Akitsu Maru and army amphibious aviation

Akitsu Maru was an Army-operated amphibious transport with a flight deck, able to carry aircraft as cargo or operate a small number as a carrier. Its passenger-liner origins and roughly 11,800-ton displacement made it a compact combination of troop transport and aviation support. Alongside Shinsu Maru, it shows that Japan developed unusually advanced amphibious concepts before and during the Pacific War. Japan did not build enough specialized ships to make the doctrine robust in a major opposed landing campaign.