was an admiral in the
Imperial Japanese Navy during
World War II, remembered for his extensive and revealing war diary, role at the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) 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. It was f ...
, and
kamikaze
, 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 ...
suicide hours after the announced
surrender of Japan at the end of the war.
Biography
Early career
Born to a farming family in rural
Akaiwa District, Okayama
was a district located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The district seat (under district government) was village of Monori (central Seto Town in the city of Okayama).
As of 2004, the district had an estimated population of 14,945. The total area w ...
(now part of
Okayama city,
Okayama prefecture), Ugaki entered the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 11 September 1909
[Ugaki, p. 669.] and graduated in its 40th class on 17 July 1912.
[ He placed ninth out of 144 cadets in his class, and was good friends with his Naval Academy classmates Tamon Yamaguchi and Yoshio Suzuki, both of whom were killed in action during World War II. He served as a midshipman on the ]armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...
and made a training cruise to Australia aboard her.[
On 1 May 1913,][ he was transferred to the protected cruiser and was commissioned as ]ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be differ ...
on 1 December 1913.[ He was assigned to the ]battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
on 27 May 1914.[
]
World War I
Japan entered World War I on the side of the Allies on 23 August 1914. During the early weeks of the war, ''Ibuki'', with Ugaki aboard, participated in the Allied search for the Imperial German Navy light cruiser in the Indian Ocean, joined the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
armoured cruiser and protected cruiser in escorting a convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
carrying the main body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force from New Zealand across the Tasman Sea and to Albany, Western Australia, and along with the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser escorted a convoy carrying the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
across the Indian Ocean from Australia to the Middle East. Ugaki was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 December 1915 while aboard ''Ibuki''.[
Ugaki subsequently transferred to the battlecruiser on 1 December 1916.][ ''Kongō'' experimented with handling ]airplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
s and operated off China during his tour. On 10 September 1917, he reported aboard the armored cruiser ,[ and aboard her made a training cruise in company with the armored cruiser to the west coast of North America with the Japanese Naval Academy′s 45th class aboard between 2 March and 6 July 1918.][ He was reassigned to the destroyer on 1 August 1918,][ and was aboard her when the war ended on 11 November 1918.
]
Interwar
After his promotion to lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
on 1 December 1918,[ Ugaki attended the ]Naval Gunnery
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...
School,[ and subsequently was assigned as chief ]gunnery officer
The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory.
Background
The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to th ...
to the destroyer on 1 December 1919[ before returning to ''Kongō'' on 1 December 1921 as secondary gunnery officer.][ During his tour aboard her, ''Kongō'' operated off ]Dairen
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
and Tsingtao, China, and St. Vladimir Bay, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, and visited Chinhae, Korea.[
On 1 December 1922, Ugaki entered the Japanese .][ In 1924, he graduated in its 22nd class, and on 1 December 1924 he was promoted to ]lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank ...
[ and began a stint as gunnery officer aboard the light cruiser .][ On 1 December 1925, he became a staff officer on the ]Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo.
History
Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to adminis ...
[ and served for nearly three years as a staff member of the Naval Gunnery School. On 15 November 1928 he was appointed as a resident officer in Germany,][ and he was promoted to commander on 10 December 1928.][
Ordered back to Japan on 1 November 1930,][ Ugaki returned to sea in an assignment as a staff officer in the 3rd ]Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
Division on 1 December 1930,[ and then became a staff officer in the 2nd Fleet on 1 December 1931.][ Ugaki became an instructor at the Naval War College on 15 November 1932 and received a promotion to ]captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
on 1 December 1932.[ On 30 October 1935, Ugaki was assigned to duty as a staff officer to the ]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 norm ...
, then received his first command on 1 December 1936 as commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...
of the training ship ,[ From 7 June to 19 October 1937, ''Yakumo'' made a training cruise to Suez and the Mediterranean under his command with the 64th class of the Japanese Naval Academy embarked. On 1 December 1937, he took command of the battleship ,][ which operated as part of the Japanese blockade of the southern coast of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Ugaki was promoted to ]rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...
on 15 November 1938[ and became Director, 1st Bureau (Operations) on the Naval General Staff on 15 December 1938.][ He took command of the 8th Cruiser Division, consisting of the heavy cruisers and , on 10 April 1941.][Ugaki, p. 670.] In August 1941, Ugaki was appointed Chief-of-Staff of the 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 norm ...
under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a position he held until Yamamoto's death.
World War II
The Pacific campaign of World War II began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 (8 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Japan), and Ugaki was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November 1942.[ Ugaki and Yamamoto were traveling in separate Mitsubishi G4M ( Allied reporting name "Betty") ]bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircr ...
s when United States Army Air Forces fighters shot down both aircraft over Bougainville in the Solomon Islands on 18 April 1943 in what the United States named "Operation Vengeance
Operation Vengeance was the American military operation to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy on April 18, 1943, during the Solomon Islands campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Yamamoto, commander of the Com ...
". Yamamoto was killed, his aircraft crashing in the jungle, while Ugaki′s plane fell into the sea at high speed. Ugaki was one of three survivors, the others being the bomber's pilot, Flight Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superio ...
2nd Class Hiroshi Hayashi, and another staff officer, Captain Motoharu Kitamura. On 22 May 1943, the injured Ugaki was attached to the Naval General Staff for hospitalization.[
After recovering from his injuries, Ugaki took command of the 1st Battleship Division (consisting of , , and ) on 25 February 1944,][ initially with ''Nagato'' as his ]flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of 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 the ...
, then transferring his flag to ''Yamato'' in early May 1944. After U.S. forces landed on Biak on 27 May 1944, he argued forcefully that Japan had a strategic imperative to hold Biak
Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals.
