Okay, don't know where the best place for this thread, but I figured the folks here would be most interested in the news story about Japan fielding two aircraft carriers for the first time since WWII!! The first carrier is named the JS Izumo, the second...wait for it...JS Kaga!! They will be like that of the USNs amphibious assault ships (smaller, no conventional flight, no landing wires), and they carry the US-made F-35B VSTOL fifth-gen fighter. Same as from the USMC, of course. I am not surprise this is happening, but the name "Kaga" surprised me. I think the names of all the original Kido Butai should never be resurrected...just my "two cents." And yes, I recognize they will never be used like that of the Kido Butai, but it's just the point. I know the Japanese are as ashamed of their WWII exploits as the rest of the world is appalled.
There's also a Soryu, lead ship of a well-regarded class of submarines. Hiryu and I think Soryu were used for small fireboats a few years ago. No Akagi, Shokaku, or Zuikaku that I'm aware of so far. It is a bit eerie to see wartime names like Atago or Kongo resurrected, although it is common naval practice.
I remember the first time I walked off my cruiser in Yokosuka and saw two ships with the Imperial flag flying on the fantail. They were directly across the pier from our ship.
Looked it up, Kaga is a ancient name for a province in Japan. I don't imagine US ships named after American victories in the war like Tarawa or Midway were fully embraced when they docked in Japan.
Okay, somebody somewhere asked for a lay-out of the KB steaming formation. http://ibiblio.org/pha/Pearl Talk/Kido Butai Willmott.gif >10 meg file.
