Zuikaku was the second and last Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Zuikaku was one of the most modern Japanese aircraf
Zuikaku anchored off Kobe upon her commissioning, 25 September 1941
Zuikaku in November 1941
Zuikaku (right) and the aircraft carrier Kaga preparing to attack Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
Zuikaku preparing to launch D3A "Val" dive bombers and A6M "Zero" fighters during the Indian Ocean Raid, 5 April 1942
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942 and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the Uni
USS Enterprise maneuvering radically under aerial attack and afire on 24 August 1942. Anti-aircraft shell bursts are visible above the carrier.
U.S. carriers Wasp (foreground), Saratoga, and Enterprise (background) operating in the Pacific south of Guadalcanal on 12 August 1942
Shōkaku, photographed from Zuikaku, underway during the battle, 24 August 1942
The disabled Ryūjō (just right of center) under high-level attack by B-17 bombers. The destroyer Amatsukaze (bottom left) is moving away from Ryujo at full speed and the Tokitsukaze is backing away from the bow of Ryūjō to evade the falling bombs.