Ship History
Ryuhō means "Dragon Phoenix". Originally entered service as a submarine tender in 1934. Converted to a light carrier in December 1941 at Yokosuka. While undergoing this conversion, she was lightly damaged by the "Doolittle Raid" in April 1942. The conversion was completed in November 1942.

Wartime History
Torpedoed off Tokyo Bay in December 1942 by a submarine, but survived. Used mostly as an aircraft ferry and training carrier.

Ryuhō aircraft were land based in July - August 1943 at Buin Airfield (Kahili) with some flights from Buka Airfield. During January - February 1944 they were land based at Rabaul.

During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the carrier suffered a near miss bomb, and suffered light damage.

The Ryuhō transported 58 Ohka to Formosa in December 1944 - January 1945, the IJN's last mission beyond the Japanese home islands.

In March 1945, the carrier was severely damaged by US Navy carrier aircraft at Kure, and was put into dry dock to repair the flooding but was never fully repaired before the war ended.

Scrapping
After the war, Ryuhō was scrapped in 1946 - 1947.