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The4th Fleet was a fleet of theImperial Japanese Navy. The Fourth Fleet designation was used during three separate periods. The initial designation was for a group of ships that were assigned to work together during the Russo-Japanese conflict and the period of its immediate aftermath. The second time the designation was used was during the Sino-Japanese conflict, and the third time was as a South Pacific area of command during the middle of the Pacific War.
First established on June 14, 1905, the 4th Fleet was created after theBattle of Tsushima in theRusso-Japanese War specifically to support and cover the landings of Japanese forces inSakhalin. Afterwards, it was sent to theUnited States with the Japanese delegation negotiating theTreaty of Portsmouth ending the war, and was disbanded on December 20, 1905.
The Fourth Fleet was temporarily resurrected during a war game exercise executed in 1935, playing the role of the opposition force under the command ofHajime Matsushita. While participating in field manoeuvres, the Fourth Fleet became caught in extremely foul weather. The weather continued to deteriorate and by 26 September had reached typhoon status. Two of the newer, largeSpecial Type destroyers,Hatsuyuki andYūgiri, had their bows torn away by the heavy seas. A number of recently-built heavy cruisers also suffered significant structural damage.Myōkō,Mogami and the submarine tenderTaigei developed serious cracks in their hulls, and the light aircraft-carriersHōshō andRyūjō suffered damage to their flight decks and superstructure, withRyūjō also having her hangar section flooded. The minelayerItsukushima suffered damage that required several months for extensive repairs, necessitating a near complete rebuild. Nearly all the fleet's destroyers suffered damage to their superstructures, and fifty-four crewmen were lost, swept overboard or killed outright.[1]
The Japanese Admiralty held a hearing on the damage suffered by Fourth Fleet in the storm, resulting in recommendations for changes on Japanese warship design and construction. A number of new designs that used heavier guns and taller superstructures were found to be top-heavy, and efforts were made to stabilize these ships by reducing weight above the waterline. In addition, cracks in the hulls of the new cruisers indicated the recently adopted practice of electric welding hull seams was suspect, and the practice was canceled on all new Japanese warship construction.[2] The event was kept a secret from the public.[2]
On October 20, 1937, the 4th Fleet was resurrected as part of the emergency reinforcement program for theChina Area Fleet after theNorth China Incident of 1937. The new 4th fleet was based out ofQingdao and assigned to patrol theBohai Sea and theEast China Sea regions. However, unlike theIJN 5th Fleet, the 4th Fleet was never in actual combat. On November 15, 1939, the 4th Fleet was absorbed into the3rd China Expeditionary Fleet under the overall aegis of theChina Area Fleet. Although most of its ships were released for service with theCombined Fleet in thePacific War a year later, most of the staff for the 4th Fleet remained in China, and were assigned to the Qingdao Base Force for the duration of the war.
On the same date that the 4th Fleet was absorbed into the China Area Fleet, a new 4th Fleet was created to provide administrative control over Japanese naval forces in the Japanese-held island territories of the South Pacific (Caroline Islands,Marshall Islands,Mariana Islands,Palau). This third IJN 4th Fleet came under the aegis of theCombined Fleet on November 15, 1940.[3] The operational name of this fleet was theSouth Seas Force (南洋部隊,Nan'yō butai). With the start of hostilities against theUnited States, the 4th Fleet was based out ofTruk,[4] with a secondary base atKwajalein. After initial Japanese successes, additional bases were established in the southernPhilippines,Guam,Wake Island,Gilbert Islands, easternNew Guinea,Bismarck Archipelago and theSolomon Islands.
After theBattle of the Coral Sea, the area covered by the 4th Fleet was reduced to an “inner core” of Japanese possessions, while the newIJN 8th Fleet was assigned to confront the advancing American forces in theSolomon Islands andNew Guinea. However, in November 1943, the Americans attacked the Gilbert Islands and captured the major naval base ofTarawa, which brought the 4th Fleet and its various garrison forces back into the front lines of combat.
The Americans continued to advance through the Marshall Islands in early 1944, neutralizing the Japanese bastion at Truk Atoll in the Carolines, headquarters of the IJN 4th Fleet, by means of powerful naval air strikes in February, and forcing the removal of Japan's major naval units to Palau, which also proved vulnerable to air attack.
In March 1944, the IJN 4th Fleet came under operational control of theCentral Pacific Area Fleet based inSaipan. It effectively ceased to exist with thefall of Saipan to American forces.[5]
| Commander-in-Chief | Dates | Previous Post | Next Post | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Vice-Admiral Dewa Shigetō 出羽重遠 | 14 June 1905 | 20 December 1905 | Commander-in-chief 2nd Fleet | ||
| Chief of Staff | Dates | Previous Post | Next Post | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Captain Yamaya Tanin 山屋他人 | 14 June 1905 | 20 December 1905 | |||
| Commander-in-Chief | Dates | Previous Post | Next Post | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Vice-Admiral Toyoda Soemu 豊田副武 | 20 October 1937 | 15 November 1938 | Commander-in-chief 2nd Fleet | ||
| 2 |  | Vice-Admiral Hibino Masaharu 日比野正治 | 15 November 1938 | 15 November 1939 | |||
| Chief of Staff | Dates | Previous Post | Next Post | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Captain Kobayashi Masami 小林仁 | 20 October 1937 | 1 September 1938 | Promoted to rear admiral 1 December 1937 | ||
| 2 |  | Captain Oka Arata 岡新 | 1 September 1938 | 15 November 1939 | Promoted to rear admiral 15 November 1938 | ||
On 15 November 1939 the 4th Fleet was reorganized into the3rd China Expeditionary Fleet. Command History continues there.
| Rank | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Vice-Admiral | Eikichi Katagiri | 15 Nov 1939 – 15 Nov 1940 |
| Admiral | Shiro Takasu | 15 Nov 1940 – 11 Aug 1941 |
| Admiral | Shigeyoshi Inoue | 11 Aug 1941 – 26 Oct 1942 |
| Vice-Admiral | BaronTomoshige Samejima | 26 Oct 1942 – 1 Apr 1943 |
| Vice-Admiral | Masami Kobayashi | 1 Apr 1943 – 19 Feb 1944 |
| Vice-Admiral | Chuichi Hara | 19 Feb 1944 – 2 Sep 1945 |
| Rank | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Vice-Admiral | Fukuji Kishi | 15 Nov 1939 – 10 Oct 1941 |
| Vice-Admiral | Shikazo Yano | 10 Oct 1941 – 1 Nov 1942 |
| Rear-Admiral | Shunsaku Nabeshima | 1 Nov 1942 – 6 Jan 1944 |
| Rear-Admiral | Michio Sumikawa | 6 Jan 1944 – 30 Mar 1944 |
| Vice-Admiral | Kaoru Arima | 30 Mar 1944 – 12 Aug 1944 |
| Rear-Admiral | Michio Sumikawa | 12 Aug 1944 – 2 Sep 1945 |
