This is a list of
fleets of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
, the
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
of the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
. This navy existed from 1868 to 1945, when it was replaced by the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
.
High rank fleets
These fleets were under the command of the
Ministry of the Navy,
Imperial General Headquarters
The was part of the Supreme War Council and was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equivalent to the United States ...
or
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff.
*
: 9 March 1869 => 27 July 1870
*
: 28 July 1870 => 17 May 1872
*
: 18 May 1872 => 25 October 1875, divided into Eastern Fleet and Western Fleet on 28 October 1875.
: 5 September 1876 => 28 December 1885, reorganized to Standing Small-Fleet.
*
: 28 October 1875 => 4 September 1876, incorporated into Medium Fleet on 5 September 1876.
*
: 28 October 1875 => 4 September 1876, incorporated into Medium Fleet on 5 September 1876.
*
: 18 July 1894 => 15 November 1895
: 28 December 1903 => 20 December 1905
: 1 December 1922 => 10 October 1945
*
: 20 October 1937 => 9 September 1945
*
: 15 November 1943 => 10 October 1945
Medium rank fleets
These fleets were under the command of a higher rank fleet, and themselves commanded one or more lower rank fleets.
*
: 10 April 1942 => 3 September 1945
*
: 20 December 1942 => 6 September 1945
*
: 5 August 1943 => 5 December 1944
*
: 1 March 1944 => 15 November 1944
*
: 4 May 1944 => 18 July 1944
*
: 5 February 1945 => 12 September 1945
Lower rank fleets
These did not in general have any other fleets under their command.
*
: 28 December 1885 => 29 July 1889, reorganized to Standing Fleet.
*
: 29 July 1889 => 28 December 1903, reorganized to 1st Fleet and 2nd Fleet.
*
: 13 July 1894 => 19 July 1894, reorganized to Western Sea Fleet.
*
: 19 July 1894 => 15 November 1895
*
: 28 December 1903 => 25 February 1944
*
: 28 December 1903 => 20 April 1945
*
: 28 December 1903 => 20 December 1905
: 24 December 1908 => 24 December 1915, reorganized from Southern China Expeditionary Fleet.
: 25 December 1915 => 1 December 1922
: 2 February 1932 => 14 November 1939, reorganized to 1st China Expeditionary Fleet on 15 November 1939.
: 10 April 1941 => 9 March 1942, renamed to
2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, their roles were invasion and maintenance of the public order in southwestern area the French Indochina, Philippines, British Malaya and Dutch East Indies.
Organization Southern Expeditionary Fleet/1 ...
on 10 March 1942.
: 14 July 1942 => 15 December 1944, reorganized from 1st Air Fleet.
*
: 14 June 1905 => 20 December 1905
: 20 October 1937 => 15 November 1939, reorganized to 3rd China Expeditionary Fleet on 15 November 1939.
: 15 November 1939 => 15 September 1945
*
: 1 February 1938 => 14 November 1939, reorganized to 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet on 15 November 1939.
: 25 July 1941 => 5 February 1945
*
: 15 November 1940 => 15 September 1945
*
: 15 April 1945 => 15 September 1945
*
: 14 July 1942 => 8 September 1945
*
: 15 November 1943 => 10 July 1944
*
: 10 April 1941 => 14 July 1942, carrier task force.
: 1 July 1943 => 15 June 1945, reconstituted as the land-based air fleet.
*
: 15 June 1944 => 8 January 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 10 July 1944 => 15 October 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 10 February 1945 => 10 October 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 1 March 1945 => 10 October 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 15 January 1941 => 6 September 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 18 May 1943 => 30 November 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 20 September 1943 => 12 September 1945, land-based air fleet.
*
: 4 March 1944 => 18 July 1944, land-based air fleet.
*
: 20 December 1905 => 23 December 1908, reorganized to 3rd Fleet on 24 December 1908.
*
: 10 August 1918 => 8 August 1919, reorganized from
7th Division on 10 August 1918, reorganized to 1st Expeditionary Fleet on 9 August 1919.
