was a vice admiral in 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Early career

Yamada was born in

Fukuoka prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, Kumamo ...

as the eldest son of Yamada Sadanao, a colonel in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

, and was raised in

Matsue, Shimane is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 (February 1, 2021) following the merger with Higashiizumo from Yatsuka District. Matsue is located at ...

. He graduated from the 42nd class of the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima, E ...

in 1914, ranked 5th out of 117 cadets. As a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

, he was assigned to the cruisers and , and on his commissioning 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 diff ...

was assigned to the battleships and . In May 1918, he attended the Naval Artillery School; however in December 1918 he transferred to the fledgling

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of Military aviation, military air power by Navy, navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft ...

section. He was assigned to a fighter squadron in

Yokosuka Naval Air Group The was the first aviation unit established by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1916 and survived until the end of the Pacific War. It was charged with educating and training aviation personnel, practical testing of new aircraft, and tactical resea ...

from December 1919, where he rose to become a flight commander. As a lieutenant, Yamada was posted as

naval attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inclu ...

to France from August 1920 to December 1923, and was a member of the Japanese delegation at the

Versailles Peace Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...

negotiations and while in France was promoted to captain. On his return to Japan, he was assigned as squadron commander at Yokosuka from June 1924 and as an instructor at the Kasumigaura Air Group from December 1925. 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 i ...

in 1925, and then to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

after graduation from the Naval Staff College in December 1928. As commander, Yamada served as chief-of-staff of Section 1 (Operations) and Section 2 (Weapons) within 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 ...

from December 1930, and Section 3 (Intelligence) from May 1931. He was again sent as naval attaché to France from June 1935 to March 1938, during which he participated in the

Geneva Disarmament Conference The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, generally known as the Geneva Conference or World Disarmament Conference, was an international conference of states held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February 1932 and November 193 ...

. He was also promoted to captain while in France in 1935. After his return to Japan, he was subjected to an extensive debriefing by the General Staff and was then assigned to the staff of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...

from May 1939. In October 1939, Yamada assumed command of the aircraft carrier and October 1940 was reassigned to the . He 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 rega ...

on 15 October 1941.

World War II

After the start of the Pacific War, Yamada was assigned command of the 25th Air Flotilla (also called the "5th Air Attack Force") at the Japanese base of

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the D ...

from April 1942. This aircraft wing consisted of land-based bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft, and reported to the

11th Air Fleet The was a grouping of naval aviation and surface units. Assignments and Components Commanders Chiefs of Staff Notes References * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Fleets of the Imperial Japanese Navy Units of the Imperial Japanese N ...

. Its role was to support Japanese military operations in the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

Campaigns, including

Operation Mo or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allied ...

, the attempted invasion of

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

in May, 1942. Yamada was transferred from November 1942 to December 1943 to serve as Chief of Staff for the 3rd Fleet. From December 1943 to March 1944, he commanded the Yokosuka Air Group. He was promoted to vice admiral on 15 October 1944. He commanded the 101st Squadron from November 1944 to August 1945, and the 3rd Air Fleet from 26 August to 15 October 1945.''Naval History via Flix'' He died in 1971.

References

* * * * * Online views of selections of the boo

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Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Sadayoshi 1892 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese admirals of World War II Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese military attachés Japanese naval aviators Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service