Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō Shōhō ( Japanese : 祥鳳 , " Auspicious Phoenix " or " Happy Phoenix " ) was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy . Originally built as the submarine support ship " Tsurugizaki " in the late 1930s , she was converted before the Pacific War into an aircraft carrier and renamed . Completed in early 1942 , the ship supported the invasion forces in Operation MO , the invasion of Port Moresby , New Guinea , and was sunk by American carrier aircraft on her first combat operation during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May . " Shōhō " was the first Japanese aircraft carrier to be sunk during World War II . Design , construction and conversion . " Shōhō " and her sister were designed to be easily modified as an oil tanker , submarine tender , or aircraft carrier as needed . " Shōhō " was laid down by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 3 December 1934 as the submarine tender " Tsurugizaki " . She was launched on 1 June 1935 and completed on 15 January 1939 . Not long after the ship was initially completed , she began reconstruction as an aircraft carrier in 1941 . Her superstructure was removed and replaced by a flight deck with a hangar for her aircraft below . Renamed " Shōhō " , the conversion was finished on 26 January 1942 . After her conversion , " Shōhō " had a length of overall . She had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at standard load . As part of her conversion , her original diesel engines , which had given her a top speed of , were replaced by a pair of destroyer - type geared steam turbine sets with a total of , each driving one propeller . Steam was provided by four Kampon water - tube boilers and " Shōhō " now had a maximum speed of . The boilers exhausted through a single downturned starboard funnel and she carried of fuel oil , giving her a range of at a speed of . Her crew numbered 785 officers and men . " Shōhō " s flight deck was long and had a maximum width of . The ship was designed with a single hangar long and wide . The hangar was served by two octagonal centerline aircraft elevators . The forward elevator was 13 by 12 meters ( 42 ft 8 in × 39 ft 4 in ) in size and the smaller rear elevator measured 12 by 10 . 8 meters ( 39 ft 4 in × 35 ft 5 in ) . She had arresting gear with six cables , but she was not fitted with an aircraft catapult . " Shōhō " was a flush - deck design and lacked an island superstructure . She was designed to operate 30 aircraft . The ship ' s primary armament consisted of eight 40 - caliber 12 . 7 cm Type 89 anti - aircraft ( AA ) guns in twin mounts on sponsons along the sides of the hull . " Shōhō " was also initially equipped with four twin 25 mm Type 96 light AA guns , also in sponsons along the sides of the hull . Service . " Shōhō " was commissioned on 30 November 1941 and Captain Izawa Ishinosuke became her commanding officer . While still fitting - out , the ship was assigned to the Fourth Carrier Division of the 1st Air Fleet on 22 December . On 4 February 1942 , she ferried aircraft to Truk , where she remained until 11 April before returning to Yokosuka . In late April 1942 , " Shōhō " was assigned to Operation MO and arrived in Truk on 29 April . The following day , she departed Truk in company with the cruisers " Aoba " , " Kinugasa " , " Furutaka " , and " Kako " of Cruiser Division 6 under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō . They formed the Main Force of the operation . Due to aircraft shortages , her aircraft complement consisted of only four obsolete Mitsubishi A5M " Claude " and eight modern Mitsubishi A6M 2 " Zero " fighters plus six Nakajima B5N 2 " Kate " torpedo bomber s . Covering the other elements of Operation MO was the Striking Force that consisted of the fleet carriers and . Battle of the Coral Sea . After covering the landings on Tulagi on 3 May , " Shōhō " headed north to cover the invasion convoy the next day and was not present when aircraft from the American carrier attacked Japanese shipping at Tulagi . This air strike confirmed that at least one American carrier was in the vicinity , but the Japanese had no idea of its location . They launched a number of reconnaissance aircraft the following day to search for the Americans , but without result . One Kawanishi H6K " Mavis " flying boat spotted " Yorktown " , but was shot down by one of " Yorktown " s Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters before she could radio a report . US Army Air Force ( USAAF ) aircraft spotted " Shōhō " southwest of Bougainville Island on 5 May , but she was too far north to be attacked by the American carriers , which were refueling . That day , Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher received Magic intelligence that placed the three Japanese carriers known to be involved in Operation MO near Bougainville , and predicted 10 May as the date of the invasion . It also predicted airstrikes by the Japanese carriers in support of the invasion several days before 10 May . Based on this information , Fletcher planned to complete refuelling his ships on 6 May and move closer to the eastern tip of New Guinea to be in a position to locate and attack Japanese forces on 7 May . Another H6K spotted the Americans during the morning of 6 May and successfully shadowed them until 1400 . The Japanese , however , were unwilling or unable to launch air strikes in poor weather or without updated spot reports . Both sides believed they knew where the other force was , and expected to fight the next day . The Japanese were the first to spot the Americans when one aircraft found the oiler escorted by the destroyer at 0722 , south of the Strike Force . These ships were misidentified as a carrier and a cruiser and the carriers " Shōkaku " and " Zuikaku " launched an airstrike forty minutes later that sank " Sims " and damaged " Neosho " badly enough that she had to be scuttled a few days later . The American carriers were west of the Strike Force , not south , and they were spotted by other Japanese aircraft shortly after the carriers had launched their attack on " Neosho " and " Sims " . American reconnaissance aircraft reported two Japanese heavy cruisers northeast of Misima Island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of New Guinea at 0735 and two carriers at 0815 . An hour later Fletcher ordered an airstrike launched , believing that the two carriers reported were " Shōkaku " and " Zuikaku " . and " Yorktown " launched a total of 53 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber s and 22 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo planes escorted by 18 F4F Wildcats . The 0815 report turned out to be miscoded , as the pilot had intended to report two heavy cruisers , but USAAF aircraft had spotted " Shōhō " , her escorts and the invasion convoy in the meantime . As the latest spot report plotted only away from the 0815 report , the aircraft en route were diverted to this new target . " Shōhō " and the rest of the Main Force were spotted by aircraft from " Lexington " at 1040 . At this time , " Shōhō " s combat air patrol ( CAP ) consisted of two A5Ms and one A6M Zero . The dive bombers of VS - 2 began their attack at 1110 as the three Japanese fighters attacked the Dauntlesses in their dive . None of the dive bombers hit " Shōhō " , which was maneuvering to avoid their bombs ; one Dauntless was shot down by the Zero after it had pulled out of its dive and several others were damaged . The carrier launched three more Zeros immediately after this attack to reinforce its CAP . The Dauntlesses of VB - 2 began their attack at 1118 and they hit " Shōhō " twice with bombs . These penetrated the ship ' s flight deck and burst inside her hangars , setting the fuelled and armed aircraft there on fire . A minute later the Devastators of VT - 2 began dropping their torpedoes from both sides of the ship . They hit " Shōhō " five times and the damage from the hits knocked out her steering and power . In addition , the hits flooded both engine and boiler rooms . " Yorktown " s aircraft trailed those from " Lexington " and the former ' s Dauntlesses began their attacks at 1125 , hitting " Shōhō " with another eleven 1000 - pound bombs by Japanese accounts and the carrier came to a complete stop . The Devastators of VT - 3 trailed the rest of " Yorktown " s aircraft and attacked at 1129 . They claimed ten hits , although Japanese accounts acknowledge only two . As VT - 3 was exiting the area , they were attacked by the CAP , but the Wildcats of VF - 3 protected the Devastators by shooting down two A5Ms and an A6M Zero . Total American losses to all causes were three Dauntlesses . After his attack , Lieutenant Commander Robert E . Dixon , commander of VS - 2 , radioed his famous message to the American carriers : " Scratch one flat top ! " With " Shōhō " hit by no fewer than 13 bombs and 7 torpedoes , Captain Izawa ordered the ship abandoned at 1131 . She sank four minutes later . Some 300 men successfully abandoned the ship , but they had to wait to be rescued as Gotō ordered his remaining ships to head north at high speed to avoid any further airstrikes . Around 1400 , he ordered the destroyer to return to the scene and rescue the survivors . She found only 203 , including Captain Izawa . The rest of her crew of 834 died during the attack or in the water awaiting rescue . " Shōhō " was the first Japanese aircraft carrier lost during the war .