*
: 9 August 1919 => 19 May 1933, reorganized from China Expeditionary Fleet on 9 August 1919, reorganized to
11th Division on 20 May 1933.
*
: 7 February 1917 => 30 November 1918, renamed from 1st Special Task Fleet on 1 December 1918.
: 16 May 1927 => 20 April 1933
*
: 15 November 1939 => 19 August 1943, renamed from 3rd Fleet on 15 November 1939, reorganized Yangtze River Area Base Force on 20 August 1943.
*
: 15 November 1939 => 9 September 1945, renamed from 5th Fleet on 15 November 1939.
*
: 15 November 1939 => 9 April 1942, renamed from 4th Fleet on 15 November 1939, reorganized Qingdao Area Special Base Force on 10 April 1942.
*
: 31 July 1941 => 2 January 1942, renamed 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet on 3 January 1942.
*
: 3 January 1942 => 12 September 1945, renamed from Southern Expeditionary Fleet.
*
: 10 March 1942 => 3 September 1945, renamed from 3rd Fleet.
*
: 3 January 1942 => 3 September 1945
*
: 30 November 1943 => 10 March 1945
*
: 10 December 1944 => 25 August 1945, reorganized from 1st Escort Squadron.
Temporary fleets
*
: 31 January 1905 => 4 November 1905, Converted
merchant cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
s fleet in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
.
*
: 20 December 1905 => 20 September 1940, organized and dissolved every year.
*
: 6 October 1908 => 25 October 1908, organized for serving the
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was t ...
.
*
: 1 April 1911 => 12 November 1911, organized for the
Coronation Fleet Review
A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
of
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
.
*
: 7 February 1917 => 30 November 1919, fleet for
unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to sea ...
in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, renamed 2nd Expeditionary Fleet on 1 December 1919.
*
: 7 February 1917 => 20 July 1919, fleet for unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I.
*
: 13 April 1917 => 12 December 1917, fleet for unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I, renamed from
4th Division on 13 April 1917.
Battle order of Imperial Japanese Navy fleets
These diagrams cover only fleets, omitting naval districts, guard districts, divisions, flotillas, squadrons, detachments, and other elements.
*9 March 1869 (
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
)
*28 July 1870
*18 May 1872
*28 October 1875
*28 January 1877 (
Satsuma Rebellion)
*28 December 1885
*29 July 1889
*29 July 1894 (
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
)
*6 February 1905 (
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...
,
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
)
*13 April 1917 (
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
)
*10 October 1937 (
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
)
*10 December 1941 (
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 ...
)
*1 April 1944 (before the
Battle of the Philippine Sea)
*29 May 1945 (after the
Operation Ten-Go)
Bibliography
*Naval Minister's Secretariat/Ministry of the Navy (stored a
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) National Archives of Japan
The preserve Japanese government documents and historical records and make them available to the public. Although Japan's reverence for its unique history and art is well documented and illustrated by collections of art and documents, there is al ...
)
**''Monograph: Year of 1900 - Extract of naval war history of
Qing Incident'', each volume.
**''Fleet boat division organization and warship torpedo boat deployment'', each volume.
**''Vessels boat service list'', each volume.
*
Senshi Sōsho
The , also called the , is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the op ...
each volume, Asagumo Simbun, Tōkyō, Japan.
*Rekishi Dokuhon, Special issue No. 33 ''Overview of admirals of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', Shin-Jinbutsuōraisha, Tōkyō, Japan, 1999.
*The Japanese Modern Historical Manuscripts Association, ''Organizations, structures and personnel affairs of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy'', University of Tōkyō Press, Tōkyō, Japan, 1971, .
*''The Maru Special series'' each volume, , Tōkyō, Japan.
*''Ships of the World series'' each volume, , Tōkyō, Japan.
*Seiki Sakamoto and Hideki Fukukawa (joint authorship), ''Encyclopedia of organizations of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', Fuyōs Sobō Shuppan, Tōkyō, Japan, 2003, .
{{IJN
Imperial Japanese Navy
Fleets of the Imperial Japanese Navy