Hōshō was the world's first
commissioned ship to be designed and built as an
aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing aircraft and equipment, and to evaluate operational methods and tactics. She provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations. Hōshō and her aircraft participated in the
Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the
Sino-Japanese War in 1937. During those two conflicts, her aircraft supported
Imperial Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in combat with aircraft of the
Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the effectiveness of her contributions. As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939. During
World War II, Hōshō participated in the
Battle of Midway in June 1942 in a secondary role. After the battle, the carrier resumed her training role for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage. She was used as a repatriation transport after the war and was
scrapped in 1946. (
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... that Kānekapōlei prevented the kidnapping of her husband King
Kalaniʻōpuʻu and their sons by
Captain Cook, one of the events that led to Cook's death in Hawaii?
537 – The current Hagia Sophia building in
Istanbul, originally built as a church before it later became a mosque in 1453 and then a museum in 1935, was inaugurated.
ORP Grom is an
Orkan-class fast attack craft originally contracted by East Germany and
laid down in 1989. After
German reunification, the unfinished hull was bought by Poland, where it was completed in 1995. The ship now serves with the 31st Rocket Warships Squadron,
3rd Ship Flotilla of the Polish Navy.
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