page_title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō
section_title: Post-war
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō / Post-war
caption_attribution_description: Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Hōshō at Kure, Japan in 1945 after the end of World War II.
context_page_description: Hōshō was the world's first commissioned ship that was built as an aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment, techniques, such as take-offs and landings, and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics. The ship provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations. Hōshō's superstructure and other obstructions to the flight deck were removed in 1924 on the advice of experienced aircrews.
  Hōshō and her aircraft group participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in late 1937. During those two conflicts, the carrier's aircraft supported Imperial Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in aerial combat with aircraft of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups limited the effectiveness of her contributions to combat operations. As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939.
context_section_description: After the war, Hōshō served as a repatriation transport to retrieve Japanese servicemen and civilians stationed overseas and return them to Japan. In October and November 1945, accompanied by the cruiser Kashima, she carried 700 passengers from Wotje Atoll, 311 from Jaluit Atoll, and an undocumented number from Enewetak Atoll to Uraga, Kanagawa.
  In December 1945, Hōshō's overhanging flight deck at the bow was cut off and her hangars were modified to carry more passengers. Thereafter, she undertook more repatriation missions beginning with one to Wewak on 5 January 1946 and subsequent trips to China. In total, the carrier made nine repatriation trips before 15 August 1946 and transported about 40,000 passengers.
  Hōshō was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior on 31 August for disposal. She was scrapped in Osaka from 2 September 1946 to 1 May 1947 by the Kyōwa Shipbuilding Company.
caption: Hōshō at Kure, Japan, in October 1945 shortly before departing on a repatriation mission
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