Shinyo

Shinyo (shinyō or shin'yō, depending on the word, in Modified Hepburn) may refer to:

Japanese aircraft carrier Shin'yō

Shin'yō (神鷹) "Divine Hawk") was an escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, converted from the German ocean liner Scharnhorst. The liner had been trapped in Kure, Japan following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, which prevented any attempt for the ship to return to Germany. The Japanese Navy then purchased the ship, and after the Battle of Midway in June 1942, decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier. Conversion work lasted from 1942 to late 1943, and Shin'yō was commissioned into the Japanese Navy in December 1943. After entering service, Shin'yō was employed as a convoy escort in the western Pacific. She served in this capacity for less than a year; in November 1944, the US submarine Spadefish torpedoed Shin'yō while she was en route to Singapore. As many as four torpedoes hit the ship and detonated her aviation fuel tanks. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship and killed most of her crew.

Characteristics

As rebuilt, Shin'yō was 606 ft 11 in (184.99 m) long between perpendiculars and 621 ft 3 in (189.36 m) overall. She had a beam of 84 ft (26 m) and a draft of 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m). A 590.5 by 80.5 ft (180.0 by 24.5 m) flight deck was installed, along with a pair of elevators and a single large hangar. This arrangement allowed for 27 combat aircraft and six spare airframes, for a total of 33 aircraft.

Shinyo-class suicide motorboat

The Shinyo (震洋, Shin'yō, "Sea Quake") were Japanese suicide motorboats developed during World War II. They were part of the wider Japanese Special Attack Units program.

History

Towards the end of 1943, in response to unfavorable progress in the war, the Japanese command heard suggestions for various suicide craft. These suggestions were initially rejected but later deemed necessary. For the naval department this meant kamikaze planes, kaiten submarines, fukuryu suicide divers or human mines, and shinyo suicide boats.

Characteristics

These fast motorboats were driven by one man, to speeds of around 30 knots. They were typically equipped with a bow-mounted charge of up to 700 pounds of explosives that could be detonated by either impact or from a manual switch in the driver's area. These attack boats also carried two anti-ship rockets mounted on launchers located on either side of the boat behind the driver.

The similar Maru-ni, which were used by the Imperial Japanese Army, were equipped with two depth charges, and were not actually suicide boats, as the idea was to drop the depth charges and then turn around before the explosion took place. Although the chances of boat and crew surviving the wave from the explosion might seem slim, a small number of crewmen successfully escaped. The depth charges used were known as the Experimental Manufacture Use 120 kg Depth Charge, and were armed by a delayed-action pull igniter.