- Kakuji Kakuta
Infobox Military Person
name= Kakuji Kakuta
lived=23 September 1890 -2 August 1944 [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy".]
placeofbirth=Niigata Prefecture ,Japan
placeofdeath=Tinian ,Mariana Islands
caption= Kakuji Kakuta
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1911-1944
rank=Vice Admiral
commands="Kiso", "Iwate", "Yamashiro", "Nagato"
Carrier Division 4
Second Carrier Striking Force
First Air Fleet
unit=
battles=World War II
oIndian Ocean Raid
oBattle of Dutch Harbor
oBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands
oNaval Battle of Guadalcanal
oBattle of the Philippine Sea
oBattle of Tinian
awards=
family=
laterwork=nihongo|Kakuji Kakuta|角田覚治|Kakura Kakuji|extra=23 September 1890 -2 August 1944 , was an admiral in theImperial Japanese Navy duringWorld War II . He is noted for his role in commanding Japanesenaval aviation units in thePacific War .Biography
Kakuta was a native of rural Minamikanbara,
Niigata Prefecture ,Japan . He graduated from the 39th class of theImperial Japanese Navy Academy , scoring 45th out of a class of 145 cadets in 1911. He served asmidshipman on thecruiser "Aso" andbattlecruiser "Ibuki". On commissioning as ensign, he was assigned to the cruiser "Chiyoda". Later, as alieutenant , he served on thebattleship "Settsu" and the cruiser "Azuma" duringWorld War I . He then served on the battleship "Kirishima",destroyer "Yanagi", and was chief gunner on the cruisers "Suma" and "Tenryū".Kakuta was appointed as
executive officer on the cruiser "Yubari" in 1923. He then attended the 23rd class of theNaval War College (Japan) , and was promoted tolieutenant commander upon graduation. In 1926, he served as chief gunner on the cruiser "Furutaka" and subsequently in a number of staff positions. His first command was cruiser "Kiso", beginning on10 March ,1934 . He subsequently commanded "Furutaka", cruiser "Iwate", and battleships "Yamashiro" and "Nagato". He was promoted torear admiral on15 November ,1939 .At the start of the
Pacific War in December, 1941 Kakuta was in command of Carrier Division 4, consisting of the carriers "Ryūjō" and "Taiyō", which provided air support for landings of Japanese forces in thePhilippines . Kakuta also participated in theIndian Ocean Raid against British bases inIndia andCeylon in early 1942.During the
Battle of Midway in June, 1942 Kakuta commanded a task force consisting of carriers "Ryūjō" and "Junyō" that conducted air raids against Dutch Harbor as part of the initial stages of theAleutian Islands Campaign .Later, as commander of the Second Carrier Striking Force that included aircraft units assigned to carriers "Junyō" and "Zuikaku", Kakuta directed aircraft operations against U.S. naval forces during the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal .Kakuta was promoted to
vice admiral on1 November ,1942 . Following the death of AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto , the newCommander in Chief of theCombined Fleet ,Mineichi Koga , restructured the Imperial Japanese Navy around the American carrier task force concept. On1 July ,1943 Kakuta was assigned command of the First Air Fleet which included all land-based naval aircraft units located throughout thePhilippines and Japanese-held islands in the central Pacific. However, the squadrons suffered massive aircraft and personnel losses from American carrier raids in February, 1944. Under Kakuta's direction from his headquarters onTinian , many of the remaining aircraft units participated in theBattle of the Philippine Sea in June, 1944, but were unable to play a decisive role, suffering further heavy losses.Kakuta was the senior military officer on the island during the
Battle of Tinian although he was not directly responsible for the defenses. As the Americans closed in on Tinian, Kakuta and his staff made repeated efforts to escape in rubber boats at prearranged rendezvous with a Japanesesubmarine . After several failed attempts, Kakuta and his staff withdrew to a cave on the east coast of Tinian and were never seen again. It is presumed that Kakuta committed suicide soon after the Americans landed and that his body was buried in a secret location by members of his staff. [Fuller, "Shokan", p. 259.]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 Online views of selections of the book: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0870210971]
*cite book
last = Frank
first = Richard B.
authorlink = Richard B. Frank
year = 1990
title = Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle
publisher =Penguin Group
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-14-016561-4 Online views of selections of the book: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0140165614]
*cite book
last = Fuller
first = Richard
year = 1992
title = Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai
publisher = Arms and Armour Press
location = London
id = ISBN 1854091514
*cite book
last = Hammel
first = Eric
coauthors =
year = 1999
chapter =
title = Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942
publisher = Pacifica Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-7603-2128-0-Book review: [http://www.sonic.net/~bstone/archives/000430.shtml]
*cite book
last = Hara
first = Tameichi
authorlink = Tameichi Hara
coauthors =
year = 1961
chapter =
title = Japanese Destroyer Captain
publisher =Ballantine Books
location = New York & Toronto
id = ISBN 0-345-27894-1
*cite book
last = Lundstrom
first = John B.
coauthors =
year = 2005 (New edition)
chapter =
title = First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-59114-472-8
*cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1958
chapter =
title = The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943", vol. 5 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher =Little, Brown and Company
location = Boston
id = ISBN 0-316-58305-7 Online views of selections of the book: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0785813063]
*cite book
last = Poor
first = Henry Varnum
authorlink =
coauthors = Henry A. Mustin & Colin G. Jameson
year = 1994
chapter =
title = The Battles of Cape Esperance,11 October 1942 and Santa Cruz Islands,26 October 1942 (Combat Narratives. Solomon Islands Campaign, 4–5)
publisher = Naval Historical Center
location =
id = ISBN 0-945274-21-1External links
*cite web
last = Chen
first = C. Peter
year = 2004 - 2006
url = http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=8
title = "Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"
format =
work = World War II Database
accessdate = 2006-05-17
*cite web
last = Horan
first = Mark
year =
url = http://www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Pacific/OOB_WWII_Santa-Cruz.htm
title = "Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands —26 October 1942 "
format =
work = Order of Battle
accessdate = 2006-05-17
*cite web
last = Hoffmann
first = Carl
year = 1951
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Tinian/USMC-M-Tinian-1.html
title = The Seizure of Tinian
format =
work = USMC Historical Monograph
accessdate = 2006-05-17
*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px39.htm#v008
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-25
*cite web
last = Office of Naval Intelligence
first =
year = 1943
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-SantaCruz/index.html
title = "The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands,26 October 1942 "
format =
work = Combat Narrative
publisher = Publications Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy (somewhat inaccurate on details, since it was written during the war)
accessdate = 2006-05-17
*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/junyo.htm
title = HIJMS Junyo: Tabular Record of Movement
format =
work = Imperial Japanese Navy Page
accessdate = 2006-06-14Notes
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