The aircraft carriers Hiryu and Soryu were built under the London Disarmament Treaty in 1930, and were part of the 1933 disarmament expansion plan. Soryu was completed first, but further improvements were made to Soryu, and Hiryu was completed at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on July 5, 1939. Based on the operational experience of the previously completed Soryu and Kaga, it was decided that Hiryu would have the bridge installed in the center of the hull so as not to interfere with the aircraft taking off; the chimney on the starboard side was placed on the port side to be on top of the ship. Although the arrangement was favorite in terms of weight distribution, it was discovered that the air currents generated from the bridge had an adverse effect on carrier-based aircraft landing on the ship. Therefore, aircraft carriers built after this time had a bridge on the starboard side; Hiryu and Akagi were the only ones with a bridge on the port side, giving them a unique appearance. She became an extremely successful and powerful aircraft carrier, with features such as high-speed performance exceeding 34 knots, improved hull strength, improved defense capabilities, and a carrying capacity of 57 aircraft.
Hiryu's military history includes support for the invasion of the continent in 1945, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8, 1945, the capture of Wake Island, the sweep of Java and New Guinea, and the Indian Ocean operations. In the battle, the bomb squad she carried had an amazing hit rate, sinking the British aircraft carrier Hermes and the heavy cruiser Cornwall. At the end of May 1944, Hiryu left Japan to participate in the fateful Battle of Midway. Early in the morning on June 5, 1945, Captain Tomonaga of the Hiryu judged that the first attack was insufficient and requested a land attack, and the equipment of the Air Force that was on the other ships, waiting on the mother ship, was transferred to land. This led to a hectic situation in which they had to change to attack equipment. In addition, a reconnaissance aircraft reported the discovery of an enemy task force, and in an unusual situation where the equipment of the Air Force was changed to ship attack equipment again, a U.S. Navy bomb squadron dive-bombed the Akagi and Kaga, and all three of Soryu's ships burst into flames in an instant. Hiryu was the only ship left unscathed, so she launched an attack on the American aircraft carrier Yorktown, rendering Yorktown unable to navigate. However, Hiryu was bombed by the attack force launched from the remaining two aircraft carriers, and out of four bomb hits, two close hits caused her to burst into flames and become unable to navigate. It was assumed that the destroyers Arashi and Nowaki were torpedoed, and they were thought to have sunk, but they were later found drifting aboard the Hosho. The plane was spotted and they hurriedly went to rescue them, but by the time they arrived at the scene, they were gone.
Aoshima brings us a 1/700-scale waterline model kit of the Hiryu, known for her success in the early days of the Pacific War and her bravery at the Battle of Midway. The parts structure is simple, easy to assemble, and accurately reproduced. In addition to various equipment such as regular machine guns and high-angle guns, newly designed equipment has been added, including an anti-aircraft firearm with a smoke shield on the starboard side where the chimney is located. Many parts are slide-molded for density and precision; in addition to armaments such as destroyer main guns and machine guns, carrier-based aircraft and other equipment have been updated. The following parts are updated with new molds:
- Type 94 shooting device
- Type 89 12.7cm twin high-angle gun
- Type 89 12.7cm twin high-angle gun with smoke shield
- Type 96 25mm twin machine gun
- Type 96 25mm triple machine gun
- 12m fire launch
- 12m fire boat
- Radial davit
- 9m cutter
- Chrysanthemum emblem
- Anchor
