Japanese seaplane carrier Mizuho

History
Mizuho off Tateyama, Japan, in 1940.
Empire of Japan
Name:	Mizuho
Laid down:	1 May 1937
Launched:	16 May 1938
Commissioned:	25 February 1939
Fate:	Sunk 2 May 1942
General characteristics
Type:	Seaplane carrier
Displacement:	10,930 tons standard
Length:	183.6 m (602 ft 4 in) (waterline)
Beam:	18.8 m (61 ft 8 in)
Propulsion:	2-shaft diesel engines, 15,200 bhp (11,300 kW)
Speed:	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Armament:	6 × 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns 20 × Type 96 25 mm AA gunss
Aircraft carried:	24 seaplanes

Mizuho (瑞穂) was a seaplane carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The ship was built at Kawasaki Shipbuilding at Kobe, Japan, and was completed in February 1939.^[1]^[2]

Design and description

Mizuho was built to a similar design as the seaplane carrier Chitose, but with slightly less powerful diesel engines instead of Chitose's turbines.^[3] She carried 24 seaplanes,^[1] and was equipped to carry twelve miniature submarines,^[1] although she could not carry full loads of both at one time.^[3]

Service history

Mizuho participated in invasion support for much of her career;^[1] her first mission was with the Fourth Surprise Attack Force.^[2] On 1 March 1942, planes from Mizuho and Chitose damaged the American destroyer USS Pope, which was later sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ryūjō and gunfire from the heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myōkō.^[4]

Sinking

The American submarine USS Drum torpedoed Mizuho at 23:03 hours on 1 May 1942 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) off Omaezaki, Japan. She capsized and sank at 04:16 hours on 2 May 1942 with the loss of 101 lives. There were 472 survivors, of which 31 were wounded.^[3]^[5]^[6]

Footnotes

1 2 3 4 Toppan, Andrew (June 25, 1998). "World Aircraft Carriers List: Japanese Seaplane Ships". Retrieved 2009-07-04.
1 2 Budge, Kent. "Mizuho, Japanese Seaplane Carrier". The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
1 2 3 "IJN Mizuho Seaplane Carrier". Retrieved 2009-07-04.
↑ Tully, Anthony. "IJN Mizuho: Tabular Record of Movement". Retrieved 2009-07-04.
↑ "USS Drum". Retrieved 2009-07-04.
↑ combinedfleet.com IJN Mizuho Tabular Record of Movement

External links

Japanese auxiliary ship classes of World War II

Colliers and oilers	Notoro Ondo Sunosaki Ashizuri Kazahaya^S Hayasui^S Hario^S Muroto Teiyō Maru^S Ōse (ex-Dutch tanker Genota)^SC

Food supply ships	Mamiya^S Nosaki^S Kinesaki Irako^S Kurasaki^SC

Landing ships	No.1 No.101 Shinshū Maru^S (Army) SS (Army)

Armed merchant cruisers	Aikoku Maru^S Kongō Maru^S Noshiro Maru^S

Minelayers and cable layer	Tokiwa^SC Itsukushima^S Yaeyama^S Okinoshima^S Tsugaru^S Minoo^SC Shirataka^S Hatsutaka Tsubame Natsushima (1933) Sokuten (1938) Hirashima Ajiro^S Kamishima Hashima Sokuten (1913) Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HMS Barlight)^SC

Minesweepers	No.1 (1923) No.5 (1928) No.13 No.17 No.7 (1938) No.19 No.101 (ex-HMS Taitam and HMS Waglan)^C Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HNLMS DEFG-class) Aux. No.104 (ex-HNLMS DEFG-class)

Patrol boats	No.1^C No.31^C No.46^SC No.101 (ex-HMS Thracian)^SC No.102 (ex-USS Stewart)^SC No.103 (ex-USS Finch)^SC No.104 (ex-Dutch East Indies Valk and Arend)^C No.105 (ex-Philippine customs Arayat)^SC No.106 (ex-HNLMS Banckert (1929))^SCI No.107 (ex-USS Genesee)^SC No.109 (ex-Dutch East Indies Fazant)^SC Aux. No.1

Repair ships	Asahi^SC Akashi^S Hayase (ex-Chinese passenger Chin Kiang)^SC Hitonose (ex-ROCN Min Sheng)^SC

Seaplane tenders	Notoro Kamoi^SC Chitose Mizuho^S Nisshin^S Akitsushima^S Kamikawa Maru

Submarine chasers	No.1 No.3^S No.4 No.13 No.28 No.60 Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HNLMS Tjerimai)^SC Aux. No.102 (ex-HNLMS Ardjoeno class)^C Aux. No.103 (ex-HNLMS B1 class)^C Aux. No.111 (ex-HNLMS P13 or P14)^SC Aux. No.112 (ex-HNLMS A class)^C Aux. No.117 (ex-HNLMS Bantam)^C Aux. No.251 Aux. No.253^S

Submarine tenders	Komahashi^SC Jingei Taigei^S

Survey ships	Tsukushi^S Katsuriki^SC Hakusa (ex-China customs Fu Hsing)^SC

Target ships	Settsu^SC Yakaze^SC Hakachi^S Ōhama^S

Training ships	Fuji^SC Shikishima^SC Asama^SC Azuma^SC Kasuga^SC Atada (ex-ROCN Yat Sen)^SC

Others	Sōya (freighter)^SC Kashino (turret transporter)^S Ōtomari (icebreaker)^S Tategami (salvage tug) Kasashima (salvage tug) Miura (salvage tug) Kaiyō No.1 (oceanographic research ship) Asuka (traffic ship, ex-ROCN Yung Chien)^SC

S Single ship of class C Converted to ship type I Incomplete until the end of war

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1942

Shipwrecks	1 May: HMS Punjabi 2 May: USS Cythera, HMS Edinburgh, Hermann Schoemann, ORP Jastrząb, USS Mindanao, Mizuho, U-74 4 May: USS Pigeon, USS Tanager 5 May: Bévéziers, Kikuzuki, USS Genesee, Maryann 6 May: Alcoa Puritan, D'Entrecasteaux, Empire Buffalo, USS Luzon, USS Oahu, USS Quail 7 May: Shōhō, USS Sims 8 May: USS Lexington, HMS Olympus 9 May: U-352 10 May: HMHS Ramb IV 11 May: HMT Bedfordshire, HMS Kipling, HMS Lively, USS Neosho 12 May: Empire Dell, HMS Jackal, Okinoshima 13 May: Norlantic 14 May: Potrero del Llano 15 May: HMS Trinidad 17 May: Challenger, I-28 20 May: George Calvert 21 May: Faja de Oro, Elizabeth 24 May: L-21 25 May: Asahi 27 May: Alamar 28 May: Sylvan Arrow 29 May: U-568

Other incidents	1 May: U-573 7 May: USS Neosho 20 May: Sylvan Arrow

1941 1942 1943 April 1942 June 1942

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