Jun’yō (隼鷹) – one of the two Hiyō-class aircraft carriers, which were initially designed as a Nippon Yūsen transoceanic passenger ship (with possible conversion into an aircraft carrier) in connection with the planned organisation of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1940. In mid-1940, the Navy General Staff decided to convert those passenger ships into fleet aircraft carriers and thus, the future Jun’yō was launched at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki in June 1941. After completion of the armament, the aircraft carrier entered service on 3 May 1942. Compared to the latest standard set by the Shōkaku-class, Jun’yō was slower by more than 8 knots (25.5 vs 34 kts). She was also inferior to the older Sōryū and Hiryū to a similar extent, lacking other advantages, such as an armoured flight deck, the merits of which were noticed during the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. However, according to naval planners, the Jun’yō and Hiyō air groups were to have 48 operational aircraft each (plus five spares), which made their offensive potential similar to Sōryū and Hiryū. Together with Ryūjō, she formed the 2nd Kidō Butai to support Operation AL. (Artwork by Grzegorz Nowak)