Japanese aircraft carrier Shin'yō

	Shin'yō in November 1943
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Shin'yō
Builder	AG Weser
Launched	14 December 1934
Acquired	1942
Commissioned	15 November 1943
Fate	Sunk, 17 November 1944
Notes	Converted from the German liner Scharnhorst
General characteristics
Class and type	Unique escort carrier
Displacement	Standard: 17,500 t (17,200 long tons); Full load: 20,586 t (20,261 long tons);
Length	189.36 m (621 ft 3 in)
Beam	26 m (85 ft)
Draft	8.18 m (26 ft 10 in)
Installed power	26,000 shp (19,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × AEG steam turbines; turbo-electric transmission; 2 × screw propellers;
Speed	22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Complement	942
Armament	Upon Completion In 1943:; 8 ×127 mm (5 in) dual purpose guns; 30 × 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft guns; After 1944 Refit:; 8 × 127 mm dual purpose guns; 50 × 25 mm anti-aircraft guns;
Aircraft carried	33 (27 useful, 6 spares)
Aviation facilities	2 × elevators

Shin'yō (神鷹) "Divine Hawk") was an escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, converted from the German ocean liner Scharnhorst. The liner had been trapped in Kure, Japan following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, which prevented any attempt for the ship to return to Germany. The Japanese Navy then purchased the ship, and after the Battle of Midway in June 1942, decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier. Conversion work lasted from 1942 to late 1943, and Shin'yō was commissioned into the Japanese Navy in November 1943. After entering service, Shin'yō was employed as a convoy escort in the western Pacific. She served in this capacity for less than a year; in November 1944, the US submarine Spadefish torpedoed Shin'yō while she was en route to Singapore. As many as four torpedoes hit the ship and detonated her aviation fuel tanks. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship and killed most of her crew.

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