Southwest Area Fleet
| Southwest Area Fleet | |
|---|---|
| Active | April 10, 1942 – 15 Sep 1945 |
| Country | Pacific Theatre of World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Shirō Takasu |
The Southwest Area Fleet (南西方面艦隊, Nansei Hōmen Kantai) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.
History
The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942, to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces for the invasion, occupation and defense of the
Netherlands East Indies
.
The
4th Southern Expeditionary Fleets and the IJN 13th Air Fleet
were under operational control of the Southwest Area Fleet.
After February 1945, the headquarters of the Southwest Area Fleet was isolated in the Philippines, and the
, the surviving elements of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet were largely annihilated by the end of May 1945.Organization
- Southwest Area Fleet (HQ Manila)
- First Expeditionary Fleet (Singapore)
- Second Expeditionary Fleet (Surabaya)
- Third Expeditionary Fleet (Manila)
- Fourth Expeditionary Fleet (Ambon)
- IJN 13th Air Fleet
Commanders of the IJN Southwest Fleet
| Commander in chief | Dates | Previous Post | Next Post | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Vice-Admiral Takahashi Ibō 高橋伊望 |
10 April 1942 |
15 September 1942 |
Commander-in-chief 3rd Fleet |
Also Commander-in-chief 2nd Southern Exepeditionary Fleet | |
| 2 |  |
Vice-Admiral Takasu Shirō 高須四郎 |
15 September 1942 |
18 June 1944 |
Attendant Navy General Staff |
Naval Councilor | Also Commander-in-chief 2nd Southern Exepeditionary Fleet until 15 April 1943 |
| 3 |  |
Vice-Admiral Mikawa Gunichi 三川軍一 |
18 June 1944 |
1 November 1944 |
|||
| 4 | Vice-Admiral Ōkawachi Denshichi |
1 November 1944 |
15 September 1945 |
||||
Chief of staff
| Rank | Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | Toshihisa Nakamura | 10 Apr 1942 – 10 Oct 1942 |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | Takeo Tada | 10 Oct 1942 – 15 Mar 1944 |
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | Hidehiko Nishio | 15 Mar 1944 – 1 Nov 1944 |
| 4 | Vice-Admiral | Kaoru Arima | 1 Nov 1944 – 6 Sep 1945 |
References
Notes
Books
- 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.
External links
- Wendel, Marcus. "Axis History Database". Retrieved 2007-08-25.