In as little as a year, Zuiho was ready for service, officially commissioned on December 27th, 1940 - this at a time when aircraft carriers were in high demand by the IJN. She joined the Combined Fleet in January of 1941 and her first major action centered on the Philippines before moving on to the East Indies a time later. In June of 1942, she formed the support force accompanying the main fleet in its assault on Midway Island, a disastrous defeat for the IJN in which several prized carriers were lost (4 total). For October of that year, she formed part of the fleet at the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands in which the IJN managed only a tactical victory against the Americans. During this commitment, the warship took a USN bomb directly to her flight deck but survived - though her aircraft recovery function was entirely negated, forcing her return home.
Following repairs, she supported the evacuation of friendlies from the islands during early-1943. June 19th - 20th, 1944 saw her take part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea which led to yet another American victory. Her warplanes did manage to damage USS South Dakota in the fighting. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 23rd - 26th, 1944), IJN Zuiho was heavily damaged by USN warplanes as part of the Battle of Cape Engano after taking two direct hits from aerial bombs (as well as six near-misses). Her crews valiantly attempted to save the vessel, and did to some extent, for she soldiered on for another six hours or so before being hunted down and officially ended by another USN air attack. While hundreds were rescued by accompanying warships, 215 men went down with the ship.
Both ships of the Zuiho-class were lost to enemy action in World War 2 - irreplaceable losses for the IJN going forward into 1945.
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