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Battle Of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships) than the Allies of World War II, Allied forces had total aircraft carriers in the Pacific, which underscored the disparity in force strength at that point in the war. After the catastrophic Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, senior Japanese military leaders understood that Japan's remaining naval forces were incapable of achieving a strategic victory against the Allies. However, the Japanese general staff believed that continuing to contest Allied offensives at sea was necessary, in order to both deter a future invasion of mainland Japan and to give the Japanese navy an opportunity to utilize its remaining strength. As a result, the Imperial Japanese Navy () mobilized nearly all of its remaini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Aircraft Carrier
A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier smaller than the Fleet carrier, standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only one-half to two-thirds the size of a full-sized fleet carrier. A light carrier was similar in concept to an escort carrier in most respects; however, light carriers were intended for higher speeds to be deployed alongside fleet carriers, while escort carriers were typically relatively slow and usually defended equally slow convoys, as well as providing air support during amphibious operations. History In World War II, the United States Navy produced a number of light carriers by converting cruiser hulls. These s, converted from light cruisers, were unsatisfactory ships for aviation with their narrow, short decks and slender, high-Sheer (ship), sheer hulls; in virtually all respects the escort carriers were superior aviation vessels. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shōji Nishimura
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Nishimura was from Akita prefecture in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. He was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 21st out of 148 cadets. As a midshipman, he served on the armored cruiser and the battleship . After his commissioning as an ensign, he was assigned back to ''Aso'', and then to the battlecruiser . Nishimura attended naval artillery and torpedo school from 1914 to 1915, and then was assigned to the destroyer , the armored cruiser , and the battlecruiser . As a lieutenant from 1917, Nishimura specialized in navigation, and served as chief navigator on a large number of vessels, including the corvette , the destroyers , , , and , the light cruisers and , and the battleship . Nishimura was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1928. He was subsequently chief navigator on the armored cruiser . He was given his first command, of the destr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Air Fleets Of The Imperial Japanese Navy
During the Pacific War of 1941–1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service disposed of an increasing number of "air fleets" — airborne combat units attached to the Navy. The 1st Air Fleet was the primary carrier unit, while other Air Fleets were for defence, training or supporting naval operations in particular theatres. 1st Air Fleet The formed the primary carrier fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), a grouping of naval aircraft and aircraft carriers that at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet. As losses mounted, the carriers were removed and the 1st Air Fleet was transformed into a land based Naval aviation force forward based on islands and land masses along the perimeter of the Japanese controlled sphere. 2nd Air Fleet The was organized late in the War to defend the National Defence Zone along with 1st Air Fleet. Their area of responsibility was based in the Kyūshū-Okinawa-Formosa district. In October 1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st Air Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
The , also known as the ''Kidō Butai'' ("Mobile Force"), was a combined carrier battle group comprising most of the aircraft carriers and carrier air groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the first eight months of the Pacific War. At the time of its best-known operation, the attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941, the 1st Air Fleet was the world's largest fleet of aircraft carriers. In its second generation, 1st Air Fleet was a land-based fleet of "kichi kōkūtai" (base air unit(s)). Origins In 1912, the British Royal Navy had established its own flying branch, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The IJN was modeled on the Royal Navy and the IJN Admiralty sought establishment of their own Naval Air Service. The IJN had also observed technical developments in other countries and saw military potential of the airplane. In 1913, the Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya, IJN seaplane carrier ''Wakamiya'' was converted into a seaplane tender and aircraft were purchased ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in 1910 and followed the development of air combat during World War I with great interest. Japan initially built European aircraft under license, but by the early 1930s Japanese factories were producing domestic designs. The Japanese also embarked on an ambitious aircraft carrier building program, launching the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, , in 1922. Several excess battlecruisers and battleships were converted into aircraft carriers as well. As the organization assigned to the IJN's aircraft carriers, the Navy Air Service was tasked with the missions of national air defence, deep strike, naval warfare, and so forth. It retained this mission until its dissolution at the end of the Second World War. The Japanese pilot training ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Aleutian campaign, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force. History Second Sino-Japanese War The 5th Fleet was initially formed