Soryu- Hiryu- and Unryu-Class Aircraft Carriers

Considered medium-sized carriers, the Sōryū, Hiryū, and the Unryū-class ships were related, but all a little different as the original design, Sōryū, was modified extensively at each evolution. Completed in the 1930s, Sōryū and Hiryū support Japanese military actions in China, Indochina, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, the Dutch East Indies, and the Indian Ocean. Both were lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The Unryū-class was a wartime program and three were completed and a few partially built by war’s end.

The features of these related carriers are detailed in Sōryū, Hiryū, & Unryū-class Aircraft Carriers — In the Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII by Lars Ahlberg and Hans Lengerer. Part of Schiffer’s Legends of Warfare Naval series, the 128-page hardcover is brimming with information about the ships. After a discussion of the political situation in the 1920s and ’30s, the second chapter looks at the building of Sōryū and Hiryū, including photos and detailed line drawings. Chapter 3 does the same for the Unryū-class, with photos of both operational ships and those not completed.

The next section outlines the ships’ designs with general architectural notes and interior photos. The next eight sections detail various systems or sections, including hull, protection, armament, aviation facilities, propulsion, illumination, internal communications, and the crew. Most of these discussions are supported by photos, line drawings, and diagrams with those of the guns and aircraft operations like arrestor wires and crash barriers being of special note. Finally, there’s a section detailing the operational histories of each vessel backed up by a ton of wartime photos.

If you are interested in modeling any of these Japanese carriers, you need this book.