The Japanese fleet carrier Shokaku completed construction on August 8, 1941 at the Yokusuka Naval Yard and the first of her class. She displaced 29,330 tons during her trials and 32,105 tons fully loaded. She had a maximum speed of 34.2 knots driven by a power plant that had eight boilers and four shaft-geared steam turbines that generated a maximum 160,000 horsepower turning four propeller shafts. She could carry as many as 84 planes but usually carried 12 fewer planes while at sea. Her armament included 16 5-inch guns in eight dual-mounted emplacements and 42 25-mm AA guns. Her crew complement was 1,660 officers and enlisted men.

She was one of the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Although she was not at Midway, the carrier raided British bases in the Indian Ocean and at the Battle of the Coral Sea. During that battle, American aircraft from the USS Yorktown (CV-5) badly damaged her on May 8, 1942 such that she had to return to Japan for her repairs. Later that year, the carrier was at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands where American carrier aircraft damaged her again. This time, she had to return to Japan for extensive repairs.

She returned to sea to be an important part of the Japanese fleet operations in 1943-1944. On June 19, 1944, the American submarine Cavalla (SS-244) torpedoed and sank the carrier during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
 

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