on 1 February 1938 as part of the Japanese military emergency expansion program in the aftermath of the Battle of Shanghai, North China Incident of 1937. The initial plan was to construct 3rd, 4th and 5th China Area Fleets to cover the invasions of Japanese troops into the Chinese mainland, and to interdict and control commerce on the coasts. The 4th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy), 4th and 5th Fleets came under the operational control of the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet. It participated in the Hainan Island Operation and other maritime interdiction operations off the Chinese coast. The fleet was disbanded on 15 November 1939 when its operations were merged into the China ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions. History Russo-Japanese War First established on 28 December 1903, the 3rd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as an administrative unit to manage vessels considered obsolete for front-line combat service. These vessels were used primarily for training and for coastal patrol duties. The 3rd Fleet came under the aegis of the Combined Fleet for the duration of the Russo-Japanese War from March 1904. Although initially derided as a "dinosaur fleet", the 3rd fleet proved invaluable at the Battle of Tsushima and the Invasion of Sakhalin. It was disbanded on 20 December 1905. South China Fleet The 3rd Fleet was revived on 24 December 1908 as an expeditionary force during the Xinhai Revolution, Chinese Republican Revolution, to safeguard Japanese interests (civilians and property) on the China, Chinese ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. History Established on 27 October 1903, the 2nd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to pursue the Imperial Russian Navy's Vladivostok-based cruiser squadron while the remaining bulk of the Japanese fleet (the IJN 1st Fleet) continued to blockade Port Arthur in hopes of luring the battleships of the Russian Pacific Fleet into an open sea classic line of battle confrontation. As the main mobile force in the IJN, the 2nd Fleet saw the bulk of all future IJN combat operations from the time of its inception until IJN dissolution at the end of World War II. Order of Battle at time of Pearl Harbor Based at Samah, Hainan Island 4th Division : CA '' Takao'' (fleet flagship) :CA '' Atago'' :CA '' Chōkai'' :CA ''M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combined Fleet
The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime. History Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) The Combined Fleet was formally created for the first time on 18 July 1894 by the merger of the Standing Fleet and the Western Fleet. The Standing Fleet (also known as the Readiness Fleet) contained the navy's most modern and combat-capable warships. The Western Fleet was a reserve force consisting primarily of obsolete ships deemed unsuitable for front-line combat operations, but still suitable for commerce protection and coastal defense. Vice-admiral Itō Sukeyuki was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet for the duration of the first Sino-Japanese War against China. Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) The Combined Fleet was re-formed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Task Force 77 (United States Navy)
For decades, Task Force 77 was the aircraft carrier battle/strike force of the United States Seventh Fleet in the United States Navy (USN), a designation lasting from the final year of the Second World War until the disestablishment of the task force in 2000. History World War II Task Force 77 formed the main striking force of the Seventh Fleet, the main naval force of the Allied South West Pacific Area. Task Group 77.2, for example, was supporting landings during the Battle of Biak on the northern coast of New Guinea, and was commanded by Rear-Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf. In September 1944, USS ''Pennsylvania'' steamed to Seeadler Harbor on Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands for repairs. On 28 September, she arrived there and entered a floating dry dock on 1 October for a week's repairs. ''Pennsylvania'' left on 12 October in company with the battleships , , , , and ''West Virginia'', remaining under the command of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. These ships, designated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Task Force 38
The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in September 1945. The task force was made up of several separate task groups, each typically built around three to four aircraft carriers and their supporting vessels. The support vessels were screening destroyers, cruisers, and the newly built fast battleships. Carrier-based naval warfare With the arrival of the fleet carriers the primary striking power of the navy was no longer in its battleship force, but with the aircraft that could be brought to battle by the carriers. The means by which the US Navy operated these carriers was developed principally by Admiral Marc Mitscher. Mitscher determined that the best defense for a carrier was its own air groups, and that carriers were more easily defended if they operated t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamikazes
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to destroy warships more effectively than with conventional air attacks. About 3,800 ''kamikaze'' pilots died during the war in attacks that killed more than 7,000 Allied naval personnel, sank several dozen warships, and damaged scores more. The term is used generically in modern warfare for an attacking vehicle, often unmanned, which is itself destroyed when attacking a target; for example, a kamikaze drone. ''Kamikaze'' aircraft were pilot-guided explosive missiles, either purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" (''tai-atari'') in aircraft loaded with bombs, torpedoes or other explosives. About 19 percent of ''kamikaze'' attacks we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
