A battlecruiser reborn as a carrier, then lost in a single morning

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Kaga was never meant to be an aircraft carrier. Born from the wreckage of a canceled battleship treaty, this Japanese titan became a cornerstone of naval doctrine before meeting a violent end at the Battle of Midway. Today, its remains lie 5 kilometers deep, preserved in sediment.

The Kaga’s origins are rooted in international diplomacy and industrial repurposing. Originally commissioned as a Tosa-class battlecruiser, construction was halted following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. Rather than scrapping the incomplete hull, Japan repurposed it into an aircraft carrier starting in 1928. This transition allowed Kaga to become a pioneer in the Imperial Japanese Navy’s striking force doctrine, which concentrated air power into massive carrier groups—a revolutionary strategy that defined early Pacific War tactics.

During its service life from 1928 to 1942, Kaga participated in pivotal operations including the Shanghai Incident of 1932 and the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, her fate was sealed during the Battle of Midway between June 4 and 7, 1942. On the morning of June 4, 25 Douglas SBD Dauntlesses from the USS Enterprise struck Kaga with at least four bombs. These hits devastated the upper hangar elevators, destroyed the bridge, and penetrated the flight decks, triggering a catastrophic explosion of approximately 80,000 pounds of munitions.

Recognizing the carrier was unsalvageable, the Japanese destroyer Hagikaze scuttled Kaga with two torpedoes later that same day. The wreck remained lost until parts were identified in 1999 and the main hull was located in 2019. In September 2023, a deep-sea survey using the ROV Atalanta revealed the ship remains intact but disarticulated at a depth of 5 kilometers within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

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