Shinano!: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership

During the years before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese navy constructed two super-battleships, the Yamato and Musashi. There was a secret third ship, the Shinano, that was to be included in this class. However, with the rise of the aircraft carrier, it was decided to convert the Shinano from a battleship to a carrier. Measuring almost 900 feet in length, Shinano was the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and she held that distinction until the United States launched the USS Enterprise in the 1960s. Cloaked in secrecy, the conversion took place. Crewmembers were threatened with imprisonment or execution if they muttered even the slightest words about the existance of Shinano. Due to the extreme secrecy of her construction, many essential tests, which would later prove to be fatal, were not conducted on Shinano. For example, the watertight integrity of the bulkheads and seals were never tested properly.An ocean away, Captain Joseph F. Enright and his submarine Archer-fish, were leaving for the boat's fifth war patrol. Captain Enright had been haunted by the memory of failing to sink an enemy carrier earlier in the war while serving as commander of the submarine Dace. Feeling inadequate as a commander, he asked to be relieved of command. After serving at the American submarine base on Midway island as a relief crewman, he finally got his chance to command his own boat again, and he was determined to make sure that he didn't repeat his earlier mistakes this time around. Taking up his patrol station along the main Japanese island of Honshu, Archer-fish awaited action. This particular area of ocean had become known as the "hit parade", due to the large number of sinkings by American submarines. On Tuesday, November 28, 1944, Archer-fish sighted a large enemy vessel with four escorts. This proved to be Shinano. Unable to run at maximum speed due to only eight of her twelve boilers being lit, and also suffering from a problem with her propellers, Shinano was limited to a speed of approximately eighteen knots. What ensued over the next several hours could only be described as a classic game of cat and mouse. Enright and Archer-fish desperately tried to keep up with the Shinano while trying to anticipate any course changes she might make. Finally, at 0300 hours on Wednesday, November 29, 1944, the Archer-fish was ready to fire.A spread of six torpedoes leapt from her torpedo tubes, each being fired at eight second intervals. Four explosions rocked the Japanese carrier while Archer-fish dove for the safety of the depths. The ship was mortally wounded. Her protective bladder had failed to stop the torpedoes, and, in the words of Enright, they cut through the bladder "like a sword through butter". Later that morning, the Shinano, with her bow raised high out of the water, slipped below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Her maiden voyage had lasted all of seventeen hours.This is a very exciting book. The format is excelle

I had the honor of receiving a copy of this book directly from Joe Enright in September of 1990 prior to his relocation to Georgia. I had always been interested in World War II aviation and had not given the submariners much thought. If you like true war drama then this is your book. I read this book with great vigor. It was almost impossible to put down. The way the book is structured adds to the drama. One chapter from the American perspective and the next from the Japanese. Tom Clancy is quoted as saying, "A brilliant snapshot of the war at sea, and the men who fought it." Find this book and give it a read!

Capt. Enright's account of the night he sank the largest Japanese aircraft carrier ever built is superb! The way he expresses the Japanese side of the sinking is magnificent as well.

I read this book while I was underwater in the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan so I am inherently attracted to it. It has been about seven years since I read it but I'll try my best to give an accurate review. It is an account of the sinking of the worlds largest ship by the USS Archerfish (a submarine) during later part of W.W.II told by the CO at the time, Joseph Enright. Japan had converted the last of the Yamato class battleships, the Shinano, to an aircraft carrier. The Shinano was the worlds largest aircraft carrier and remained so until the USS Enterprise, CVN 65 was commissioned in 1961. This story chronicles the events of the fateful night and next morning that led to its sinking. Ironically credit for its sinking was not given to the captain and crew of the Archerfish until long after the war was over. Japanese efforts to keep its existence secret had been extensive. The U.S. had no idea such a ship existed. U.S. Intelligence was so sure it did not exist that they told Cmdr. Enright what he sank was an oil tanker and not an aircraft carrier. Paranoia about U.S. Intelligence and submarine operations proved to be the Shinano's demise. Short cuts taken to get the ship out of Yokusuka and underway left the ship poorly prepared for sea, much less any concerted damage control effort. Undue caution on part of the Shinano's commanding officer helped the Archerfish and its crew sink this threat to American servicemen before she could fire a shot in anger. All in all the book is well written and keeps your interest. The Japanese point of view is also told, information being obtained from survivors of the sinking. I highly recommend this book to those of you with an interest in W.W.II naval history. Frank L. Lamb Ex Submariner, USS Guardfish SSN 612