was a career officer 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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Naval career

Aoki graduated from the 41st class of

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

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 T ...

in December 1913, ranking 90 out of 118 Cadets. His classmates included Ryūnosuke Kusaka, Masatomi Kimura and

Raizō Tanaka was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during most of World War II. A specialist in the heavy torpedoes that were carried by all the destroyers and cruisers of the IJN, Tanaka mainly commanded destroyer squadrons, with a cruis ...

. Aoki was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1937, and was made commander of the

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

. He subsequently served as commandant of the naval aviation training schools at Yokosuka and Tsuchiura. On 25 April 1942, Aoki was made the captain of the aircraft carrier . He was in command of the ship at the time of her sinking at 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 ...

on 5 June 1942, and attempted to go down with his ship, but he was forcefully removed by his crew. After the battle, he applied to enter the reserves, but was instead sent to the garrison of Japanese-occupied

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

, and made commander of the naval air group based at

Haikou Haikou; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Hoihow is the capital city, capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. ...

. He was subsequently recalled to Japan to command the Sasebo Air Group. Aoki was in command of the Genzan Air Group in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

at the time of the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

. On hearing of the surrender announcement, Aoki flew back to the

Japanese home islands The is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and cons ...

; however, the men left behind in Wonsan were captured by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and were sent to labor camps in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, where many perished. Aoki died in 1962.

Known Assignments

*Gunnery Officer, ''Aoba'' – 30 November 1929 – 1 November 1930 *Equipping Officer, ''Takao'' – 1 November 1930 – 15 October 1931 *Gunnery Officer, ''Kaga'' – 15 October 1931 – 20 October 1933 *Executive Officer, ''Notoro'' – 20 October 1933 – 15 November 1934 *Executive Officer, Kisarazu Air Group – 1 April 1936 – 1 December 1936 *Executive Officer, ''Kaga'' – 1 December 1936 – 15 November 1937 *Commanding Officer, ''Kinugasa Maru'' – 15 November 1937 – 28 April 1938 *Chief Equipping Officer, ''Mizuho'' – 16 May 1938 – 25 February 1939 *Commanding Officer, ''Mizuho'' – 25 February 1939 – 15 November 1939 *Commanding Officer, Tsuchiura Air Group – 15 November 1940 – 25 April 1942 *Commanding Officer, ''Akagi'' – 25 April 1942 – 5 June 1942 *Staff Officer, Yokosuka Naval District – 25 July 1942 – 25 August 1942 *Staff Officer, Kure Naval District – 25 August 1942 – 5 October 1942 *Staff Officer, Yokosuka Naval District – 5 October 1942 – 1 November 1942 *Staff Officer, Hainan Guard District – 1 November 1942 – 1 October 1943 *Commanding Officer, Hainan Air Group – 1 October 1943 – 26 May 1944 *Commanding Officer, Haikou Air Group – 1 October 1943 – 1 May 1944 (additional duty while Commanding Officer Hainan Air Group) *Commanding Officer, Oryu Air Group – 1 October 1943 – 1 May 1944 (additional duty while Commanding Officer Hainan Air Group) *Commanding Officer, Sasebo Air Group – 15 May 1944 – 15 December 1944 *Commanding & Executive Officers, Genzan Air Group – 15 December 1944 – 15 August 1945

Promotions

*Midshipman – 19 December 1913 *Ensign – 1 December 1914 *Sub-Lieutenant – 1 December 1916 *Lieutenant – 1 December 1920 *Lieutenant Commander – 1 December 1926 *Commander – 1 December 1932 *Captain – 1 December 1937

References

Year of birth missing 1967 deaths Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Imperial Japanese Navy officers Battle of Midway {{japan-mil-bio-stub