Kaiyo, formerly Argentina Maru, was a long-range ocean liner purchased in 1942 and converted into an escort carrier. Its two elevators, usable flight deck, and capacity of roughly two dozen aircraft made it a practical convoy escort rather than a nominal aviation ship. The exact aircraft mix depended on what was available, a late-war constraint that did not erase the soundness of the basic conversion. Japan had ideas and doctrine for auxiliary carriers, but lacked the institutional and industrial depth to field them in enough quantity or at the right time.
Notable Point · 50:36-56:45
Kaiyo as a useful liner-to-escort-carrier conversion
Kaiyo shows a practical Japanese escort-carrier conversion, with a usable flight deck, elevators, and convoy-escort service.