2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
The 2nd Fleet (第二艦隊 Dai-ni Kantai) 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 28 December 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.
Letter from Vice Admiral Ijuin Gorō to Italian Royal Navy Lieutenant Ernesto Burzagli thanking him for courtesies extended to the Imperial Japanese Navy Second Fleet which visited Italy in 1907.
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.
Commanders of the IJN 2nd Fleet
Commander in chief [1]
| Rank | Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Admiral | Baron Hikonojo Kamimura | 27 October 1903 – 20 December 1905 |
| 2 | Admiral | Baron Dewa Shigeto | 20 December 1905 – 22 November 1906 |
| 3 | Fleet Admiral | Baron Ijuin Gorō | 22 November 1906 – 26 May 1908 |
| 4 | Admiral | Baron Dewa Shigeto | 26 May 1908 – 1 December 1909 |
| 5 | Fleet Admiral | Baron Shimamura Hayao | 1 December 1909 – 1 December 1911 |
| 6 | Admiral | Yoshimatsu Motaro | 1 December 1911 – 1 December 1912 |
| 7 | Vice Admiral | Ijichi Suetaka | 1 December 1912 – 1 December 1913 |
| 8 | Admiral | Baron Kato Sadakichi | 1 December 1913 – 5 February 1915 |
| 9 | Admiral | Nawa Matahachiro | 5 February 1915 – 13 December 1915 |
| 10 | Admiral | Baron Yashiro Rokuro | 13 December 1915 – 1 December 1917 |
| 11 | Fleet Admiral | Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito | 1 December 1917 – 13 June 1918 |
| 12 | Admiral | Yamaya Tanin | 13 June 1918 – 1 December 1919 |
| 13 | Fleet Admiral | Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu | 1 December 1919 – 1 December 1920 |
| 14 | Admiral | Baron Suzuki Kantaro | 1 December 1920 – 1 December 1921 |
| X | X | Disbanded | 1 December 1921 – 1 December 1922 |
| 15 | Vice Admiral | Naoe Nakano | 1 December 1922 – 1 June 1923 |
| 16 | Admiral | Hiroharu Kato | 1 June 1923 – 1 December 1924 |
| 17 | Vice Admiral | Hanroku Saito | 1 December 1924 – 16 September 1925 |
| 18 | Admiral | Saburo Hyakutake | 16 September 1925 – 10 December 1926 |
| 19 | Vice Admiral | Yasuhira Yoshikawa | 10 December 1926 – 16 May 1928 |
| 20 | Vice Admiral | Koshiro Otani | 16 May 1928 – 10 December 1928 |
| 21 | Admiral | Baron Mineo Ōsumi | 10 December 1928 – 11 November 1929 |
| 22 | Vice Admiral | Nobutaro Iida | 11 November 1929 – 1 December 1930 |
| 23 | Admiral | Ryozo Nakamura | 1 December 1930 – 1 December 1931 |
| 24 | Admiral | Nobumasa Suetsugu | 1 December 1931 – 15 November 1933 |
| 25 | Admiral | Sankichi Takahashi | 15 November 1933 – 15 November 1934 |
| 26 | Admiral | Mitsumasa Yonai | 15 November 1934 – 2 December 1935 |
| 26 | Admiral | Takayoshi Kato | 2 December 1935 – 1 December 1936 |
| 27 | Admiral | Zengo Yoshida | 1 December 1936 – 1 December 1937 |
| 28 | Admiral | Shigetarō Shimada | 1 December 1937 – 15 November 1938 |
| 29 | Admiral | Soemu Toyoda | 15 November 1938 – 21 October 1939 |
| 30 | Fleet Admiral | Mineichi Koga | 21 October 1939 – 1 September 1941 |
| 31 | Admiral | Nobutake Kondō | 1 September 1941 – 9 August 1943 |
| 32 | Vice Admiral | Takeo Kurita | 9 August 1943 – 23 December 1944 |
| 33 | Admiral | Seiichi Ito | 23 December 1944 – 7 April 1945 |
| X | X | not filled | 7 April 1945 – 20 April 1945 |
Chief of Staff [1]
