Japanese aircraft carrier Akitsu Maru

Akitsu Maru (あきつ丸) was a Japanese escort aircraft carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Army. In some sources Akitsu Maru and her sister ship Nigitsu Maru are also considered to be the first amphibious assault ships.

Design features
Akitsu Maru was a passenger liner taken over before completion by the Imperial Japanese Army. The ship was fitted with a flight deck above the hull, but had no hangar so the aircraft were stored below the flight deck on the original main deck. Conventional aircraft were able to fly off from her deck but could not land aboard due to the short deck length and lack of landing mechanisms. She could also carry 27 Daihatsu class landing craft.

Akitsu Maru's planned role was to provide aircover during amphibious and landing operations; in practice the ship and her sister ship the Nigitsu Maru were essentially aircraft ferries.

Fate
On Thursday 18 November 1943 Akitsu Maru, while in company with large torpedo boat Tomozuru, was torpedoed off the entrance to Manila Bay by the United States submarine Crevalle (SS-291). The Crevalle incorrectly reported the Akitsu Maru as sunk. The Akitsu Maru was sunk by the submarine Queenfish (SS-393) on 15 November 1944. 2,046 men, mainly of the IJA's 64th Infantry Regiment, were killed.