[/size]The Shōkaku class aircraft carriers (Japanese: 翔鶴 "Flying Crane") were a pair of aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Shōkaku and Zuikaku formed the 5th Carrier Division of the IJN, and both fought with distinction, with both participating in the first carrier battle in history, the battle of the Coral Sea. Eventually, both ships were destroyed before the end of the Second World War, with Shōkaku being sunk by an American submarine in the battle of the Phillipine Sea, and Zuikaku being sunk at the end of the same year in the battle of Leyte Gulf. Out of the original six Japanese carriers that attacked Pearl Harbour, the Shōkaku and Zuikaku were the 5th and 6th to be destroyed, respectively.
The Shōkaku class carriers were part of the same program that also included the Yamato-class battleships. No longer restricted by the provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty, which expired in December 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy was free to incorporate all those features they deemed most desirable in an aircraft carrier, namely high speed, a long radius of action, heavy protection and a large aircraft capacity. Shōkaku was laid down at Yokosuka Dockyard on 12 December 1937, launched on 1 June 1939, and commissioned on 8 August 1941.
With an efficient modern design, a displacement of about 32,000 long tons (33,000 t), and a top speed of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph), Shōkaku could carry 70–80 aircraft. Her enhanced protection compared favorably to that of contemporary Allied aircraft carriers and enabled Shōkaku to survive serious battle damage during Coral Sea and Santa Cruz.
