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26th Air Flotilla
The was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. History The 26th Air Flotilla was established on 1 April 1942 as a part of the 11th Air Fleet, and was originally composed of the Misawa Air Group and Kisarazu Air Group, both operating Mitsubishi G4M medium bombers. Under the command of Rear Admiral Seigo Yamagata, the unit was deployed to Rabaul on New Britain in August 1942 in order to reinforce the Japanese air power in the area and conduct operations in the New Guinea and Solomon Islands Campaigns. While being primarily a medium bomber unit, it eventually absorbed fighter (6th Air Group and ''Hiyō'' Air Group) and dive bomber (31st Air Group and 582nd Air Group) units too. The operational title for this hybrid organization was the 6th Air Attack Force. Due to vulnerability of G4M medium bombers, the unit took heavy losses in air combat over Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empire Of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, 1910 to Japanese Instrument of Surrender, 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kuril Islands, Kurils, Karafuto Prefecture, Karafuto, Korea under Japanese rule, Korea, and Taiwan under Japanese rule, Taiwan. The South Seas Mandate and Foreign concessions in China#List of concessions, concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were ''de jure'' not internal parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, formalized surrender was issued on September 2, 1945, in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies of World War II, Allies, and the empire's territory subsequent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kisarazu Air Group
was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific campaign of World War II. History The Kisarazu Air Group was formed at Kisarazu Air Field, in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture Japan on April 1, 1936 as the first land-based bomber group of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was initially equipped with six Type 96 Yokosuka B4Y biplane attack aircraft, plus two reserve aircraft. Second Sino-Japanese War operations With the start of the war in China, the aircraft of the Tateyama Air Group and the Ōminato Air Group were transferred to the Kisarazu Air Group, bringing its combat strength up to twenty operational bombers and six reserve aircraft. Its first combat mission was a bombing of the Republic of China capital of Nanjing on August 15, 1937. Subsequently, strategic bombing missions were taken against the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chongqing, as well as tactical bombing missions in support ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice Admiral (Australia), vice admiral is held by the Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy and, when the positions are held by navy officers, by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Australia), Vice Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Joint Operations (Australia), Chief of Joint Operations, and/or the Chief of Capability Development Group. Vice admiral is the equivalent of Air Marshal (Australia), air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force and Lieutenant General (Australia), lieutenant general in the Australian Army. Canada In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of vice-admiral (VAdm) (''vice-amiral'' or ''Vam'' in French language, French) is equivalent to Lieutenant-General (Canada), lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is usually equivalent to the rank of major general in armies. In the U.S. Navy and some other navies, there are two rear admiral ranks. The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
204th Air Group
The 204 Air Group was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The unit was formed on 1 November 1942 by re-designating 6th Air Group and served in New Guinea and Rabaul. The air group was disbanded on 4 March 1944. References * Bullard, Steven (translator). Japanese Army Operations in the South Pacific Area, New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43' Senshi Sōshō (translated excerpts). Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 2007. . 204 __NOTOC__ Year 204 ( CCIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cilo and Flavius (or, less frequently, year 957 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 204 for th ... Military units and formations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Japan Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 1944 disestablishments in Japan {{Japan-mil-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chitose Air Group
The Chitose Air Group (Chitose Kōkūtai) was an air group of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. The group was formed on 1 October 1939 at Chitose Air Base, Chitose Airfield, Hokkaidō equipped with Mitsubishi G3M, Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 bombers. The group was later supplemented with Mitsubishi A5M, Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 fighters. In December 1941, it was assigned to support Japanese Navy's 4th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy), 4th Fleet for operations in the central Pacific as part of the 24th Air Flotilla.Bullard, p.20. It was renamed the 201 Air Group in December 1942. Not to be confused with Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Chitose, IJN Chitose. References Notes Bibliography * {{Imperial Japanese Navy air units Groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalcanal Campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War, Pacific Theater of World War II. It was fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943, and involved major land and naval battles on and surrounding the island of Guadalcanal. It was the first major Allied land offensive against Japan during the war. In summer 1942, the Allies decided to mount major offensives in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands with the objectives of defending sea lines to Australia and eventually attacking the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Guadalcanal operation was under the command of Robert L. Ghormley, reporting to Chester W. Nimitz, while the Japanese defense consisted of the Combined Fleet under Isoroku Yamamoto and the Seventeenth Army (Japan), Seventeenth Army under Harukichi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Air Group
was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific War that was involved in the Guadalcanal Campaign, Solomon Islands Campaign and New Guinea Campaign. The air group was redesignated as the 582nd Air Group on 1 November 1942. History The group was formed on 31 May 1942 in Yokosuka, Empire of Japan as a mixed fighter and dive bomber unit, where initial strength included 16 Aichi D3A dive bombers and 16 Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Model 32) fighters. The group was commanded by Lieutenant Fumito Inoue as ''Hikōtaichō'', who also led the dive bomber squadron within the group. The fighter squadron was commanded by Lieutenant Akira Kurakane as ''Buntaichō''. It was intended to serve as a garrison for New Caledonia after it would be captured in the planned Operation FS. After the disaster at Midway, the plan for Operation FS was canceled and the unit was ordered to move to Rabaul on New Britain. They embarked on the converted carrier ''Yawata Maru'' (later it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 throughout the bomb run. This allows attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even ''en masse''. Dive bombing was especially effective against vehicles when integrated into early instances of Blitzkrieg. After World War II, the rise of precision-guided munitions and improved anti-aircraft defences—both fixed gunnery positions and fighter interception—led to a fundamental change in dive bombing. New weapons, such as rockets, allowed for better accuracy from smaller dive angles and from greater distances. They could be fitted to almost any aircraft, including fighters, improving their effectiveness without the inherent vulnerabilities of dive bombers, which needed air superiority to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Aircraft Carrier Hiyō
was the name ship of her class of two aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Originally planned as the ocean liner in 1939, she was purchased by the Navy Ministry in 1941 for conversion to an aircraft carrier. Completed shortly after the Battle of Midway in June 1942, she participated in the Guadalcanal campaign, but missed the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October because of an electrical generator fire. The carrier's aircraft were disembarked several times and used from land bases in battles in the South West Pacific. ''Hiyō'' was torpedoed in mid-1943 and spent three months under repair. She spent most of the next six months training and ferrying aircraft before returning to combat. She was sunk by a gasoline-vapour explosion caused by an American torpedo hit during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 20 June 1944 with the loss of 247 officers and ratings, about a fifth of her complement. Design and description The ship was ordered as the fast l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Air Group
was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific War that was involved in Battle of Midway and then extensively in the Guadalcanal Campaign and Solomon Islands Campaign. The air group was redesignated as the 204th Air Group on 1 November 1942. History The unit was formed on 1 April 1942 in Kisarazu, Japan, and was initially equipped with only six Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, under the command of Lieutenant Hideki Shingō. The group made an unsuccessful interception attempt during the Doolittle Raid on 18 April. By 30 May, the group's fighter strength increased to 33 Zeros and Lieutenant Tadashi Kaneko was appointed as its commander ('' Hikōtaichō''). It was intended to serve as a garrison for Midway Island after it would be captured in the upcoming Operation MI in June. Six fighters were embarked on the carrier ''Akagi'', nine ''Kaga'', three each on ''Hiryū'' and ''Sōryū'', while 12 were on ''Jun'yō''. Some of the fighters wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical bombing, tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground-attack aircraft, ground attack and some types, such as fighter-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
