Image: Public domain · commons.wikimedia.org

Akagi Japanese aircraft carrier

Sunk

Akagi was an Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier originally laid down as an Amagi-class battlecruiser but converted during construction to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty. She became the second carrier to enter IJN service and the first large "fleet" carrier, later serving as flagship of the First Air Fleet (Kido Butai) that spearheaded Japan's early Pacific War offensives.

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Kits of this ship

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No image	IJN Aircraft Carrier Akagi - Island And Flight Deck, Pearl Harbor Attack 1941	Takom	1:72	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	Akagi Bridge With Flight Deck	Border Model	1:35	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Akagi Full Hull Version Battle of Midway (CH Series)	Hasegawa	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	1/700 Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Akagi (Special Series, re-release with new parts)	Fujimi	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
No image	1/700 Japanese Aircraft Carrier Akagi (Special Series: Special Standard, Tokusaku 035)	Fujimi	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	1/700 IJN Aircraft Carrier Akagi Full Hull Model Special Edition (with Photo-Etched Parts)	Fujimi	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
No image	Akagi Bridge with Flight Deck and A6M2 Zero Fighter w/Interior of The Engine and Weapons	Border Model	1:35	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	1/700 Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi Full Hull Model (with Wooden Deck)	Fujimi	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	Akagi 3-Flight Deck Aircraft Carrier (Water Line Series)	Hasegawa	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
No image	Akagi Bridge With Flight Deck And Nakajima B5N2 Type 97	Border Model	1:35	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	IJN Aircraft Carrier Akagi 1941	Hasegawa	1:350	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
No image	Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Akagi Full Hull (Water Line Series)	Hasegawa	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Available
	Akagi Japan Aircraft Carrier (Water Line Series)	Hasegawa	1:700	Injection-Molded Plastic	Discontinued

Plans

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Resources

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History & specifications

NOAA Ocean Exploration: Akagi PhotogrammetryArticle
Provides dimensions and background plus details from the modern photogrammetric survey of the wreck site, useful for hull accuracy.
Wikipedia: Japanese aircraft carrier AkagiWebsite
Comprehensive overview of design, conversion history, and service record; good starting point for build research.

Museums & archives

NHHC/ibiblio Hyperwar: Akagi (Aircraft Carrier, 1927-1942)Museum
Naval History and Heritage Command ship history page summarizing construction, reconstruction, and loss at Midway.

Photos

Wikimedia Commons: Akagi underway, Summer 1941 (public domain photo)Photo
Public-domain U.S. Navy/Naval Historical Center photo of Akagi underway with Zero fighters parked forward, a classic reference image for modelers.

History

Service history

Akagi's air group first saw action supporting Japanese operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War, then led the Pearl Harbor strike in December 1941 as Kido Butai flagship, followed by the invasion of Rabaul, the Darwin raid, and the Indian Ocean raid where her aircraft helped sink British warships. At the Battle of Midway in June 1942, Akagi was struck by dive bombers from USS Enterprise, set ablaze, and ultimately scuttled by Japanese destroyer torpedoes on 5 June 1942.

Notable facts

Her conversion from a cancelled capital-ship hull to carrier configuration, and subsequent major reconstruction into a single-deck "island" carrier, makes her an interesting subject for modelers wanting to depict either her original three-tiered flight deck layout or her later, more iconic WWII-era profile. The wreck was located and surveyed on the seafloor near Midway in modern photogrammetric expeditions, providing additional visual reference for hull details.