Sadamichi Kajioka

Infobox Military Person
name= Sadamichi Kajioka
lived= 18 May 1891 - 12 September 1944 [Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy".]
placeofbirth=Ehime Prefecture, Japan
placeofdeath=off Hainan, Japanese-occupied China


caption=Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1911-1944
rank=Vice Admiral
commands="Nagara", "Kasuga", "Kiso"
Wake Island Invasion Force, Port Moresby Invasion Force, No.6 Escort Division
unit=
battles=World War II
oBattle of Wake Island
oBattle of the Coral Sea
awards=
family=
laterwork=nihongo|Sadamichi Kajioka|梶岡 定道|Kajioka Sadamichi|extra= 18 May 1891 - 12 September 1944, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He directed Japanese forces involved in the Battle of Wake Island.

Biography

A native of Ehime prefecture, Kajioka graduated from the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911. He placed 6 out of 138 cadets. He served as midshipman on the cruisers "Aso" and "Tokiwa", and after being commissioned as an ensign, on the "Akitsushima". His training was in navigation, and after his promotion to lieutenant he served as chief navigator the "Kiso", "Chikuma" and "Kasuga". Kajioka was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1924, and was assigned as chief navigator to the "Asama", "Nachi" and battleship "Mutsu".

Kajioka was given his first command of a warship on 1 December 1935 when he was promoted to captain of the "Nagara". He subsequently commanded "Kasuga" and "Kiso".

Kajioka was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1940. At the start of the Pacific War, Kajioka was in command of the Wake Island invasion force, consisting of Cruiser Division 18 with the cruisers "Tenryu", "Tatsuta", "Yubari", and Destroyer Division 29 ("Hayate", Oite), and Destroyer Division 30 ("Kisaragi", "Mochizuki", "Mutsuki", "Yayoi") and transports with the No.2 Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force.

Overly confident that the island's defenses has been reduced by air bombardment, his forces suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Wake Island before being forced to retreat. "Hayate" and "Kasaragi" were sunk, and "Yubari" had been hit 11 times by shells fired by the Marine defenders.

His second assault on Wake Island, reinforced with heavy cruisers and the aircraft carriers "Sōryu" and "Hiryū" was more successful.

Kajioka was then assigned to command the invasion of Lae, New Guinea in March 1942. He narrowly escaped disaster when the US Navy launched a counterattack across the Owen Stanley Range, which damaged many ships in the invasion fleet, but after troops and supplied had already been landed.

Kajioka was later in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 as commander of the Port Moresby invasion force. However, the invasion was cancelled before troops could be landed. Kajioka was recalled to Japan, and was sent to the reserves from the end of 1942 through early 1944. He was reactivated, and given command of the No.6 Escort Division on 8 April 1944.

Kajioka was killed in action on 12 September 1944 when his destroyer "Shikinami" was torpedoed by "USS Growler" east of Hainan. He was posthumously promoted to vice admiral.

References

Books

*cite book
title= The Story of Wake Island
author=Devereaux, Colonel James P.S., USMC
publisher=The Battery Press
date=1947
id= ISBN 0-89839-264-0
*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 = Sloan
first = Bill
year = 2003
title = Given up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island
publisher = Bantam Books
location =
id = ISBN 0-553-80302-6
*cite book
title= Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island
author=Uwrin, Gregory J.W.
publisher=University of Nebraska Press
date=1997
id= ISBN 0-8032-9562-6

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px39.htm#v009
title = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-02-25
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Wake.html The Defense of Wake]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Wake.html A Magnificent Fight: Marines in the Battle for Wake Island]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Wake.html Part Three: The Defense of Wake]
*imdb title|0035530|Wake Island (1942)
*imdb title|0372021|Wake Island: Alamo of the Pacific (2003)
*cite web
last = Spennemann
first = Dirk H.R.
authorlink = Dirk HR Spennemann
coauthors =
date =
year = 2000-2005
url = http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Wake_WWII/Wake_WWII-Text.html
title = To Hell and Back: Wake During and After World War II
work = Digital Micronesia
publisher = Charles Sturt University
language = English
accessdate = January 23
accessyear = 2007

Notes