In Japanese, is a

military unit Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hiera ...

and may be literally translated as " squadron", "

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

", " division (of ships)", "

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

" or "

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

". The terms "

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

" and "

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used to refer to larger formations.

Imperial Japanese aviation ''sentai''

The term was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by the

military of the Empire of Japan The military history of Japan covers a vast time-period of over three millennia - from the Jōmon period, Jōmon ( 1000 BC) to the present day. After a long period of clan warfare until the 12th century, there followed feudal wars that culminate ...

for

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

(IJAAS) and

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 ...

(IJNAS)

military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...

units equivalent to a group or wing in other air forces. However, the term had slightly different meanings in the IJAAS and the IJNAS. An IJAAS ''Sentai'' was made up of two to four squadrons (''chūtai''). In the IJAAS, two or more ''Sentai'' comprised a ''hikōdan'' (air

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

). In the later stages of World War II, the IJAAS abolished ''chūtai'' and divided its ''sentai'' into '' hikōtai'' (flying units) and ''seibitai'' (maintenance units). A ''sentai'' commander (''sentaichō'') was generally a lieutenant colonel. In the IJNAS, a ''sentai'' was a larger unit: a ''

Kōkūtai A ''kōkūtai'' () was a military aviation unit in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), similar to the Group (military aviation unit), air groups in other air arms and services of the time. Some comparable units included ''wing'' in th ...

'' was the equivalent of an IJAAS ''sentai''. Several ''sentai'' made up a ''kantai'' (air fleet). In the IJNAS, a ''Sentaichō'' was usually a naval captain.

Imperial Japanese naval ''sentai''

''Sentai'' in the Japanese Navy were prescribed by the document ''Naval military command No. 10, dated 30 November 1914. Paraphrased, they were defined as follows: *: comprising two or more warships of the same

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

. *: comprising two or more

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

s or air groups. *: comprising two or more

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s, possibly with a

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

as a squadron

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

. *: comprising two or more

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s, with a

submarine tender A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of foo ...

or cruiser as submarine squadron leader, and some submarine divisions. The ''1st Sensui Sentai'' was formed on 1 April 1919 from the former ''4th Suirai Sentai''. *: comprising two or more landing ship divisions. First unit the ''1st Yusō Sentai'' was organized on 25 September 1944. *: comprising a

mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...

and individual suicide weapons, such as ''

Kaiten were crewed torpedoes and suicide attack, suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II. Background In recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the Japanese high co ...

'', '' Kairyū'', '' Kōryū'' and '' Shin'yō''. The first such unit was the ''1st Tokkō Sentai'', organized on 20 March 1945.

Cultural references

The is a franchise of Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

television dramas produced by Toei and

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

that uses the word ''sentai'' to describe a group of three or more costumed

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

es who often pilot fictional robotic vehicles to fight ''

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

''.

Bibliography

*Series 100 year histories from

Meiji Era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

, Ministry of the Navy, printed by Hara Shobō (Japan) **Vol. 173, ''Histories of Naval organizations #3 (1)'', original printing in 1939, reprint in May 1971 **Vol. 174, ''Histories of Naval organizations #3 (2)'', original printing in 1939, reprint in July 1971

External links

*
Mark Kaiser, 1997-98, "Unit structure of IJA Air Force"
* * {{cite web, last1=Dunn, first1=Peter, title=Japanese Navy Air Force (JNAF) operating in the Australia area during WW2, url=http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/jnaf/jnaf.htm, website=Australia @ War Military units and formations of Japan in World War II ja:戦隊

Imperial Japanese aviation ''sentai''

Imperial Japanese naval ''sentai''

Cultural references

See also

Bibliography

External links