The larg ...
, and at least partially as a result of his advocacy the Imperial Japanese Navy planned Operation ''Kon'' for the relief of the island and on 30 May 1944 created the ''Kon'' Force to carry out the operation. It gave Ugaki additional duty as overall commander of the ''Kon'' Force on 10 June 1944, and the ''Kon'' Force got underway from Tawi-Tawi in the Philippine Islands that day. but the operation was postponed on 12 June 1944 when the Marianas campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November 1944 ...
began with the first U.S. bombardments of Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 es ...
. [ Battleship Division 1 joined the Van Force of the Mobile Force as it deployed for the defense of the Mariana Islands. ][ In the resulting ]Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious inva ...
Ugaki's battleships exchanged fire with U.S. Navy carrier aircraft while defending Japanese aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for Carrier-based aircraft, carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a ...
s on 20 June 1944 and emerged unscathed except for a strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
attack on ''Nagato''. [ Operation ''Kon'' was canceled.
Ugaki subsequently commanded Battleship Division 1 during the disastrous ]Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) 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. It was f ...
of 23–26 October 1944. His battleships saw action in two major engagements of the battle, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, in which U.S. aircraft sank ''Musashi'', and the Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major ...
on 25 October 1944. In the latter action, ''Yamato'' and ''Nagato'', the largest battleships in the Imperial Japanese Navy, inflicted only modest damage on United States Navy forces despite their tremendous firepower.
On 15 November 1944, Ugaki was recalled to Japan and ordered to duty with the Naval General Staff.[ On 10 February 1945, he was appointed commander of the 5th Air Fleet,][ based in Kyūshū and overseeing all naval aircraft in the region from his headquarters in a cave bunker to protect him from the growing threat of U.S. Army Air Forces ]B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
attacks. In March 1945, he launched a long-range strike by ''kamikaze
, 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 ...
'' aircraft against the U.S. fleet anchored at Ulithi Atoll. After the Battle of Okinawa
The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
began on 1 April 1945, he ordered the first waves of Operation ''Kikusui'' ( "Chrysanthemum Water"), which involved hundreds of ''kamikaze'' attacks against U.S. Navy ships in the vicinity of Okinawa during April 1945. Though such air attacks continued throughout the Okinawa campaign and caused fearsome superficial damage and crew casualties to a great number of Allied vessels, no Allied warship larger than a destroyer were sunk directly by ''kamikazes'' during the spring of 1945.
Meanwhile, Ugaki gathered more aircraft and hid them from Allied attack in Kyushu, planning to use them in ''kamikaze'' attacks during the expected Allied invasion of Japan. Ugaki planned to hit the invasion forces with hundreds of aircraft and ''Shin'yō'' suicide attack
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
motorboat
A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.
Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the ge ...
s over the course of a few hours in Operation ''Ketsu-Go'' (Decisive Operation).
Final mission
On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
made a radio announcement conceding defeat and calling for the military to lay down their arms. After listening to the announcement of Japan's defeat, Ugaki made a last entry in his diary noting that he had not yet received an official cease-fire order, and that as he alone was to blame for the failure of his valiant aviators to stop the enemy, he would fly one last mission himself to show the true spirit of ''bushido
is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
''. His subordinates protested, and even after Ugaki had climbed into the backseat of a Yokosuka D4Y
The is a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Development of the aircraft began in 1938. The first D4Y1 was com ...
(Allied reporting name "Judy") dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
piloted by Captain Tatsuo Nakatsuru, Warrant Officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
Akiyoshi Endo—whose place in the ''kamikaze'' roster Ugaki had usurped—climbed into the same space that the admiral had already occupied. Thus, the aircraft containing Ugaki took off with three men (piloted by Captain Tatsuo Nakatsuru, reconnaissance by Flight Sergeant Akiaki Endo, and Ugaki), as opposed to two each in the remaining ten aircraft. Prior to boarding his aircraft, Ugaki posed for pictures and removed his rank insignia from his dark green uniform, taking only a ceremonial short sword given to him by Admiral Yamamoto.
Elements of this last flight most likely followed the Ryukyu flyway southwest to the many small islands north of Okinawa, where U.S. forces were still on alert at the potential end of hostilities. Endo served as radioman during the mission, sending Ugaki's final messages, the last of which at 19:24 reported that the plane had begun its dive onto an American vessel. However, U.S. Navy records do not indicate any successful ''kamikaze'' attack on that day, and it is likely that all aircraft on the mission (with the exception of three that returned due to engine problems) crashed into the ocean, struck down by American anti-aircraft fire. Although there are no precise accounts of an intercept made by Navy or Marine fighters or Pacific Fleet surface units against enemy aircraft in this vicinity at the time of surrender, it is possible further research may reveal more detail as to which ships (if any) were attacked. According to one report this last flight of seven aircraft was shot down by American landing craft ''LST-926''.
The next morning, the crew of ''LST-926'' claimed to have found the still smoldering remains of a "cockpit" (implying a shootdown or violent ditching of some sort, but not the exact cause) with three bodies on the beach of '' Iheyajima Island''. The third man, his head crushed and right arm missing, wore a dark green uniform and a short sword was found nearby. The sailors buried the bodies in the sand. He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...
.
Honors and awards
* Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...
1st Class, Grand Cordon (posthumous, ca. 1945)
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
* Thomas, Evan (2007), ''Sea of Thunder: Four Naval Commanders and the Last Sea War'', New York: Simon and Schuster.
*
External links
*
Bio at World War II Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugaki, Matome
1890 births
1945 deaths
People from Okayama
Imperial Japanese Navy admirals
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Japanese admirals of World War II
Kamikaze pilots
Japanese naval attachés
Japanese diarists
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
20th-century diarists