was an admiral and commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Early in the war with the United States, Arima commanded the

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 ...

, one of the largest battleships ever built.

Biography

Arima was a native of Miyazaki prefecture. He graduated from the 42nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1914. He was ranked 40th in a class of 117 cadets. As a

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 ...

, he was assigned to the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and battleship , and as a sub-lieutenant to the cruiser . After serving on the crew of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s and , he was commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to the cruiser , followed by the cruiser and the battleship . Arima graduated from the 25th class of the Naval Staff College and was promoted to lieutenant commander in December 1926. After a 2½-year stint as a gunnery instructor at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, he subsequently served as chief gunnery officer on the cruiser . He was assigned to the staff of the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet in China in September 1931, and made the jump to the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in November 1932. After his promotion to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in December 1932, he served as an instructor at the Naval Staff College through 1937. Arima was also promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in December 1936, and received his first command, the cruiser in November 1939. In October 1940, he was assigned command of the battleship . From September 1941, he was

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

on the new super-battleship , and became its captain on 5 August 1942. He 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 1 November. For most of the remainder of the war, he served as an instructor at the naval academy and specialized training schools. Later, Arima served as chief of staff for the IJN's IJN 4th Fleet; he was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November 1945. Surviving the war, Arima died in 1956.

References

Notes

Books

* * *''Rekishi Dokuhon'', Document of the war No. 48 ''Overview of Imperial Japanese Navy Admirals'', Shin-Jinbutsuoraisha Co., Ltd., Tōkyō, Japan, 1999, .

Web

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arima, Kaoru 1893 births 1956 deaths People from Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese admirals of World War II Imperial Japanese Navy admirals