The was a fleet of the

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 followin ...

, active during the early portions of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, and again in World War II, primarily in the

Aleutian campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force.

History

Second Sino-Japanese War

The 5th Fleet was initially formed on 1 February 1938 as part of the Japanese military emergency expansion program in the aftermath of the North China Incident of 1937. The initial plan was to construct 3rd, 4th and 5th China Area Fleets to cover the invasions of Japanese troops into the Chinese mainland, and to interdict and control commerce on the coasts. The

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

and 5th Fleets came under the operational control of the

2nd China Expeditionary Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy organized after the Battle of Shanghai. It reported directly to the Imperial General Headquarters and had the same organizational level as the Combined Fleet. This article handles their predecessor f ...

. It participated in the

Hainan Island Operation The Hainan Island Operation (), or in Japanese, was part of a campaign by the Empire of Japan during the Second World War to blockade the Guangdong mainland and prevent it from communicating with the outside world and from receiving imports ...

and other maritime interdiction operations off the Chinese coast. The fleet was disbanded on 15 November 1939 when its operations were merged into the

China Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy organized after the Battle of Shanghai. It reported directly to the Imperial General Headquarters and had the same organizational level as the Combined Fleet. This article handles their predecessor f ...

World War II

The 5th Fleet was resurrected on 25 July 1941, and tasked with patrols of northern Japanese waters from the northern portion of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, through

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, the

Chishima Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

, and as far as the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

to the east. With the threat of maritime invasion by the Soviet Union considered extremely remote, and with Japanese forces focused on attacking south ''(

Nanshin-ron was a political doctrine in the Empire of Japan that stated that Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands were Japan's sphere of interest and that their potential value to the Empire for economic and territorial expansion was greater than elsewh ...

)'', the IJN 5th Fleet was considered of secondary importance and was only assigned a couple of

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s and smaller vessels. With the outbreak of World War II, and the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, the 5th Fleet was reinforced by a large number of converted armed merchant vessels. The operational plan for the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

called for a diversionary strike north towards the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. The cruisers of the 5th Fleet – designated the "Northern Area Force" after its augmentation for the operation – covered the landings of Japanese troops on Attu and

Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...

on 6–7 June 1942, and were in the

Battle of the Komandorski Islands A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

on 27 March 1943. However, the IJN 5th Fleet was unable to prevent the recapture of Attu by American forces in May 1943, and – after the abolition of the Northern Area Force on 4–5 August 1943 – from 5 August 1943 to 5 December 1944, the 5th Fleet was reorganized under the operational control of the

Northeast Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II. History The Northeast Area Fleet was a short-lived operational headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy, established on August 5, 1943. As United States Navy forces ...

, which oversaw the withdrawal of Japanese forces from Kiska and reinforcement of the northern approaches to Japan. Following Japan's withdrawal from the Aleutians, the Northeast Area Fleet was reassigned directly to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in October 1944. It participated in the

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 sh ...

, and surviving vessels were joined to the

Southwest Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II. History The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942, to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces ...

on 15 December 1944. On 5 February 1945, the Southwest Area Fleet became the IJN 10th Area Fleet, at which time the remnants of the 5th Fleet's administrative structure were disbanded.

Structure

In Second Sino-Japanese War

*Cruiser Division 9 ** Heavy cruiser ''Myōko'' (Flagship), Light cruiser *Cruiser Division 10 ** Light cruiser ''Tenryū'', ''Tatsuta'' *Torpedo Squadron 5 **Light cruiser **Destroyer Division 3 ***Destroyer , , , , , , **Destroyer Division 16 ***Destroyer ''Asagao'', ''Yūgao'', ''Fuyō'', ''Karukaya'' **Destroyer Division 23 ***Destroyer ''Kikuzuki'', ''Mikazuki'', ''Mochizuki'', ''Yūzuki'' *Carrier Division 3 **Seaplane tender ''Kamoi'', Auxiliary seaplane tender ''Kagu Maru'', ''Kamikawa Maru'' *Carrier Division 4 **Seaplane tender ''Notoro'', Auxiliary seaplane tender ''Kinugasa Maru''

Order of Battle at time of Pearl Harbor

*Cruiser Division 21 (Based at Ōminato) ** Light cruiser (Flagship), , Auxiliary seaplane tender ''Kimikawa Maru'' (based at Horomushiro) *Cruiser Division 22 (based at

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...

