13/11/2022

3 Japanese books on IJN carriers

The author, who goes by the pen-name "Kaz" of the dojinshi circle “Reppu-Kai”, is writing books about technical and operational details of IJN aircraft carriers.

His books are small (some 30 pages each) and have no photos.

It’s the text of those books that made me to overcome all the hassles of buying books in Japan and shipping them to Ukraine, as well as translating them.

Author research is about very narrow topics, but he studies them in great depths, using many original period sources. 

Add to this small, but clear drawings by the author, and you’ll get invaluable books for the IJN carriers’ researcher.

More about each book.

“Carrier Force Reconstruction Plan” (空母部隊再建計画).



After the defeat at Midway in June 1942 IJN tried really hard to regain its carrier superiority. You can find information about carrier-building programs in English-language sources. But this books studies something lightly described even in Japanese – ideas how to make and use IJN Carrier Task Forces from Midway till the end of the war.

 

“Aircraft Carrier Aircraft Capacity Situation. Enlarged and Revised Edition” (空母飛行機搭載状況 増補改訂版).



IJN carriers aircraft-carrying capacity, air groups’ compositions from 1930s till 1945, capacity of flying decks of the ships to launch and recover aircraft.

 

“Japanese Navy aircraft carrier catapults” (日本海軍の空母用射出機).



Description of various attempts to install catapults aboard IJN aircraft carriers. IJN did worked on various designs of catapults for their aircraft carriers, yet the only catapults that saw operational service, were ones installed on battleship-carriers of “Ise” class.

 


One of the drawings from the later book: design of carrier catapult from c.1940-41.

No comments:

Post a Comment