IJN 8th Fleet
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The IJN 8th Fleet (第八艦隊 (日本海軍) Dai-hachi Kantai?) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.
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[edit] History
Established on 14 July 1942, the IJN 8th Fleet was a headquarters unit established to direct Japanese naval operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. The warship forces assigned to the 8th Fleet were known as the Outer South Seas Force and Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa was assigned as the first commander.[1]
The first warships assigned to the 8th included the heavy cruiser Chokai, Cruiser Division 6 (CruDiv6) which included the heavy cruisers Aoba, Kinugasa, Kako, and Futuraka, light cruisers Tenryu and Yubari, and four destroyers. On July 26, Mikawa, on Chokai led his force from Truk to Rabaul, New Britain where he established his headquarters. He detached CruDiv6 to Kavieng, New Ireland.[2]
The IJN 8th Fleet under Mikawa engaged United States Navy forces in the Battle of Savo Island on August 8 – August 9, 1942, during which IJN 8th Fleet commander in chief Admiral Gunichi Mikawa defeated a superior American force, sinking four of eight cruisers, but failing to follow through a destroy the lightly-protected American transports. [3]
The IJN 8th Fleet also played a major role in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal from November 12-18 1942, during which the Japanese won a tactical victory, but suffered a strategic defeat due to large losses of irreplaceable ships and an inability to completely secure Guadalcanal from American landings.
From 20 December 1942 until the end of the war, the IJN 8th Fleet came under the operational authority of the Southeast Area Fleet. It headquarters staff was isolated on Bougainville Island with remnants of Imperial Japanese Army forces at the end of the war.
[edit] Commanders of the IJN 8th Fleet
Commander in chief[4]
| Rank | Name | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | Gunichi Mikawa | 14 Jul 1942 - 1 Apr 1943 | |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | Baron Tomoshige Samejima | 1 Apr 1943 - 3 Sep 1945 |
Chief of staff
| Rank | Name | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | Shinzo Onishi | 14 Jul 1942 - 1 Apr 1943 | |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | Teijiro Yamazumi | 1 Apr 1943 - 3 Sep 1945 |
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Coombe, Jack D. (1991). Derailing the Tokyo Express. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole. ISBN 0-8117-3030-1.
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Evans, David C. (1986 (2nd Edition)). "The Struggle for Guadalcanal", The Japanese Navy in World War II: In the Words of Former Japanese Naval Officers. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-316-4.
[edit] External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- Wendel, Marcus. Axis History Database. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
[edit] Notes
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