) **Auxiliary cruiser '' Akagi Maru'', ''Asaka Maru'', ''Awata Maru'' *Gunboat Division 10 **Auxiliary gunboat ''Yoshida Maru'', '' Magane Maru'' *Subchaser Division 66 **Auxiliary subchaser ''Fumi Maru'', ''No.2 Seki Maru'', **Auxiliary netlayer ''Kōgi Maru'' *Minesweeper Division 17 **Auxiliary minesweeper ''No.5 Toshi Maru'', ''No.8 Toshi Maru'', '' Keinan Maru'', ''No.11 Misago Maru'' *Patrol division 7 **Support craft ''Hokuyō-Gō'', Auxiliary support craft ''No.1 Sasayama Maru'' **1st Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat '' No.5 Fukuichi Maru'', '' Chōkai Maru'', ''No.5 Seiju Maru'', ''Kairyū Maru'' **2nd Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat ''No.3 Yachiyo Maru'', ''No.23 Toku Maru'', ''No.1 Fuku Maru'' **3rd Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat ''Eikichi Maru'', ''No.3 Shōsei Maru'', ''Shōei Maru'', ''No.2 Taihei Maru'' **4th Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat ''No.5 Ebisu Maru'', ''No.2 Kaihō Maru'', ''Kaijin Maru'' **5th Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat ''No.1 Nittō Maru'', ''No.2 Nittō Maru'', ''No.23 Nittō Maru'' **6th Platoon ***Auxiliary patrol boat ''No.25 Nittō Maru'', ''Kōki Maru'', ''Fuji Maru'' *No.7 Base Force (based at

Chichi-jima is the largest and most populous island in the Japanese archipelago of Bonin or Ogasawara Islands. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. in size, the island is home to about 2,120 people (2021). Connected to the mainland only by a day-lon ...

) *Chichijima Naval Air Group *Direct control from headquarter of the fleet **Torpedo boat '' Sagi'', '' Hato'' *Attached ships for the fleet **Oiler ''Shiriya'' **Auxiliary gunboat ''Kaihō Maru'' **Auxiliary transport ship '' Nissan Maru'', ''Chōkō Maru'', '' No.2 Tōkō Maru'', ''Akashisan Maru''

Order of Battle at time of Operation Cottage

*Cruiser Division 21 (based at Horomushiro) ** Heavy cruiser (Flagship), , Light cruiser , *Cruiser Division 22 **Auxiliary cruiser ''Akagi Maru'', ''Asaka Maru'', ''Awata Maru'' *Cruiser Destroyer Squadron 1 (based at Horomushiro) **Light cruiser **Destroyer Division 2 (This division was detached from CruDesron 4.) ***Destroyer **Destroyer Division 6 (This division was detached from CruDesron 11.) ***Destroyer **Destroyer Division 9 ***Destroyer , **Destroyer Division 10 (This division was detached from CruDesron 10.) ***Destroyer , , **Destroyer Division 21 (''Shimakaze'' was detached from CruDesron 2.) ***Destroyer , , **Destroyer Division 31 (This division was detached from CruDesron 2.) ***Destroyer *No.51 Special Base Force (based at

) *Attached ships for the fleet **Submarine Flotilla 7 ***Submarine ''I-2'', ''I-4'', ''I-5'', ''I-6'' **Escort ship ''Kunashiri'' **Auxiliary seaplane tender ''Kimikawa Maru'' **Auxiliary oiler ''Nippon Maru'', ''Teiyō Maru''

Order of Battle at time of Leyte Gulf

*Cruiser Division 16 (They did not participate in the naval battle, because it was commanded to do transportation duty.) **Heavy cruiser , Light cruiser , , Destroyer *Cruiser Division 21 **Heavy cruiser (Flagship), **Light cruiser (She was lent to the 3rd Fleet.) **Light cruiser (She did not participate in the naval battle, because it was commanded to do transportation duty.) *Cruiser Destroyer Squadron 1 **Light cruiser **Destroyer Division 7 ***Destroyer , **Destroyer Division 18 ***Destroyer , **Destroyer Division 21 (It did not participate in the naval battle, because it was commanded to do transportation duty.) ***Destroyer , ,

Order of Battle at time of Mindoro

*Heavy cruiser (Flagship) *Cruiser Destroyer Squadron 31 **Light cruiser **Destroyer Division 43 ***Destroyer ''Take'', ''Ume'', ''Momo'', ''Sugi'', ''Maki'', ''Kaede'' **Destroyer Division 52 ***Destroyer ''Kashi'', ''Hinoki'' **Coast Defence Division 21 ***Escort ship '' Manju'', '' Kanju'', '' Kasado'', '' Miyake'', '' Ikuna'', '' Yaku'' **933rd Naval Air Group (Based at Saiki) *Attached ships for fleet **Escort ship ''No.21'', ''No.22'', ''No.29'', ''No.31'', ''No.43''

Commanders of the 5th Fleet

1st Creation

''On 15 November 1939 the 5th Fleet was reorganized into the

. Command History continues there.''

2nd Creation

Chief of Staff Wendel, Axis History

References

Notes

Books

* * * *

External links

* * * {{Imperial Japanese Navy warship units 5 Military units and formations established in 1938 Aleutian Islands campaign Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in Japan