Jinichi Kusaka | |
|---|---|
 Vice Admiral Kusaka Jinichi (1940-45) | |
| Native name | 草鹿 任一 |
| Born | December 7, 1888 Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | August 24, 1972(1972-08-24) (aged 83)[1] |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1909–1945 |
| Rank |  Vice Admiral |
| Commands | Kitakami,Fusō, Naval Gunnery School,1st Carrier Division, Naval Education Bureau,Naval Academy,11th Air Fleet,Southeast Area Fleet |
| Battles / wars | |
Jinichi Kusaka (草鹿 任一,Kusaka Jin'ichi; 7 December 1888 – 24 August 1972) was an admiral in theImperial Japanese Navy duringWorld War II. Fellow AdmiralRyūnosuke Kusaka was his cousin.
A native ofIshikawa Prefecture, Kusaka graduated from the 37th class of theImperial Japanese Navy Academy, ranked 21st in a class of 179 cadets. He served asmidshipman on thecruisersSoya andChiyoda, and after being commissioned asensign was assigned to the cruiserTokiwa andbattleshipAki. As alieutenant duringWorld War I, he served on the cruiserAsama, followed by the battleshipKashima anddestroyerHamakaze, but was not on any combat missions. After the end of the war, he attended theNaval Staff College, emerging in 1921 as alieutenant commander. He was assigned to the battleshipHiei as Vice Chief Gunnery Officer, and to the battleshipsYamashiro andNagato as Chief Gunnery Officer.
After Kusaka's promotion tocaptain on 1 December 1930, he was sent overseas to theUnited States andEurope for one year. After his return, he received his first command, the cruiserKitakami. He was subsequently captain of the battleshipFusō. On 1 December 1936, Kusaka was promoted torear admiral, and became commandant of the Naval Gunnery School. On 15 November 1940, he was promoted tovice admiral.
At the beginning of thePacific War, Kusaka commanded theImperial Japanese Naval Academy. On 28 September 1942, he took command of the11th Air Fleet located at the major Japanese base ofRabaul onNew Britain in theSouth Pacific.[2] Throughout theGuadalcanal campaign Kusaka's air units battled theAlliedCactus Air Force for control of the air aroundGuadalcanal, a battle that the Allied air forces eventually won. The 11th Air Fleet also supported Japanese military operations in theNew Guinea Campaign.
On 24 December 1942, all naval forces in New Guinea and Solomon Islands area were combined into the newly designatedSoutheast Area Fleet with Kusaka in command. As commander, Kusaka directed the employment of naval ships and combat personnel involved in the fighting against Allied forces advancing up theSolomon Islands chain and New Guinea and New Britain towards Rabaul.[3]
On 6 September 1945, Kusaka, acting as the senior officer for Japanese naval forces in the Rabaul area, along with GeneralHitoshi Imamura, the seniorImperial Japanese Army commander for the area, surrendered Rabaul to Allied forces.[4]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Online views of selections of the book:[2]{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by None Fleet created | Commander-in-chief of theSoutheast Area Fleet 24 December 1942 - 6 September 1945 | Succeeded by None Fleet dissolved |
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| Academics | |
