Chiyoda was a Japanese light aircraft carrier, the keel of which was laid in 1936, launched in November 1937, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1938. The length of the ship was 192.5 m, width 20.8 m, and full displacement - 15,500 tons. The maximum speed of the aircraft carrier Chiyoda oscillated around 28-29 knots, and its main armament consisted of 30 on-board planes.
Originally, Chiyoda - like its sister unit Chitose - was an ocean-going seaplane carrier, but was designed to be quickly converted into an aircraft carrier. The order for this ship was placed under the 1934 fleet expansion plan. As a result of the catastrophic losses suffered at Midway in June 1942, it was decided to convert Chiyoda into an aircraft carrier. The works lasted from January to December 1943. Chiyoda, as a seaplane transport ship, had its baptism of fire during the fighting in China in 1939-1940. Chiyoda spent the first months of World War II at the naval base in Kure. The ship, however, took part in the Battle of Midway, but played a minor role there. In the second half of 1942, he fought in the battles for Guadalcanal. On the other hand, Chiyod's career as an aircraft carrier was relatively short - in June 1944 he fought in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, taking part in the main struggle of the air force, and in October that year he took part in the Battle of Leyte where he was severely damaged by American on-board planes, and later destroyed artillery fire.