Japanese naval fleet (1903–1945)
Military unit
The 2nd Fleet (第二艦隊 , Dai-ni Kantai ) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia , and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II .
History Established on 27 October 1903, the 2nd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to pursue the Imperial Russian Navy 's Vladivostok -based cruiser squadron while the remaining bulk of the Japanese fleet (the IJN 1st Fleet ) continued to blockade Port Arthur in hopes of luring the battleships of the Russian Pacific Fleet into an open sea classic line of battle confrontation.
Letter from Vice admiral Ijuin Gorō to Italian Royal Navy Lieutenant Ernesto Burzagli thanking him for courtesies extended to the Imperial Japanese Navy Second Fleet which visited Italy in 1907. As the main mobile force in the IJN, the 2nd Fleet saw the bulk of all future IJN combat operations from the time of its inception until IJN dissolution at the end of World War II.
Order of Battle at time of Pearl Harbor Based at Samah , Hainan Island [1]
Order in the Malayan Campaign
Distant Cover Force
Closed Cover Force
Invasion Force
Commanders of the IJN 2nd Fleet
References
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 . Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War . Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3 .
External links Nishida, Hiroshi. "Imperial Japanese Navy". Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2007 . Wendel. "Axis History Database". Retrieved 25 August 2007 .
Notes ^ Niehorster, Leo; Alsleben, Al; Yoda, Tadashi. "Administrative Order of Battle – 2nd Fleet, Combined Fleet, 7 December 1941". Imperial Japanese Armed Forces . ^ a b Wendel, Axis History Database