Unknown to the Archerfish, this is the Shinano. First designed as a gigantic battleship, she has been secretly converted to a carrier by the Japanese.

Since the decisive defeat of the Japanese sea power during the Battle of Midway, the enemy was changing their concept about how to gain superiority on the seas. They had realized that huge sea battles between ships were fruitless. Their alternative, air-sea power.

Shinano was massive! She displaced 60,000 tons.* In vital areas, she had armor plate up to twenty inches thick. Shinano could carry in excess of 150 aircraft. The Shinano had the distinction of being the largest warship in the world at that time.

The U.S. B-29 air raids on Tokyo forced the Japanese to move Shinano to a safer shipyard to the South.

Shinano was still not completed. Bulkheads still had many holes where various equipment was being installed. Numerous cables and conduit ran from compartment to compartment and deck to deck through watertight doors. Compartments and watertight doors still remained to be pressure checked. A great amount of work remained to make Shinano truly seaworthy.

The Shinano had 1,900 people aboard. Not yet molded into a crew, they still were preparing and learning about their new home.

* Note 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY