 Shōkaku 's repairs continued until March 1943 and Zuikaku , together with the recently repaired Zuihō , sailed for Truk on 17 January to support the impending evacuation of Japanese ground forces from Guadalcanal ( Operation Ke ) . On 29 January , the two carriers flew off 47 Zeros to Rabaul and Kahili Airfield , contributing some of their own aircraft and pilots . Zuihō was then used to cover the evacuation , while Zuikaku remained at Truk , together with the two Yamato @-@ class battleships , acting as a fleet in being threatening to sortie at any time . 
