Raizō Tanaka

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Raizō Tanaka (田中 頼三, Tanaka Raizō, 27 April 1892 – 9 July 1969) was a

Early career

Tanaka was born in what is now part of

As a midshipman, Tanaka served on the cruisers Azuma and Nisshin, battleship Aki. After promotion to sub-lieutenant, he served on the cruiser Kasagi and battlecruiser Kongō.

He then attended the basic torpedo and naval artillery schools from December 1916 to December 1917, after which he was assigned to the destroyers Hatsushimo and Kusunoki,^[2] and the battleship Katori. He returned to torpedo school, attending the advanced course from December 1919 to December 1920. From 1921 to November 1923, Lieutenant Tanaka was assigned as the executive officer on the submarine tender Karasaki, the cruiser Iwate, the destroyer Shiokaze, and the cruiser Yura.^[3] In December 1925, Tanaka was appointed as executive officer as well as an instructor at the IJN's torpedo school. After one year at the school, he performed two years of staff duties, including one year at Kure Naval District, one of the IJN's primary bases.^[3]

In 1930,

From 1 December 1937 to 15 December 1938,

On 21 May 1942, Tanaka's 2nd Destroyer Squadron—consisting of Jintsū and 10 destroyers—sortied from Kure to support the Japanese attack on Midway Island by escorting the transports carrying the troops for the prospective invasion (which was never carried out, because of the American air supremacy there). After the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Midway, Tanaka's ships returned to Japan via the island of Guam.^[9]

After the

Stationing his squadron at the IJN base in the Shortland Islands, over the next several months Tanaka organized reinforcement and resupply efforts to Japanese soldiers fighting in the battle for Guadalcanal. Due to the threat of air attacks by the Marines, Tanaka ordered the use of his fast destroyers to deliver men and supplies to Guadalcanal at night. This was because his destroyers could make the trip to Guadalcanal and back to the northern Solomons in a single night, reducing the vulnerability of ships to American air attacks. The Japanese called these supply runs "Rat Transportation" and the Americans called them the "Tokyo Express."

On 30 November 1942, late in the Guadalcanal campaign, Tanaka personally led a "Tokyo Express" run to Guadalcanal. Tanaka's force included eight destroyers which Tanaka led from his flagship Naganami. That night, an American force of five cruisers and four destroyers, commanded by Carleton H. Wright, prepared to intercept Tanaka's ships in Ironbottom Sound near Guadalcanal. Using radar, the American ships sank one Japanese destroyer with gunfire. Tanaka, however, quickly responded by issuing orders for his ships to maneuver, fire torpedoes, and vacate the area. The Japanese "Long Lance" torpedoes hit four of Wright's cruisers as Tanaka's ships retreated back up The Slot towards the Shortlands. One of the American cruisers was sunk, and a further three were damaged.

On 12 December 1942 on another "Tokyo Express" run, Tanaka's destroyer,