Hiroaki Abe
Hiroaki Abe | |
---|---|
Native name | 阿部 弘毅 |
Born | Yonezawa, Yamagata, Japan | 15 March 1889
Died | 6 February 1949[1] | (aged 59)
Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
Service/ | Imperial Japanese Navy |
Years of service | 1911–1943 |
Rank | Vice admiral |
Commands held | Ushio, Hatsuyuki, Kaki, 1st Destroyer Division, 2nd Destroyer Division, 23rd Destroyer Division, Jintsū, Fusō, 14th Naval Air Group, 6th Destroyer Squadron, 8th Squadron, 11th Squadron[2] |
Battles/wars |
Hiroaki Abe (阿部 弘毅, Abe Hiroaki, 15 March 1889 – 6 February 1949) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
Biography
Early career
Abe was born in
After attending torpedo school and naval artillery school, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and served on the destroyer Akebono, followed by the cruiser Chitose during World War I. However, it does not appear that Abe experienced combat during his tour of duty.
After the end of the war, he served in mostly staff positions until he was given his first command on 20 July 1922, the destroyer Ushio. He then commanded the destroyer Hatsuyuki, and was promoted to lieutenant commander the following year on 1 December 1923. He was captain of the destroyer Kaki for one year in 1925.
Abe returned to the Naval Staff College in 1926. He was promoted to commander on 10 December 1928, and captain on 1 December 1932. In 1936, he assumed command of the cruiser Jintsu, and a year later, that of the battleship Fusō.
Pacific War
On 15 November 1938, Abe was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. He was thus in command of Cruiser Division 8 (CruDiv8) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent Battle of Wake Island.
During the Guadalcanal campaign, as commander of Combat Division 11 (BatDiv 3 and CruDiv 8), he led his ships as the vanguard group at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons from 23–25 August 1942 and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands from 26–28 October. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November.[3]
However, during the
Abe was forced to resign from the Imperial Japanese Navy soon afterward in March 1943. He died in 1949.
His younger brother, Toshio Abe (阿部 俊雄, Abe Toshio, 27 April 1896 – 29 November 1944), was also a career navy officer, and was captain of the aircraft carrier Shinano. Abe went down with Shinano, when she was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Archerfish while performing trials.
Notable positions held
- Crewmember, BB Kongō – 27 May 1914 – 1 December 1914
- Staff Officer, 3rd Fleet – 1 December 1919 – 10 November 1921
- Torpedo Officer, CL Tama – 10 May 1923 – 1 May 1924
- Senior Staff Officer, DesRon 2 – 30 November 1929 – 31 October 1931
- ComDesDiv 1 – 31 October 1931 – 16 May 1932
- ComDesDiv 2 – 15 November 1932 – 15 November 1933
- ComDesDiv 23 – 15 November 1933 – 15 November 1934
- Commanding Officer, CL Jintsu – 1 December 1936 – 1 December 1937
- Commanding Officer, BB Fusō – 1 December 1937 – 1 April 1938
- Commanding Officer, Air Group 14 - 1 April 1938 - 15 December 1938
- Chief Instructor of the Naval Academy - 15 December 1938 - 1 November 1940
- ComDesRon 6 – 15 November 1940 – 21 July 1941
- ComCruDiv 8 – 1 August 1941 – 14 July 1942
- ComBatDiv 11 – 14 July 1942 – 20 December 1942
Dates of promotions
- Midshipman – 18 July 1911
- Ensign – 1 December 1912
- Sublieutenant – 1 December 1914
- Lieutenant – 1 December 1917
- Lieutenant Commander – 1 December 1923
- Commander – 10 December 1928
- Captain – 1 December 1932
- Rear Admiral – 15 November 1938
- Vice Admiral – 1 November 1942
References
Books
- Crenshaw, Russell Sydnor (1998). South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-136-X.
- 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.
- Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
- Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons. Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-40333-4.
- McGee, William L. (2002). "Operation TOENAILS". The Solomons Campaigns, 1942–1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville—Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (2002). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. 14: Victory in the Pacific, 1945. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07065-8.
Notes
- ^ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy.
- ^ "Abe Hiroaki". Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Dull, A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
External links
Media related to Abe Hiroaki at Wikimedia Commons
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN: Abe, Hiroaki". Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved 20 February 2020.