Shinyou

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 December 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.

Personality

 * She is a shy girl who occasionally peppers German in her speech. This is because of her near one-year career (launched in 1943 and sunk two days after her launching anniversary in 1944).

Trivia

 * Originally built as the SS Scharnhorst, an experimental high speed ocean liner, she found herself trapped in Kure at the outbreak of war. After Japanese losses built up she was purchased off Germany and converted to a carrier along the lines of the Taiyou class, becoming the Shinyou (Divine Hawk).
 * Steel from the cancelled final Yamato class ship was used in her conversion.
 * She entered service in November 1943 and after training took part in several of the Hi convoys without incident. Her final mission in her almost exactly year long career was convoy Hi-81, where she was sunk by the USS Spadefish (Akitsu Maru being sunk two days prior).