第一航空戦隊
On 1 December 1931 "Kaga" was assigned as the flagship of the First Carrier Division under the command of Rear Admiral Takayoshi Katō. The First Carrier Division, along with "Hōshō", departed for Chinese waters on 29 January 1932 to support Imperial Japanese Army troops during the Shanghai Incident as part of the IJN's 3rd Fleet. The B1M3s carried by "Kaga" and "Hōshō" were the main bombers used during the brief combat over Shanghai.