WWII Ships in the North Pacific

These are the ships used in the North Pacific theaters—the Aleutian and Kuril Islands—during World War II. Mention of these are made in the book The Flying, Fighting Weathermen of Patrol Wing Four by Paul E. Carrigan.

Click the photos for a larger image. Click the captions for more information; typically a Wikipedia page.

Aircraft carriers

The Junyo, Ryujo, Zuiho, and Zuikaku were involved in the war in the Aleutians. All four cruised south of the the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942. All of Japan's carriers are shown here for comparison. The only U.S. carrier to operate in the North Pacific for any significant amount of time was the USS Nassau.

Battleships

Cruisers

The heavy cruisers below can be identified by hull numbers starting with CA. Light cruisers have hull numbers starting with CL.

Destroyers

This is not a complete list of the destroyers that participated in the North Pacific war.

Minesweeper

Oiler

Patrol Gunboats

PT Boats

PT boats were used in the Aleutians but had limited usefulness in bad weather. They were stationed in Dutch Harbor; Finger Bay, Adak; Amchitka; and Casco Cove, Attu. Here's a photo of three PT boats tied up to seaplane tender USS Gillis. Note the PBY at the stern of Gillis.

Seaplane tenders

These are the seaplane tenders that serviced seaplanes in the Aleutians. The U.S. tenders serviced PBYs. The Japanese tender serviced the Kawanishi H6K Mavis and smaller float planes.

Submarines

These are the diesel submarine types used in the North Pacific war. The I-400 class could conceivably be called an aircraft carrier and seaplane tender because it could carry up to three seaplanes in a waterproof hanger.

Transport

The U.S. Army transport USAT William L. Thompson is mentioned in the book but no photo could be found.