| Rank | Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fleet Admiral | Viscount Tomazaburo Kato | 28 December 1903 – 12 January 1905 |
| 2 | Admiral | Koichi Fujii | 12 January 1905 – 20 December 1905 |
| 3 | Admiral | Tanin Yamaya | 20 December 1905 – 14 January 1907 |
| X | X | not filled | 14 January 1907 – 28 September 1907 |
| 4 | Admiral | Isamu Takeshita | 28 September 1907 – 17 December 1907 |
| 5 | Admiral | Ryokitsu Arima | 17 December 1907 – 20 November 1908 |
| 6 | Vice-Admiral | Tatsuo Matsumura | 20 November 1908 – 1 February 1909 |
| X | X | not filled | 1 February 1908 – 1 December 1909 |
| 7 | Rear Admiral | Shichitaro Takagi | 1 December 1909 – 22 January 1911 |
| 8 | Vice-Admiral | Kiyokaze Yoshida | 22 January 1911 – 1 December 1911 |
| 9 | Admiral | Baron Kiyokazu Abo | 5 December 1911 – 1 December 1912 |
| 10 | Vice-Admiral | Kiyokaze Yoshida | 1 December 1912 – 1 February 1915 |
| 11 | Admiral | Hiroharu Kato | 1 February 1915 – 13 December 1915 |
| 12 | Vice-Admiral | Yasujiro Nagata | 13 December 1915 – 1 December 1916 |
| 13 | Vice-Admiral | Nobutaro Shimamura | 1 December 1916 – 15 September 1917 |
| 14 | Admiral | Saburo Hyakutake | 15 September 1917 – 10 November 1918 |
| 15 | Rear Admiral | Shigeushi Nakagawa | 10 November 1918 – 1 December 1919 |
| 16 | Vice Admiral | Yasuhira Yoshikawa | 1 December 1919 – 1 December 1920 |
| 17 | Vice Admiral | Kikuo Matsumura | 1 December 1920 – 1 December 1921 |
| 18 | Admiral | Ryozo Nakamura | 1 December 1922 – 6 November 1923 |
| 19 | Vice Admiral | Masataka Ando | 6 November 1923 – 1 December 1924 |
| 20 | Vice Admiral | Yukichi Shima | 1 December 1924 – 1 December 1925 |
| 21 | Admiral | Mitsumasa Yonai | 1 December 1925 – 1 December 1926 |
| 22 | Vice Admiral | Shigeru Matsuyama | 1 December 1926 – 1 December 1927 |
| 23 | Vice Admiral | Ken Terajima | 1 December 1927 – 10 December 1928 |
| 24 | Vice Admiral | Teikichi Hori | 10 December 1928 – 6 September 1929 |
| 25 | Admiral | Koichi Shiozawa | 6 September 1929 – 1 December 1929 |
| 26 | Admiral | Shigetarō Shimada | 1 December 1929 – 1 December 1930 |
| 26 | Rear Admiral | Wasuke Komaki | 1 December 1930 – 10 October 1931 |
| 27 | Vice Admiral | Kamezaburo Nakamura | 10 October 1931 – 15 November 1933 |
| 28 | Vice Admiral | Jugoro Arichi | 15 November 1933 – 15 November 1934 |
| 29 | Rear Admiral | Taichi Miki | 15 November 1934 – 15 November 1935 |
| 30 | Vice Admiral | Shunzo Mito | 15 November 1935 – 1 April 1936 |
| 31 | Vice Admiral | Masaichi Niimi | 1 April 1936 – 1 December 1936 |
| 32 | Vice Admiral | Gunichi Mikawa | 1 December 1936 – 15 November 1937 |
| 33 | Admiral | Seiichi Ito | 15 November 1937 – 15 November 1938 |
| 34 | Admiral | Takeo Takagi | 15 November 1938 – 1 November 1939 |
| 35 | Vice Admiral | Yoshio Suzuki | 1 November 1939 – 30 August 1941 |
| 36 | Vice Admiral | Kazutaka Shiraishi | 30 August 1941 – 2 July 1943 |
| 37 | Vice Admiral | Tomiji Koyanagi | 2 July 1943 – 25 November 1944 |
| 38 | Rear Admiral | Nobuei Morishita | 25 November 1944 – 20 April 1945 |
References
Books
- 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.
- Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Imperial Japanese Navy". Retrieved 25 August 2007.
- Wendel. "Axis History Database". Retrieved 25 August 2007.
Notes
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