KAGERO MILITARIA Nr1(16) WW2 RAF No.315 SQN_IJN TAIHO_AVG P-40_BISMARCK_F6F_IL-2_USS NEVADA

SOFTBOUND ***TEXT IS IN POLISH LANGUAGE WITH LIMITED AMOUNT OF ENGLISH***

GERMAN BATTLESHIP BISMARCK & TIRPITZ COLOR FOLDOUT POSTER

WW2 ROYAL AIR FORCE No.315 (POLISH) SQUADRON SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP AVG FLYING TIGERS CHINA CURTISS P-40

WW2 US NAVY GRUMMAN F6F HELLCAT VF USN

BATTLESHIP USS NEVADA ESCAPES FROM PEARL HARBOR ATTACK

FROM STALINGRAD TO BERLIN: WW2 RUSSIAN RED AIR FORCE VVS ILYUSHIN IL-2M3 STORMOVIL ATTACK PLANE

EASTERN FRONT BOBRUYSK 1944

WW2 US ARMY BIG RED ONE (AFRICA 1942-1943, NORMANDY 1944, VIETNAM WAR

WW2 JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER IJN TAIHO

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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia

Taihô was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Possessing heavy belt armor and featuring an armor-plated flight deck (a first for any Japanese carrier), she represented a major departure in Japanese carrier design and was expected to not only survive multiple bomb, torpedo or shell hits but also continue fighting effectively. Her name means "Great Phoenix".

Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, she was laid down on 10 July 1941, launched almost two years later on 7 April 1943 and finally commissioned on 7 March 1944. She sank on 19 June 1944 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea after suffering a single torpedo hit from the American submarine USS Albacore, due to explosions resulting from design flaws and poor damage control.

Heavy anti-aircraft armament on Taihô comprised twelve of the brand-new 100 mm (3.9 in)/65 caliber Type 98 anti-aircraft guns arranged in six twin-gun turrets: three on the port side and three to starboard. The guns were electro-hydraulically powered but, in the event of a power failure, could function manually at reduced effectiveness. Operated by a crew of 11 men, the average firing rate was 15 rounds per minute with a maximum effective horizontal range of 14 km (7.6 nmi; 8.7 mi) and a maximum effective vertical range of 11 km (5.9 nmi; 6.8 mi).

In addition, Taihô carried 17 triple-mount 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft autocannons (51 barrels total). Sixteen of these were mounted on sponsons just below flight deck level: eight to port, six to starboard and two at the stern. The seventeenth unit was positioned on the flight deck, just ahead of the island. The triple-mounts were electrically powered (though manual operation was possible) and normally required a crew of nine. They had a practical firing rate of 110–120 rounds per minute and a maximum effective range of 3 km (1.6 nmi; 1.9 mi). The 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 autocannon was the Japanese Navy's standard small-caliber anti-aircraft weapon from 1936 through the end of the war in 1945 and was an adaptation of a French design.

Taihô had two Type 94 triaxially stabilized fire control directors, one mounted on the flight deck ahead of the island and one amidships on the port side, just below flight deck level. These controlled the 100 mm (3.9 in) AA gun turrets and were electro-hydraulically powered. The 25 mm (1 in) triple-mount machine guns were controlled by seven Type 95 fire control units, each of which could direct the fire of two or three mounts.

Taihô's original design made no provisions for radar installation as the Imperial Japanese Navy did not possess any shipborne surface, fire control or air search radar at the war's outset in September 1939. Not until January 1941, when a Japanese naval technical mission arrived in Germany, did the IJN learn that European nations were using pulsed radar for combat purposes. In August that same year, the Navy Ministry initiated a crash plan to speed up radar development, resulting in (among others) the Type 21 and Type 13 air search radars.

Prior to completion in 1944, Taihô was fitted with two Type 21 air search radars, one mounted atop the island on the anti-aircraft control platform and one on the lower bridge deck at the aft end of the island. She also had one Type 13 air search set installed with an antenna mounted on the signal mast above the bridge. The Type 21 had a maximum effective range of 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) while the Type 13 had a range of 54 nmi (100 km; 62 mi)

Taihô's planned air complement varied considerably throughout her design and construction. Initially it was envisioned she would carry 126 aircraft (with 30 of these in reserve). Later this was pared down to 64, raised again to 78 and finally reduced to 53. One reason for the discrepancy in numbers was (in sharp contrast to the United States) the Imperial Japanese Navy's lack of insistence that its carrier planes have the smallest possible folded wingspan (many designs' folded only near the tips, while the wings of the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive-bomber did not fold at all). Her aircraft capacity was also changed based on previous wartime experience and the fact that Taihô was expected to carry larger newer-model carrier planes still under development at the time of her construction: 24 Mitsubishi A7M2 Reppu "Sam" fighters, 25 Aichi B7A2 Ryusei "Grace" torpedo bombers and four Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Myrt" reconnaissance planes. As none of these types were available at the time of her commissioning, Taihô went to sea with older-model aircraft.