners she retained her original turbo-electic drive system, which gave her the same speed as the turbines installed in the Taiyo class ships.
When first converted the Shinyo carred 8 5in dual purpose guns and 30 25mm antiaircraft guns in ten triple mountings. In July 1944 twenty single 25mm guns were added, bringing the total to 50.
The Shinyo joined the fleet in December 1943 as part of the Grand Escort Command, providing anti-submarine protection to the increasingly vulnerable Japanese merchant fleet. On 17 November 1944, while escorting a convoy heading to Singapore, she was hit by torpedoes from the submarine USS Spadefish, which caused an explosion in her aviation fuel tanks. She sank with the loss of most of her crew.
Displacement (standard) |
17,500t |
Displacement (loaded) |
20,586t |
Top Speed |
22kts |
Range |
7,000nm |
Aircraft |
33 (27 operational). |
Length |
621ft 3in max |
Armament |
8 5in/40 dual purpose guns in double mountings |
Crew complement |
942 |
Launched |
14 December 1934 (Germany) |
Completed as carrier |
15 December 1943 |
Sunk |
17 November 1944 |