Army Escort-Aircraft Carriers
Due to the poor relations between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy, the Army found it necessary to procure and operate their own aircraft carriers for the purposes of providing escort and protection for Army transport shipping convoys. These escort/transport carriers, were converted from small passenger liners or merchant ships. These escort carriers possessed the capacity to operate from eight to 38 aircraft, depending on type and size, and were also used to transport personnel and tanks.
These vessels included the Taiyō Maru, Unyo Maru, Chuyo Maru, Kaiyō Maru, Shinyo Maru, Kamakura Maru, Akitsu Maru, Nigitsu Maru, Kumano Maru, Yamashiro Maru, Chigusa Maru, Shimane Maru, and Otakisan Maru and were operated by civilian crews with Army personnel manning the light and medium anti-aircraft guns.
Read more about this topic: Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
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