Equipped with search radars, a large number of Tenzan acting as reconnaissance planes were generously deployed. Without falling behind the enemy, they successfully discovered the American fleet lying in wait near Midway. Immediately, Vice Admiral Ozawa, commander-in-chief of the First Fleet, ordered the launch of attack groups, which had been stationed on the flight decks of the First, Second, and Fourth Fleets' respective aircraft carriers. The discovered American fleet consisted of three mobile task forces centered around three aircraft carriers and one surface strike force based on six battleships. To counter these, a total of 384 aircraft—72 Shiden and 108 Tenzan from the First Fleet, and 48 Shiden and 54 Tenzan from the Second and Fourth Fleets—hurriedly took off from the flight decks and disappeared into the eastern sky.
Facing an unavoidable intense battle, Ozawa gazed at the main actors, the carriers, on the bridge of his flagship Nagato, separate from the officers and soldiers. The Imperial Navy's carriers participating in the second attack on Midway numbered a total of 18. However, only eight of them, four Sōryū class and four Shōkaku class, had been built as carriers from the beginning, constituting less than half of the total. The remaining ten were conversions from other ship types. The Nagato and Fusō classes were battleships, while the Chitose class originally served as seaplane tenders before being converted into carriers.
Especially notable were the four Fusō-class ships, initially completed as 36-centimeter gun-equipped battleships. After the treaty's expiration, they were secretly modified into infamous ships armed with 41-centimeter guns. In the Battle of Wake Island, where an equal number of battleships clashed, despite sustaining damage themselves, they sent every American battleship to the ocean floor with their formidable 41-centimeter shells, marking the first and last battle for Fusō, Yamashiro, Ise, and Hyūga.
After the Battle of Wake Island, the six ships of the Nagato and Fusō classes pretended to repair the damaged superstructures while secretly starting the conversion to carriers. The relatively short duration of the conversion, around one and a half years, was attributed to the pre-existing carrier design since the pre-war era, and the fact that being originally fast battleships required minimal modifications to engines and hulls. Most importantly, the wartime situation allowed for continuous, round-the-clock work regardless of profitability concerns. This extraordinary ability to complete the construction in a surprisingly short period was a crucial factor.
If these converted carriers did not exist, the Imperial Navy would have faced even greater difficulties in this operation, and the operation itself might not have been planned at all.
Even without carriers, modifications were taking place. The Myōkō class, Takao class, and Mogami class were converting their main guns from 20-centimeter or 15,5-centimeter to 23-centimeter guns. Shifting away from frontline duties, the Kuma-class and old destroyers in the Maritime Escort Force were transformed into heavily armed anti-aircraft ships, sacrificing main guns and torpedo launchers for numerous anti-aircraft guns. The training cruiser Katori was reborn as an aviation escort cruiser, enhancing its aviation facilities by removing the rear armament. Apart from regular carriers, the only ships that hadn't changed much since their completion were the new destroyers and submarines.
"These ships are all modified in strange ways. It's like a fleet of altered ships."
Chuckling to himself, Ozawa turned his attention to the eastern sky. In a little while, far to the east, friendly attack squadrons would engage the enemy fleet, and soon after, enemy attack squadrons would appear from the east.
First Fleet
- Nagato (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Mutsu (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Ise (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Hyūga (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Yamashiro (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Fusō (36 × Shiden, 18 × Tenzan)
- Heavy cruisers Ashigara, Nachi
- Destroyers Akizuki, Yukikaze, Hatsukaze, Amatsukaze, Tokitsukaze, Urakaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Tanikaze, Naganami, Makinami
Second Fleet
- Sōryū (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Hiryū (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Chitose (24 × Shiden, 6 × Tenzan recon)
- Chiyoda (24 × Shiden, 6 × Tenzan recon)
- Heavy cruisers Kumano, Suzuya
- Destroyers Teruzuki, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Hayashio, Natsushio, Kagerō, Shiranui, Kasumi, Arare
Third Fleet
- Shōkaku (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Zuikaku (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Kamikaku (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Amakaku (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Heavy cruisers Myōkō, Haguro
- Destroyers Suzutsuki, Nowaki, Arashi, Hagikaze, Maikaze, Akigumo, Yūgumo, Makigumo, Kazagumo
Fourth Fleet
- Unryū (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Hakuryū (48 × Shiden, 27 × Tenzan, 3 × Tenzan recon)
- Mizuho (24 × Shiden, 6 × Tenzan recon)
- Nisshin (24 × Shiden, 6 × Tenzan recon)
- Heavy cruisers Mogami, Mikuma
- Destroyers Hatsuzuki, Asagumo, Yamagumo, Natsugumo, Minegumo, Asashio, Ōshio, Michishio, Arashio
YOU ARE READING
Drastically Modified Combined Fleet
Historical Fiction「All of these ships are all weird. It's like a magical fleet.」 An organization built on the knowledge and experience gained from past accidents and incidents, using them as lessons to stack up and ensure that the same mistakes are never repeated aga...
