The aircraft carrier Taihō was an Armored Cruiser of the Island Nation Navy, with a standard displacement of nearly 30,000 tons. She carried 36 Zero fighters, 24 Type 99 dive bombers, and 24 Type 97 attack aircraft. At the same time, she possessed exceptionally formidable defenses.
In the first wave of attacks, the aircraft carrier Taihō launched 12 Zero fighters, 12 Type 99 dive bombers, and 12 Type 97 attack aircraft. In the subsequent second wave, the aircraft carrier Taihō would launch the same number of carrier-based aircraft. The remaining 12 Zero fighters would serve as air-defense fighters, preventing the Combined Fleet from coming under German Navy attack.
Of the other three aircraft carriers in the 1st Carrier Fleet, the two Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers each launched 8 Zero fighters, 18 Type 99 dive bombers, and 18 Type 97 attack aircraft. The light aircraft carrier Ryūhō launched 8 Zero fighters and 3 Type 97 attack aircraft.
In the first wave of attacks, the Island Nation Navy's 1st Carrier Squadron committed a total of 36 Zero fighters, 48 Type 99 dive bombers, and 39 Type 97 attack aircraft. The second wave would also launch the same number of carrier-based aircraft. In addition, 36 Zero fighters were retained as air-defense fighters.
The four aircraft carriers fielded by the 2nd Carrier Fleet were all Unryu-class aircraft carriers. In the first wave of attacks, each aircraft carrier could launch 8 Zero fighters, 12 Type 99 dive bombers, and 12 Type 97 attack aircraft. Thus, the entire 2nd Carrier Fleet could launch 32 Zero fighters, 48 Type 99 dive bombers, and 48 Type 97 attack aircraft in both the first and second waves. At the same time, the squadron could retain 32 Zero fighters as air-defense fighters.
The 3rd Carrier Fleet fielded two Unryu-class aircraft carriers