Destruction of the Japanese Fleet

As stated earlier in this report Japan started the war with 10 carriers. Six were sunk during the engagements of 1942. The Japanese during the course of the war constructed or converted from other types of ships a total of 17 additional carriers including 5 escort carriers; of the conversions one was made on a Yamoto-class battleship hull and two, carriers only in part, were the result of removing the after turrets of battleships and installing small hangers and launching decks. Due to the loss of their trained carrier air groups in 1942-43 and the time required to train new ones, the Japanese did not commit their carriers again until 1944. In the engagements of that year the Japanese lost 7 carriers without themselves securing appreciable results. Seven more were lost in home waters to submarine or air attack. All Japanese carriers sunk were lost either to our carrier-based aircraft or to submarines with the exception of one which was finished off by surface vessels after it had been mortally damaged by carrier airplanes.

The Japanese had two Yamato-class battleships, each of 64,000 tons, armed with 18-inch guns and minutely compartmented, which were more powerful than any United States battleship. One was sunk in the Sibuyan Sea, the other south of Kyushu, both by carrier torpedo-planes.

Japan began the war with 381 warships aggregating approximately 1,271,000 tons. An additional 816 combat ships totaling 1,048,000 tons were constructed during the war. Five hundred and forty-nine ships of all types and sizes, totaling 1,744,000 tons were sunk. Approximately 1,300,000 tons of Japanese warships in the carrier, battleship, cruiser and destroyer categories were included in the aggregate tonnage sunk. Of this total roughly 625,000 tons were sunk by Navy and Marine aircraft, 375,000 tons by submarines, 183,000 tons by surface vessels, 55,000 tons by Army aircraft, and 65,000 tons by various agents. Only 196,000 tons in these categories remained afloat at the end of the war. The tonnage sunk by surface ships was principally in night actions. A shortage of Japanese destroyers after 1943 and inadequate Japanese air antisubmarine measures contributed to the successes of United States submarines against the Japanese fleet.

After the liberation of the Philippines and the capture of Okinawa, oil imports into Japan were completely cut off; fuel oil stocks had been exhausted, and the few remaining Japanese warships, being without fuel, were decommissioned or were covered with camouflage and used only as antiaircraft platforms. Except for its shore-based Kamikaze airforce and surface and undersea craft adapted for anti-invasion suicide attack, the Japanese Navy had ceased to exist.