I just finished watching ep07 of Strike Witches 2, and while that particular episode was extraordinarily silly, it was the preview for ep08 that made me sit up and take notice.  Certainly this was nice:

I mean, who doesn't like a good Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 fighter once in a while, right?  Probably an A6M2, considering the year the show is set in.

But that wasn't what made me drool in anticipation.  No, this one quick shot was what did it:

We already knew the Yamato was going to be showing up, so no surprise there.  No, it's the other two ships in this screencap that got me excited.  I am tentatively identifying them as the Zuiho on the left and the Shoho on the right.  Note the lack of islands on the flight-decks, which do not appear to stretch the full length of the hull.  While that alone doesn't preclude them from being one of the IJN's escort carriers (like the Unyo or Taiyo), which also have those same traits, you'll note on the lefthand carrier there is a wire mesh-like object extending out from the starboard side. 

There's a similar object on the other carrier as well, though it's mostly hidden behind the Yamato.  That's actually the ship's radio masts, which could be cranked down for flight operations.  I don't think the escort carriers needed such a system.  The true giveaway, though is that both ships look like they have "wings" off the stern end of their flight decks. That was a feature that allowed pilots to check their positioning out of the corners of their eye as they landed, and the Japanese CVEs didn't have those, but the Zuiho and Shoho did.  We'll just need to wait for ep08 to be released to be sure... but I feel pretty confident.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what it's like being a Pacific War otaku.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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