Hōshō was the world's first commissioned ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing aircraft and equipment, and to evaluate operational methods and tactics. She provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations. Hōshō and her aircraft participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937. During those two conflicts, her aircraft supported Imperial Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in combat with aircraft of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the effectiveness of her contributions. As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939. During World War II, Hōshō participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 in a secondary role. After the battle, the carrier resumed her training role for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage. She was used as a repatriation transport after the war and was scrapped in 1946.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_H%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

537:

The current Hagia Sophia building in Istanbul, originally built as a church before it later became a mosque in 1453 and then a museum in 1935, was inaugurated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

1918:

A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Poznań sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacy_Jan_Paderewski

1966:

The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, was discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Swallows

1979:

Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace outside of Kabul and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and his 300 elite guards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafizullah_Amin

2007:

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while she was leaving a political rally of Pakistan Peoples Party supporters at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Benazir_Bhutto

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hooey: (slang) Silly talk or writing; nonsense. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooey

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There is nothing of such force as the power of a person content merely to be himself, nothing so invincible as the power of simple honesty, nothing so successful as the life of one who runs alone. --Louis Bromfield https://en.wikiquote.org//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bromfield