Shinano’s First and Final Voyage

Shinano began as a Yamato-class battleship project before Japan converted the hull into an aircraft carrier. The result was an exceptionally large ship, but size concealed serious vulnerabilities when it left Yokosuka in November 1944. Work remained incomplete, and the crew had limited experience operating the vessel together. During the transfer toward Kure, USS Archerfish intercepted Shinano and struck it with torpedoes. Progressive flooding and weaknesses in damage control proved disastrous. The carrier sank before it could enter an operational combat career, making its loss a sharp example of the difference between launching a ship and having one ready for war. This documentary follows the conversion, the voyage and the submarine encounter. Naval records explain the role of watertight integrity, internal organization and decisions made after the attack. They also prevent Shinano’s story from becoming a simple claim that a single torpedo could sink any supposedly invulnerable giant. Sources and further reading: H-039-1: Carrier Shinano Sunk by USS Archerfish, 29 November 1944 https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-039/h-039-1.html Archerfish I (SS-311) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/archerfish-ss-311.html The Yokosuka-built Aircraft Carrier Shinano https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/3076080/the-yokosuka-built-aircraft-carrier-shinano/