After documenting more than 500 square nautical miles within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, RV Petrel has discovered the IJN Kaga, a Japanese fleet carrier. She was found 5,400 meters (more than 17,000 feet) below the surface. Kaga sits upright and is missing much of the flight deck. We'll be posting more footage from the dive soon! | RV Petrel

Kaga was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Originally intended to be one of two Tosa-class battleships, Kaga was converted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty to an aircraft carrier as the replacement for the battlecruiser Amagi, which had been irreparably damaged during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Kaga was rebuilt in 1933–1935, increasing her top speed, improving her exhaust systems, and adapting her flight decks to accommodate more modern, heavier

Damage and fires aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin after a Japanese dive bomber attack during operations off Japan, resulting in one of the heaviest U.S. Navy losses of the Pacific War on March 19, 1945. #ww2 #navy #ship #military | I love Warships