The first Japanese carrier to equipped a heavy belt armor and an armored flight deck to withstand heavy attacks from the enemies. She served as Ozawa's flagship for the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
USS Albacore (SS-218) spotted Taihou and fired six torpedoes, one torpedo manage to hit the carrier, and the hit was on her fuel tank, then later Albacore escaped receiving minimal damage. Taihou somehow manage to send two more waves but her damage control cannot sustained the small damage since they were poorly trained. The damage worsen and six and a half hours after the hit, her hull exploded , the explosion damage her heavily. Then almost two hours later, another explosion happened which completely torn her apart and sunk her.
This may be a bit of stretch to put into "Final Moments" but I feel that the "Single-Stroke kill" evidenced by the sword here is more than enough of a reference.
Laid down July 10, 1941Launched April 7, 1943Commissioned March 7, 1944Both Taihou and Shoukaku were sunk in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Vice-Admiral Ozawa survived Taihou's sinking and moved his flag to the only remaining carrier of CarDiv 1, Zuikaku.
