Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Ryuho
Ryūhō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was converted from the submarine tender Taigei, which had been used in the Second Sino-Japanese War. One of the least successful of the light aircraft carrier conversions due to its small size, slow speed and weak construction, during World War II, Ryūhō was used primarily as an aircraft transport and for training purposes, although she was also involved in a number of combat missions, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Ryūhō was attacked by Task Force 58 aircraft on 19 March 1945 near Kure, suffering hits by three 500 lb bombs and two 5.5-inch rockets. The damage was severe: the flight deck bulged upward between the two elevators, the No. 1 boiler was punctured by a bomb fragment, the stern settled two meters into the water, and a raging fire broke out. Twenty crewmen were killed and 30 were wounded. Upon returning to Kure on 1 April, Ryūhō was considered to be a total loss. Moored as an abandoned hulk off of Etajima, she was attacked by American aircraft again on 24 July and 28 July. She was struck from the navy list on 30 November 1945 and scrapped in 1946.
Japanese submarine depot ship Taigei, Kure, Japan, spring 1935; she was later converted to light carrier Ryuho 
Ryūhō as seen from the gunners seat of a Nakajima B5N2 Kate during Operation Ke. February 2nd, 1943 
Ryuho, 1942 
Ryuho 
Damage to the flight deck of Ryuho at Kure, Japan, 9 October 1945. View looking aft from amidships. 
Damage to the flight deck of Ryuho at Kure, Japan, 9 October 1945 Taken by the after elevator, looking forward 
Damage to the flight deck of Ryuho at Kure, Japan, 9 October 1945. View in hangar deck looking forward, showing crack in flight deck. 
Ryuho in Tokyo Bay, Japan, Nov 1942 
Ryuho at Kure, Japan, 9 October 1945 
Stern of the damaged Ryuho, at Kure, Japan on 9 October 1945. 
Ryuho at Kure, Japan, 1945; note damage to elevators and bulged flight deck
