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It's only the start........
AMERICAN) ENGLISH SUPPLEMENT TO 3D AKAGI
Completion of large sized aircraft carrier of 30,000 ton class which was the world's pioneer With the keel laid down as a Japanese battle cruiser in 1920, it was completed as an aircraft carrier in 1927. AKAGI at the time of being newly constructed. The result of the Washington disarmament conference AKAGI which was undergoing construction as a battle cruiser was its' design transformed into an aircraft carrier, borne as a large sized carrier having three decks. AKAGI that had taken seven years since the keel was laid had a difficult birth. The birth of AKAGI was largely influenced by the Washington disarmament treaty of December 1921. This conference was to break the ship construction competition between the five countries, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy and France such that a meeting was held to likely receive the limitations on construction of the main force vessels (battleships). The result of this conference was that Japan was limited to having 10 battleships with total tonnage of 300,132 tons. The battleships to be possessed by Japan was 60% compared to that of the US and UK at best. The IJN at that time had pressed forward with the 8-8 fleet plan, planning for construction of eight battle cruisers and eight battleships, later on already it had in possession of 24 vessels together in KONGO, ISE, FUSO classes. Already the battleships in the 8-8 fleet plan NAGATO and MUTSU classes were completed, thus battleships TOSA, KAGA and battlecruisers AKAGAI, AMAGI were in the middle of construction. The result of the treaty if to retain the battleships that were already possessed, the 8-8 fleet plan would have to be neglected, the battleships and battlecruisers that were already in the middle of construction had no choice but to be completely abandoned. The IJN at that time did not possess any aircraft carriers, with only the world's first light carrier HOSHO being in the middle of construction. With that the battleships TOSA, KAGA and battlecruisers AKAGI and AMAGI had their designs changed likely starting the birth of aircraft carrier AKAGI. As for the design at that time it was required to have high performance to launch and recover shipborne aircrafts such that the battle cruisers AKAGI and AMAGI be constructed into aircraft carriers. AKAGI was in the middle of construction at Kure Arsenal and AMAGI was constructed at Yokosuka Arsenal but just after the decision was made to change the design the Kanto earthquake had occurred. Since damage developed on the hull of OSHIRO* that completed under that effect, the battleship KAGA that was constructed at Kawasaki ship construction site hurriedly at Kobe was to become borne into an aircraft carrier. By the way AMAGI was dismantled and scrapped as such. Already ending the launch, battleship TOSA which only had the outfitting remaining became a target for gun fire training, dispersed by sinking into the sea. At the time period when the changes in their design was trial and error, on December 27 1922 HOSHO which became the world's first aircraft carrier was completed, even the IJN had met the era of employing aircraft carriers. As far as this was concerned the Royal Navy also had used aircraft carriers but all of them had been converted from battleships and others such that as warships that were proposed to be aircraft carriers since the design and construction stage HOSHO was the first.
Imazumi Hiroshi
