© 1998 Anthony P. Tully

Initial Command Structure:
Commanding Officer: Captain Yokokawa Ichibei. Assigned to 1st Air Fleet, CarDiv 5.

25 September 1941:
Commissioned. Remains in Kobe and Kure area.

October 1941:
Moving around in Kure, Oita, Saeki area.

26 November: 1941
With VADM Nagumo Chuichi's First Air Fleet, departs Hittokapu Bay in the Kuriles as part of a last-minute addition to the Carrier Striking Force ("Kido Butai") in the "Hawaii Operation" ....the attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

7 December 1941:
Two strike waves launched against Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Nagumo orders a withdrawal following recovery of the second attack wave.

23 December 1941:
Return with AKAGI, KAGA, and SHOKAKU to Hashirajima.

3 January 1942:
Undocked at Kure, proceeds to Hiroshima Bay on the 5th.

8 January 1942:
Depart Hiroshima for Truk.

14 January 1942:
Arrive at Truk.

16 January 1942:
Depart Truk assigned to "R" Operations from the 14th to 24th.

20 January 1942:
Launch strikes against Rabaul and Lae on the 21st.

29 January 1942:
Return to Truk.

1-8 February 1942:
Departed Truk with Striking Force, destroyers SHIRANUHI, KASUMI, URAKAZE. Pursued enemy carrier force attacking Marshall Islands, then to Palau.

8 February 1942:
Assigned to Air Force under Combined Fleet, CarDiv 5.

9 February 1942:
Depart Truk for Yokosuka.

13 February 1942:
Arrive at Yokosuka. In Yokosuka and Mikawa Bay area till the 28th.

28 February 1942:
Depart Yokosuka for Kure.

10 March 1942:
Assigned to Striking Force, Screening Force, Main Body till the 15th.

24 March 1942:
Arrive at Staring Bay.

26 March 1942:
Depart Staring Bay for "C" Operations. Assignment, First Air Fleet, CarDiv 5, Striking Force, air attack force.

5 April 1942:
Launch strikes against Colombo.

9 April 1942:
Launch strike against Trincomalee, Ceylon.

18 April 1942:
Arrive at Mako.

19 April 1942:

Depart Mako to participate in "MO" Operation in the Coral Sea commencing 20 April.

25 April 1942:
Arrive at Truk.

7 to 8 May 1942:
Battle of the Coral Sea. Though force is attacked and sister-carrier SHOKAKU damaged, escapes attack herself in a providential rain squall

15 May 1942:
Return to Truk. Depart for Kure the next day.

16 May 1942:
- 1600 (1700 K-time kept by sub) GREENLING - submerged 1 mile east of reef marking southern edge of Northeast Pass sights ZUIKAKU "carrier with island" and four destroyers inside Truk Lagoon moving rapidly toward North Pass. Sub's position is 4.5 miles, bearing 080 from there, and begins to close to within 2 miles "in case the above movement sould be feint." However, interception proves impossible.
- 1822 (1922 K-time) GREENLING reports contact with carrier. (The next day, same thing happens with two Nachi-class or Atago-class cruisers at 1702 (King time).

21 May 1942:
- 0153 ZUIKAKU and destroyer are detected by USS POLLACK in position 31-71'N, 131-32'E on course 080 making 20 knots. Having initially mis-identified the target type and speed POLLACK has little time to close before ZUIKAKU crosses her path from left to right, and opts to fire four torpedoes at 2,000 yards at ZUIKAKU's starboard side at 0208, but all four miss.
- Arrive at Kure.

15 June 1942:
Captain Yokokawa releived by Captain Tameteru Notomo.

23 June 1942:
Arrive at Ominato.

25 June 1942:
Assigned to #2 Striking Force, 1st Air Fleet Cardiv 5 of Northern Force.

28 June 1942:
Depart Ominato for homeland.

14 July 1942:
Reassigned to Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, CarDiv 1. In HashirajimaŞKure area.

30 July 1942:
Enter drydock at Kure.

12 August 1942:
Undocked from drydock.

16 August 1942:
Assigned to Main Body, Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, CarDiv 1. Depart Kure for Phase 2 of the Eastern Solomons battle.

24 August 1942:
Battle of the Eastern Solomons.

September 1942:
Support force, striking force main body (3rd Fleet, CarDiv 1). In Truk area throughout.

