Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku

Uncommon card · No. 149795

Zuikaku (Japanese: 瑞鶴; meaning "Auspicious Crane") was the second and last Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Zuikaku was one of the most modern Japanese aircraft carriers when commissioned, and saw successful action throughout numerous battles during the Pacific War; usually operating alongside her sister ship Shōkaku. Zuikaku started the war as part of Kidō Butai. Her aircraft struck airfields during the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the war, 7 December 1941. She attacked land positions to cover the Japanese invasions of New Guinea, before she participated in the Indian Ocean raid from 5-9 April 1942 where her aircraft helped to sink the light carrier HMS Hermes and the cargo ship SS Sagaing, alongside damaging others and destroying land facilities. Zuikaku and Shōkaku were sent to support Operation Mo later that May, the invasion of Port Moresby, during which...

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