The Zuiho was designed as a submarine tender, but was converted to an aircraft carrier in 1940. The name Zuiho means "Lucky Dragon" in Japanese. The carrier was completed twenty days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was first deployed to help consolidate the Japanese gains in the Philippines. The Zuiho sailed in support of the landing force, during the Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942. She was involved in the prolonged struggle for the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific, and was damaged at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 26, 1942. Her next major engagement was at the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, where the Japanese carrier force was all but annihilated. On October 25, 1944, Zuiho was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.