- Northeast Area Fleet
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The Northeast Area Fleet (北東方面艦隊 Hokutō Hōmen Kantai) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.
Contents
History
The Northeast Area Fleet was a short-lived operational headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy, established on August 5, 1943. With United States Navy forces having driven the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands in late 1943 to early 1944, an organizational structure was required to coordinate Japan’s northern defenses against the possibility that the United States would extend operations from the Aleutians into the Chishima Islands, Karafuto and to northern Japan itself. The new Northeast Area Fleet was a combined operational command containing surviving elements of the IJN 5th Fleet, IJN 12th Air Fleet and ground elements.[1] As it became eventually evident that the United States had no intention of using the northern approaches to Japan as an invasion route, gradually most of its forces were reassigned to other theaters of the war. The Northeast Area Fleet itself was disbanded on December 5, 1944.
Transition
Date Higher unit Lower units 5 August 1943 (original) Combined Fleet 5th Fleet, 12th Air Fleet 1 April 1944 5th Fleet, 12th Air Fleet, 22nd Cruiser Division, Chishima Area Base Force 15 August 1944 5th Fleet, 12th Air Fleet, Chishima Area Base Force 5 December 1944 disbanded Commanders of the IJN Northern Area Fleet
Commander in chief [2]
Rank Name Date Additional post 1 Vice Admiral Michitaro Totsuka August 5, 1943 - September 15, 1944 Commander of the 12th Air Fleet 2 Vice Admiral Eiji Goto September 15, 1944 – December 5, 1944 Chief of staff
Rank Name Date Additional post 1 Rear-Admiral Yoshiyuki Ichimiya August 5, 1942 – December 5, 1944 Chief of staff of the 12th Air Fleet Notes
References
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Database". http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=7831. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
Categories:- Fleets of the Imperial Japanese Navy
- Military units and formations established in 1943
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1944
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