11 October 1942:
Depart Truk for Guadalcanal operations.

26 October 1942:
Battle of Santa Cruz; at 0050 bombed, but no damage.

30 October 1942:
Return to Truk.

9 November 1942:
Arrive at Kure.

26 December 1942:
Depart Kure for Yokosuka.

28 December 1942:
Arrive at Yokosuka.

4 January 1943:
Arrive at Truk.

7 January 1943:
Depart Truk for Japan.

12 January 1943:
Arrive at Oita, then shifts to Kure.

18 January 1943:
Depart Kure for Truk.

23 January 1943:
Arrive at Truk.

29 January- 8 February 1943:
Operation KE - Evacuation of Guadalcanal: Departed Truk for Ontong Java Island area north of Guadalcanal with carriers ZUIHO, JUNYO to cover withdrawl of ground forces. Returned to Truk. On 29 January, ZUIKAKU, ZUIHO, detached 36 fighter Advance Group to Rabaul to cover evacuation. Returned to Truk.

3 May 1943:
Depart Truk for homeland.

8 May 1943:
Arrive at Yokosuka.

15 May-2 June 1943:
Departed Kure in response to 12 May U.S. invasion of Attu, to Tokyo Bay with CarDiv 1. Anchored off Kisarazu. On 21 May joined by CruDiv 7 MOGAMI, KUMANO, SUZUYA from Tokuyama. On 22 May joined by BatDiv 1's MUSASHI, Bat Div 3: KONGO, HARUNA, CarDiv 2: JUNYO, HIYO, CruDiv 8: TONE, CHIKUMA, all from Truk. Before force could sail to Aleutians, Attu fell to U.S. forces; returned to Kure.

11 June 1943:
Drydocked at Kure.

21 June 1943:
Captain Notomo releived by Captain Kikuchi Tomozo.

19 June 1943:
Leave Kure drydock.

10 July 1943:
Depart Kure for Truk.

15 July 1943:
Arrive at Truk.

18-25 September 1943:
Sortied from Truk to Brown Island (Eniwetok) with Combined Fleet under VADM Ozawa's tactical command in response to U.S. Task Force 15 carrier raids on Tarawa and Makin. Returned to Truk.

17-26 October 1943:
Sortied from Truk to Eniwetok with Combined Fleet under ADM Koga's command in response to U.S. Task Force 16 carrier raids on Wake Island. Returned to Truk.

30 October-13 November 1943:
Operation RO - Reinforcement of Rabaul: Departed Truk towards Rabaul with SHOKAKU, ZUIHO, light cruiser AGANO. Cruised 200 miles from Rabaul, ZUIKAKU launched 24 fighters daily to reinforce Rabaul's land-based units, then returned to Truk.

7 December 1943:
Depart Truk for Kure.

12 December 1943:
Return to Kure.

18 December 1943:
Captain Kikuchi releived by Captain Kaizuka Takeo.

8 January 1944:
Enter drydock at Kure.

17 January 1944:
Undocked from drydock.

6 February 1944:
Depart Tokuyama for Singapore.

13 February 1944:
Arrive at Singapore.

20 February 1944:
Depart Singapore for Kure.

27 February 1944:
Arrive at Kure.

8 March 1944:
Depart Kure for Singapore.

15 March 1944:
Arrive at Singapore.

20 March 1944:
Depart Singapore; arrive Lingga.

25 March 1944:
Depart Lingga; arrive Singapore; enters drydock.

6 May 1944:
Undocked from drydock at Singapore.

12 May 1944:
Depart Lingga for Tawitawi anchorage.

15 May 1944:
Arrive at TawiTawi.

19 June 1944:
In company with flagship TAIHO and sister SHOKAKU, becomes the only survivor of CarDiv 1 when TAIHO is torpedoed and subsequently explodes and sister-ship SHOKAKU is torpedoed, and wracked by fires and explosions, ultimately sinks. ZUIKAKU is forced to try to accomodate as much of their aircraft aspossible, made easier by the staggering losses suffered in today's air offensives.

20 June 1944:
Battle of the Philippine Sea; receive one direct bomb hit aft of the island, that penetrated the flight deckand started a fire in the hangar. Five close near misses by bombs, but all torpedoes avoided. Fire isextinguished after a false order to abandon ship is rescinded, and ship remains under own power. Damage moderate.

24 June 1944:
Return to Hashirajima.

14 July 1944:
Enters drydock at Kure.

2 August 1944:
Leaves Kure drydock.

10 August 1944:
Assigned to 3rd Fleet, CarDiv 3.

13 September 1944:
Arrive at Oita.

20 October 1944:
Depart Oita for "Sho" Operations as part of Ozawa's decoy force.

25 October 1944 Battle off Cape Engano:
Sunk: Hit by seven torpedoes and nine bombs. Abandon ship ordered at 1358 and flag lowered. Slowly "half-rolled" over to port and then sank stern first at 1414 (Position 19'20 N, 125'15 E). Captain Kaizuka Takeo, forty-eight officers and 794 petty officers and men lost with the carrier. However, forty-seven officers and 815 pettyofficers and men are rescued by WAKATSUKI and KUWA.

26 August 1945:
Removed from Navy List.

Remarks:
Last Japanese fleet carrier that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor to be sunk.