World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAmagi was named after the town of Amagi, Fukuoka, Japan and was built by Mitsubishi at Nagasaki. Under the command of Captain Kamenosuke Yamamori, she joined Carrier Division 1 of the Third Fleet in August 1944, immediately following completion. She carried 23 A6M Zero fighters, 21 D3A dive bombers, and 21 B6N torpedo bombers. Between Aug and Oct 1944, she was the flagship of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Mobile Fleet. On 23 Oct 1944, Captain Toshio Miyazaki was named the commanding officer of the ship. On 20 Dec 1944, Rear Admiral Sueo Obayashi of Carrier Division 1 made Amagi his flagship, 10 days after he took over the division. After torpedo attack exercises, she arrived at Kure, Japan on 10 Feb 1945, where she was relieved of flagship duty. On 15 Mar, she joined the 2nd Fleet.

ww2dbaseOn 19 Mar 1945, while at anchor, Amagi was attacked by American aircraft. One bomb hit on the flight deck at starboard aft jammed the aft elevator in the down position. Her gunners claimed 12 kills, though the number was likely inflated.

ww2dbaseBy Apr, due to the lack of aircraft and escorts, Amagi was deemed ineffective for the war effort, and entered semi-permanent mooring status. On 13 Apr, camouflaging work on her began, which included fake trees, houses, and streets. On 20 Apr, Captain Shiro Hiratsuka took over command of Amagi as Captain Miyazaki became the commanding officer of both Amagi and Katsuragi at Kure. Crews of both ships were reduced to minimum.

ww2dbaseIn the morning of 24 Jul 1945, Amagi was attacked by American carrier-based aircraft from Task Force 38. She was damaged by near-misses on both sides at the onset of the attack, including a port side near-miss that blasted a hole 15 feet below the water line and flooded the forward bomb magazine. At about 1000, she was struck by two bombs. The first, a 500-pound bomb, detonated, in the starboard passageway, damaging the No. 2 stack and opened a hole in the starboard hull. The second bomb, the larger bomb, detonated on the centerline amidships, penetrating 25 feet and exploded close to the upper hangar deck, causing serious structural damage. At about 1200, the order to abandon ship was given as bombs continued to fall, causing near-misses that further damaged the ship. The evacuation was completed at 1530. By the end of the attack, her flight deck was completely destroyed, and she suffered a slight list to port due to flooding, but she did not sink, largely thanks to the lack of widespread fire. Over the next few days, flooding became progressively worse, but she remained upright.

ww2dbaseOn 28 Jul, aircraft from Task Force 38 returned for another raid. Amagi received one or two direct bomb hits and many near-misses. The exact details of the damage were unclear due to the ship's status as already abandoned (only a small firefighting team from Kure Navy Yard was aboard), but it was apparent that flooding was now uncontrollable. Her list to port grew worse, and by the morning of 29 Jul, her bow was dipping below the water surface. At 1000 on 29 Jul 1945, she capsized to port and ran aground, dumping her damaged flight deck into the water and exposing her starboard screws.

ww2dbaseAfter the sinking, only one officer and four petty officers were assigned to Amagi as her caretaker crew. After the war, she was inspected by Americans on 13 Oct 1945, then was refloated in Dec 1946 for scrapping, which completed on 12 Dec 1947.

Aircraft Carrier Amagi Interactive Map

Photographs

Amagi Operational Timeline