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Takeo Kurita
was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. Biography Early life Takeo Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a midshipman, he served on the cruisers and . On being commissioned as ensign in 1911, he was assigned to . After his promotion to sub-lieutenant in 1913, Kurita served on the battleship , destroyer and cruiser . Kurita became a lieutenant on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: protected cruiser , destroyers and . He also served as either the chief torpedo officer or executive officer on ''Minekaze'', , and . In 1920, he was given his first command: the destroyer ''Shigure''. In 1921, he assumed command of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mito, Ibaraki
is the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 268,036 in 126,055 households and a population density of 1,233 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 27.1%. The total area of the city is . Geography Mito is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture. Mito Station is about 10 km inland from the Pacific Ocean which Naka River, flowing from the north to the east of the city, pours into. Immediately south is Lake Senba, a recreational area. A main street extends from Mito Station to the west, and residential areas to the south and the west in particular. Surrounding municipalities Ibaraki Prefecture * Hitachinaka * Ibaraki * Kasama * Naka * Ōarai * Shirosato Climate Mito has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mito is 13.6 °C. The average annual rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, 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. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships) than the Allies of World War II, Allied forces had total aircraft carriers in the Pacific, which underscored the disparity in force strength at that point in the war. After the catastrophic Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, senior Japanese military leaders understood that Japan's remaining naval forces were incapable of achieving a strategic victory against the Allies. However, the Japanese general staff believed that continuing to contest Allied offensives at sea was necessary, in order to both deter a future invasion of mainland Japan and to give the Japanese navy an opportunity to utilize its remaining strength. As a result, the Imperial Japanese Navy () mobilized nearly all of its remaini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services and police forces. The rank in armies and air forces is often subdivided into subcategories of seniority. In Comparative navy officer ranks of Anglophone countries, English-speaking navies, lieutenants are often equivalent to the army rank of Captain (armed forces), captain; in other navies, the lieutenants are usually equal to their army counterparts. ''Lieutenant'' may also appear as part of a title used in various other organisations with a codified command structure. It often designates someone who is "second-in-command", and as such, may precede the name of the rank directly above it. For example, a "lieutenant master" is likely to be second-in-command to the "master" in an organisation using both ranks. Political uses include lieu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish NavySmith, Charles Edgar: ''A short history of naval and marine engineering.'' Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263 as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War. Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unatte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most formidable weapon systems ever built, until they were surpassed by aircraft carriers beginning in the 1940s. The modern battleship traces its origin to the sailing ship of the line, which was developed into the steam ship of the line and soon thereafter the ironclad warship. After a period of extensive experimentation in the 1870s and 1880s, ironclad design was largely standardized by the British , which are usually referred to as the first "pre-dreadnought battleships". These ships carried an armament that usually included four large guns and several medium-caliber guns that were to be used against enemy battleships, and numerous small guns for self-defense. Naval powers around the world built dozens of pre-dreadnoughts in the 1890s and early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Lieutenant junior grade is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank of the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). LTJG has a Uniformed services pay grades of the United States, US military pay grade of O-2,10 USC 5501 Navy: grades above chief warrant officer, W–5 Pay grades: assignment to; general rule ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensign (rank)
Ensign (; Middle English#Late Middle English, Late Middle English, from Old French ["mark", "symbol", "signal"; "flag", "standard", "pennant"], from Latin [plural]) is a junior rank of a Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the Military colours, standards and guidons, regimental colors, the rank acquired the name "ensign". This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant. An ensign was generally the lowest-ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of Subaltern (military), subaltern existed. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, لواء, ''liwa (Arabic), liwa''', derives from the command of a unit with an ensign, not from the carrier of the unit's ensign, and is today the equivalent of major general. According to Thomas Venn's 1672 ''Military and Maritime Disci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hundred years, has changed its meaning over time. During the Age of Sail, the term ''cruising'' referred to certain kinds of missions—independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding—usually fulfilled by frigates or sloop-of-war, sloops-of-war, which functioned as the ''cruising warships'' of a fleet. In the middle of the 19th century, ''cruiser'' came to be a classification of the ships intended for cruising distant waters, for commerce raiding, and for scouting for the battle fleet. Cruisers came in a wide variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big (although not as powerful or as well-armored) as a pre- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Canadian Navy, Canada (Naval Cadet), Royal Australian Navy, Australia, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh, Namibian Navy, Namibia, Royal New Zealand Navy, New Zealand, South African Navy, South Africa, Indian Navy, India, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan, Republic of Singapore Navy, Singapore, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka, and Kenya Navy, Kenya. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a Naval rating, rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, either where he worked on the ship, or where he was Berth (sleeping), berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman was an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etajima
, also called , ''Nomijima'', ''Nomi Island'', or is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The mess with island name originates from the ancient (and possibly legendary) strait at now town . Geography The island is roughly Y-shaped, with the former Nōmi, Hiroshima, Nōmi occupying center, the Okimi, Hiroshima, Okimi - north-western branch, Edashima, Hiroshima, Edashima - north-eastern branch, and Ōgaki, Hiroshima, Ōgaki - the southern branch. The island's highest peak, mount high, is located on the western edge of Nōmi, Hiroshima, Nōmi town. Transportation Since 1973, the island is connected to the Japanese mainland of Honshu by the bridge passing through the Kurahashi-jima island. The island is served by the national Japan National Route 487, route 487. Also, ferries are available from the cities of Hiroshima and Kure, Hiroshima, Kure on Honshu island and Matsuyama, Ehime, Matsuyama on Shikoku island. History The Imperial Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved following surrender of Japan, Japan's surrender in World War II. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was formed between 1952 and 1954 after the dissolution of the IJN. The IJN was the third largest navy in the world by 1920, behind the Royal Navy and the United States Navy (USN). It was supported by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for reconnaissance and airstrike operations from the fleet. It was the primary opponent of the Allies of World War II, Western Allies in the Pacific War. The IJN additionally fielded Imperial Japanese Navy land forces, limited land-based forces, including Special Naval Landing Forces, professional marines, Japanese marine paratroopers of World War II, marine paratrooper units, anti-aircraft defense units ... [...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] |
