Akagi served as the flagship during the Pearl Harbor attack.
Akagi was the flagship of the Japanese First Air Fleet and carried the command staff for Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s carrier strike force. The ship began its career as a battlecruiser hull but was completed as an aircraft carrier after naval treaty restrictions changed Japan’s construction plans.
During the attack, Akagi launched fighters, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers in the two major waves directed against Pearl Harbor. Its aircraft participated in strikes on American ships and airfields. Akagi later took part in the Indian Ocean raid and the Battle of Midway.
At Midway in June 1942, American aircraft fatally damaged Akagi. The Japanese navy scuttled the carrier after fires and explosions made it impossible to save. Akagi’s wreck was located in the Pacific in 2019.