Ryunosuke Kusaka

Infobox Military Person
name= Ryūnosuke Kusaka
lived= 25 September 1893 - 23 November 1971 [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy".]
placeofbirth=Tokyo, Japan
placeofdeath=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1917-1945
rank=Vice Admiral
commands="Hōshō","Akagi"
1st Air Fleet
5th Air Fleet
battles=World War II
oattack on Pearl Harbor
oBattle of Midway
awards=
family=
laterwork=Vice Admiral nihongo|Ryūnosuke Kusaka|草鹿龍之介|Kusaka Ryūnosuke|extra=25 September 1893 - 23 November 1971, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II who served as Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet. Fellow Admiral Jinichi Kusaka was his cousin.

Biography

Born to a director of the Sumitomo "zaibatsu" in Tokyo in 1893, Kusaka's family registry officially listed him as a native of Ishikawa Prefecture, and he was schooled in Osaka.

He entered the 41st class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy graduating 14 out of a class of 118 in 1917. He did his midshipman service on the cruisers "Azuma" and "Otowa". After he was commissioned as ensign, he was assigned to the battleship "Kawachi" and cruiser "Yakumo". He later served on the battleship "Kongō" and destroyer "Kuwa". After his promotion to lieutenant on 1 December 1919 he was assigned to the battleship "Mutsu", "Susuki", repair ship "Kantō" and battleship "Yamashiro". He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1925, and graduated from the Naval War College (Japan) the same year, specializing in naval aviation. He subsequently captained a naval fighter group based at Kasumigaura and served in numerous staff positions.

On 1 September 1933, he was appointed executive officer of the "Iwate" and on 16 November 1936, (after his promotion to captain) he was given his first command, the aircraft carrier "Hōshō". In 1939, he became captain of "Akagi".

Promoted a rear admiral 15 November 1940, he was commander of the 24th Air Flotilla before being appointed Chief of Staff of the 1st Air Fleet under Admiral Chuichi Nagumo in April 1941. He was involved in strategic and tactical planning and execution, including the attack on Pearl Harbor and Battle of Midway. During the aftermath of the Battle of Midway Kusaka was able to convince the fleet commander and senior officers from committing suicide after the Japanese defeat.

Kusaka remained with the fleet until November 1942, and accepted a number of staff positions thereafter. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 May 1944 and transferred to the Combined Fleet as Chief of Staff under commander-in-chief Admiral Soemu Toyoda in November 1944. His final assignment was command of the 5th Air Fleet after the suicide of Matome Ugaki.

Kusaka was portrayed by actor Pat Morita in the 1976 movie "Midway", by Tatsuya Mihashi in the 1981 Japanese movie "Rengo Kantai" and by Ryuzo Hayashi in the 2005 Japanese movie "Otokotachi no Yamato".

References

Books

*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
last = Parrish
first = Thomas
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II
publisher = Simon and Schuster
location = New York
id = ISBN 0671242776

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
authorlink =
coauthors =
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px42.htm#v003
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-02-25

Notes