Japanese aircraft carrier Shinyo Characteristics . As rebuilt , " Shinyo " was long between perpendiculars and overall . She had a beam of and a draft of . A 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 . The ship was powered by a pair of geared turbines that were supplied with steam by four boilers . The propulsion system produced and a top speed of . At a speed of , the ship could steam for approximately . The original high - pressure , high - temperature , oil - fired boilers proved to be highly problematic and so the Japanese replaced them shortly after " Shinyo " was completed . Steering was controlled by a single rudder . " Shinyo " was armed with eight dual - purpose gun s in four Type 89 twin mounts . She also carried thirty anti - aircraft gun s in 10 triple mounts . Later , twelve additional guns in single mounts were added . When " Shinyo " was refitted in July 1944 , eight more 25 mm guns were added , bringing the total to 50 . Service history . " Scharnhorst " was a passenger ship operated by Norddeutscher Lloyd in the 1930s . She was trapped in Japan after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939 . The Japanese Navy purchased the ship on 7 February 1942 , under the agreement they would pay Norddeutscher Lloyd twice the value of the ship after the end of the war . The ship was intended for use as a troop ship , but after the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway , the Navy decided to convert her into an escort carrier . Conversion work on " Scharnhorst " began in September 1942 in the Kure Navy Dockyard . Steel from the uncompleted hull of the canceled fourth " Yamato " - class battleship was used in the conversion process . Work lasted until December 1943 , and the rebuilt ship was commissioned into the Japanese Navy on 15 December 1943 . " Scharnhorst " s design was similar to the Japanese passenger liners of the " Nitta Maru " - class , which were also converted into the " Taiyō " - class escort carriers , so her conversion followed a similar plan . The main differences were retention of the original propulsion machinery , and addition of external bulges which helped increase stability . On 1 November 1943 , " Shinyo " was readied for sea trials and ran a shake - down cruise . The ship was commissioned into the fleet on 15 November 1943 , and was subsequently assigned to the Grand Escort Command on 20 December . For the first six months of 1944 , the ship conducted training maneuvers in the Home Islands . On 13 July 1944 , she escorted the convoy Hi - 69 , including the escort carriers " Taiyō " and " Kaiyo " , which were carrying additional aircraft for the Philippines . " Shinyo " was tasked with providing aerial cover for the convoy . The convoy arrived on 20 July ; on the 25th , " Shinyo " left with another convoy , bound for Singapore . The ship arrived on the 31st , and departed again four days later with the convoy Hi - 70 . The convoy consisted of eight transports , headed for Moji ; " Shinyo " was joined by a pair of light cruiser s and several smaller craft . The convoy arrived on 15 September August , while " Shinyo " put in at Kure the following day . On 8 September , " Shinyo " escorted the convoy Hi - 75 , consisting of nine transports and several destroyer s and smaller craft , bound for Singapore . On the 13th , the convoy stopped briefly in Takao , Formosa , before departing later that day . The convoy arrived on 22 September . Another convoy , Hi - 76 , left Singapore for Moji on 3 October , with " Shinyo " and several destroyers escorting it . The convoy temporarily stopped in Mihara on 19 – 20 October ; on the 22nd , " Shinyo " departed from the convoy and proceeded to the Saiki airbase , arriving on 24 October . The following day , she left for Kure . While there , she replenished fuel and supplies . On 7 November , she was ordered to cover the return of the carrier " Jun ' yō " . On 9 November , she was assigned to convoy Hi - 81 , carrying aircraft for the Philippines . Fourteen B5N " Kate " torpedo bombers were assigned to the ship for the operation . The convoy left Japan on 14 November . The escort consisted of six destroyer s , protecting seven troopships carrying an army division and a tanker . On 15 November , while in the East China Sea , a US submarine sank one of the transports ; two days later , another transport was sunk and the tanker was damaged . Later that night , " Shinyo " was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine . The submarine hit her with as many as four torpedoes in quick succession . The carrier ' s unarmored fuel tanks exploded and started a massive fire that destroyed the ship and killed most of her crew . Only 70 men from her crew of 1 , 200 officers and men survived . " Shinyo " quickly sank stern first . " Spadefish " attempted to attack the convoy again , but was driven off by the escorts . " Shinyo " was formally stricken from the naval register on 10 January 1945 .