Akagi 1942
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | Akagi | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1942 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | aircraft carrier, battlecruiser | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | Empire of Japan | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Imperial Japanese Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War II, Attack on Pearl Harbor, Battle of Midway | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | North Pacific Ocean | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Position | 30.5000, -178.6667 | Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0) |
About the wreck
Akagi (Japanese: 赤城; "Red castle", named after Mount Akagi) was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Though she was laid down as an Amagi-class battlecruiser, Akagi was converted to an aircraft carrier while still under construction to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship was rebuilt from 1935 to 1938 with her original three flight decks consolidated into a single enlarged flight deck and an island superstructure. The second Japanese aircraft carrier to enter service, and the first large or "fleet" carrier, Akagi and the related Kaga figured prominently in the development of the IJN's new carrier striking force doctrine that grouped carriers together, concentrating their air power. This doctrine enabled Japan to attain its strategic goals during the early stages of the Pacific War from December 1941 until mid-1942.
Akagi's aircraft served in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. Upon the formation of the First Air Fleet or Kido Butai (Striking Force) in early 1941, she became its flagship, and remained so for the duration of her service.
Diving & visiting
On 20 October 2019, the Director of Undersea Operations for Vulcan Inc. Rob Kraft and Naval History and Heritage Command historian Frank Thompson aboard RV Petrel identified the wreck of Akagi using high-frequency sonar. Located 1,300 miles (2,100 km) north west of Pearl Harbor, Akagi was found at a depth of 18,011 feet (5,490 m). It is reported that the wreck is upright, on its keel and is largely intact. Two days before the discovery of Akagi, Petrel had discovered the wreck of Kaga.
The wreck of Akagi was visited and photographed by the research vessel EV Nautilus in September 2023.
Location
- Recorded position: 30.5000, -178.6667 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Pacific Ocean
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi (revision 1380749657), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Wreck survey”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū 1942 · 55 km
- Kaga 1942 · 61 km
Other wrecks of the World War II
- U-434 1941
- USS Arizona (BB-39) 1941
- USS Hopewell 1941
- Vasilefs Georgios 1941
- Zara 1941
- Aviere 1942
- Diana 1942
- Giovanni delle Bande Nere 1942
- HMAS Nestor 1942
- HMAS Perth 1942
All 599 wrecks of the World War II →
Browse more: Open ocean wrecks · North Pacific Ocean · Second World War