| Central Pacific Area Fleet | |
|---|---|
| Active | 4 March 1944 – 18 July 1944 |
| Country |  |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battle honours | Pacific Theatre of World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Chūichi Nagumo |
The Central Pacific Area Fleet (中部太平洋方面艦隊, Chūbu Taiheiyō Hōmen Kantai) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.
The Central Pacific Area Fleet was a short-lived operational headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy, established on March 4, 1944. With United States Navy forces having driven the Japanese out of the Marshall Islands and Caroline Islands in late 1943 to early 1944, the remnants of Japanese naval forces from those areas regrouped under the direction of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The new Central Pacific Area Fleet was a combined operational command containing air (IJN 14th Air Fleet) and ground (IJA 31st Army) elements, and was tasked with the defense of the Mariana Islands and Palau, from its command center in Saipan.
With the fall of Saipan to American forces on July 8, 1944 and subsequent death of Admiral Nagumo and his staff, the Central Area Fleet ceased to exist. [1]
| Date | Higher unit | Lower unit and vessels |
|---|---|---|
| 4 March 1944 (original) | Combined Fleet | 4th Fleet, 14th Air Fleet, Isuzu, No.5 Special Base Force, No.30 Base Force, No.4 Weather Observation Unit |
| 8 July 1944 | HQ was annihilated. | |
| 18 July 1944 | disbanded | |
Commander in chief [2]
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vice-Admiral/Admiral | Chūichi Nagumo | 4 March 1944 | Commander of the 14th Air Fleet. KIA on 8 July 1944. Posthumously promoted to Admiral on same day. |
| x | vacant post | 9 July 1944 | ||
Chief of staff
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rear-Admiral/Vice-Admiral | Hideo Yano | 4 March 1944 | Chief of staff of the 14th Air Fleet. KIA on 8 July 1944. Posthumously promoted to Vice-Admiral on same day. |
| x | vacant post | 9 July 1944 | ||
The Combined Fleet was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime.
Chūichi Nagumo was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the Kido Butai, in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean raid and the Battle of Midway. He committed suicide during the Battle of Saipan.
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November 1944 during the Pacific War. The United States offensive, under the overall command of Chester W. Nimitz, followed the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and was intended to neutralize Japanese bases in the central Pacific, support the Allied drive to retake the Philippines, and provide bases for a strategic bombing campaign against Japan.
Gunichi Mikawa was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that defeated the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of 8–9 August 1942.
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. It has been referred to as the "Pacific D-Day" with the invasion fleet departing Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched, launching nine days later. The U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō. The loss of Saipan, with the deaths of at least 29,000 troops and heavy civilian casualties, precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tōjō and left the Japanese archipelago within the range of United States Army Air Forces B-29 bombers.
Mineichi Koga was a Japanese Marshal Admiral and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet.
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