On October 25, 1944, at the Battle of Cape Engano, the crew members bid farewell to each other on the flying sign of the sinking Japanese aircraft carrier USS Zuikaku, holding up their arms and shouting Hail Mary with everyone else.

　　On October 25, 1944, at the Battle of Cape Engano, the crew of the sinking Japanese aircraft carrier USS Zuikaku bid farewell to each other by raising their arms and shouting Hail Mary with everyone else on the flying signboard. The crew of the IJN saluted the sinking aircraft carrier Zui-Haku by lowering the flag. Nearly half of the 1,700-strong crew shared the fate of the sinking Zuikaku. On the deck, which was heavily inclined to the horizon, the crew repeatedly sang three Hail Marys. The aircraft carrier Zuikaku sank at 2:14 p.m., about 16 minutes after the hail mary. After the sinking, 866 people, about half of the crew, were rescued.

　　On the afternoon of October 25, the IJN war flag is lowered and the crew salutes the sunken aircraft carrier USS Zuikaku. The radio antenna mast was folded horizontally to starboard. It sloped sharply to port. A 25mm single anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the lower right side of the flight deck. The Zuikaku was hit by an attack from U.S. aircraft and was on the verge of sinking, leading to the "lowering of the warship flag" at approximately 13:55-58 hours. After a general order to abandon ship was issued, the slope increased. At 14:07, Zuiho reported, "Zuikaku left inclined and immersed at the waterline of the arrival and departure decks. Shortly after, at 14:14, Zuiho sank as if standing upright. The Oyodo Record (detailed combat report) stated that the ship sank at 14:20. At the time of Zuikaku's sinking, the American attack had ended, and a photo of Zuikaku on the flight deck, taken as all hands were leaving the ship, became famous.

　On October 25, during the Battle of Cape Engano, the aircraft carrier Zuikaku launched her few remaining aircraft to conduct combat aerial patrols, searches, and to join the aircraft already on Luzon. She was then hit by seven torpedoes and nine bombs in a heavy air attack by American forces. The Zuikaku tilted heavily to port, and her warship flag was transferred to the light cruiser Oyodo; at 13:58, the order to scrap the ship was given and the naval flag was lowered. The Zuikaku overturned and sank from the stern at 14:14, taking the lives of Rear Admiral Takeo Kaizuka and 842 crew members, 862 of whom were rescued by the destroyers Wakatsuki and Kuwa. The Zuikaku was the last Japanese carrier to attack Pearl Harbor. She was also the only Japanese fleet carrier sunk by aircraft-launched torpedoes, as all other carriers were sunk by dive bombers or submarine-launched torpedoes.