was an admiral in the
Imperial Japanese Navy during
World War II. He directed Japanese forces involved in the
Battle of Wake Island.
Biography
A native of
Ehime prefecture, Kajioka graduated from the 39th class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911. He placed 6th out of 138 cadets. He served as
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
on the cruisers and , and after being commissioned as an
ensign, on the . His training was in navigation, and after his promotion to
lieutenant he served as chief navigator on the , and . Kajioka was promoted to
lieutenant commander in 1924, and was assigned as chief navigator to the , and
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
.
Kajioka was given his first command of a warship on December 1, 1935 when he was promoted to captain of the . He subsequently commanded ''Kasuga'' and ''Kiso''.
Kajioka was promoted to
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
on November 15, 1940. At the start of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
, Kajioka was in command of the
Wake Island invasion force, consisting of Cruiser Division 18 with the cruisers , , ; Destroyer Division 29 (, ); Destroyer Division 30 (, , , ); and transports with the No. 2 Maizuru
Special Naval Landing Force.
Overly confident that the island's defenses had been reduced by air bombardment, his forces suffered heavy casualties in the first phase of the
Battle of Wake Island before being forced to retreat. ''Hayate'' and ''Kisaragi'' were sunk, and ''Yubari'' was hit 11 times by shells fired by the
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
defenders. Perhaps surprisingly for the Japanese Naval Command, he was not relieved of his command after this failure, allowing him a second try. The second assault on Wake Island, reinforced with heavy cruisers and the aircraft carriers and , was more successful.
Kajioka was then assigned to command the invasion of
Lae,
New Guinea in March 1942. He narrowly escaped disaster when the
US Navy launched a counterattack across the
Owen Stanley Range
Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling.
History
Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captain Owe ...
, which damaged many ships in the invasion fleet, but after troops and supplies had already been landed.
Kajioka was later in the
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
in May 1942 as commander of the
Port Moresby invasion force. However, the invasion was cancelled before troops could be landed. Kajioka was recalled to Japan, and was sent to the reserves from the end of 1942 through early 1944. He was reactivated, and given command of the No. 6 Escort Division on 8 April 1944. In April and May he commanded the
Take Ichi convoy, which suffered heavy losses while carrying two Army divisions from China to New Guinea.
Kajioka was
killed in action on September 12, 1944 when his destroyer was torpedoed by east of
Hainan. He was posthumously promoted to
vice admiral.
References
Books
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External links
*
The Defense of Wake
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kajioka, Sadamichi
Japanese admirals of World War II
1891 births
1944 deaths
Military personnel from Ehime Prefecture
Imperial Japanese Navy admirals
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Battle of Wake Island