Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

Hiryū at anchor in Yokosuka, shortly after completion in 1939
Class overview
Operators:	Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by:	Sōryū
Succeeded by:	Shōkaku class
Built:	1936–39
In commission:	1939–42
Completed:	1
Lost:	1
History
Empire of Japan
Name:	Hiryū
Namesake:	Japanese: 飛龍 "Flying Dragon"
Builder:	Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
Laid down:	8 July 1936
Launched:	16 November 1937
Commissioned:	5 July 1939
Struck:	25 September 1942
Fate:	Scuttled after the Battle of Midway, 5 June 1942
General characteristics
Type:	Aircraft carrier
Displacement:	17,600 metric tons (17,300 long tons) (standard) 20,570 metric tons (20,250 long tons) (normal)
Length:	227.4 m (746 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam:	22.3 m (73 ft 2 in)
Draft:	7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Installed power:	153,000 shp (114,000 kW) 8 × Kampon water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	4 × shafts 4 × geared steam turbines
Speed:	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range:	10,330 nmi (19,130 km; 11,890 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement:	1,100
Armament:	6 × twin 12.7 cm Type 89 dual-purpose guns 7 × triple, 5 × twin 25 mm Type 96 AA guns
Armor:	Waterline belt: 9–15 cm (3.5–5.9 in) Deck: 25–55 mm (1.0–2.2 in)
Aircraft carried:	64 (+9 spares); 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero, 18 Aichi D3A, 18 Nakajima B5N (7 Dec. 1941)

Hiryū (飛龍^?, "Flying Dragon") was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1930s. The only ship of her class, she was built to a modified Sōryū design. Her aircraft supported the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in mid-1940. During the first month of the Pacific War, she took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Wake Island. The ship supported the conquest of the Dutch East Indies in January 1942. The following month, her aircraft bombed Darwin, Australia, and continued to assist in the Dutch East Indies campaign. In April, Hiryū's aircraft helped sink two British heavy cruisers and several merchant ships during the Indian Ocean raid.

After a brief refit, Hiryū and three other fleet carriers of the First Air Fleet (Kido Butai) participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on the atoll, the carriers were attacked by aircraft from Midway and the carriers USS Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Dive bombers from Yorktown and Enterprise crippled Hiryū and set her afire. She was scuttled the following day after it became clear that she could not be salvaged. The loss of Hiryū and three other IJN carriers at Midway was a crucial strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to the Allies' ultimate victory in the Pacific.