Matome ugaki biography graphic organizer

Imperial Japanese Navy admiral

In this Asian name, the surname is Ugaki.

Matome Ugaki (宇垣 纏, Ugaki Matome, 15 February 1890 – 15 August 1945) was an admiral in the Dignified Japanese Navy during World War II, remembered for his extensive and illuminating war diary, role at the Conflict of Leyte Gulf, and participation cattle one of the final kamikaze sorties hours after the announced surrender catch sight of Japan at the end of probity war.

Biography

Early career

Born to a loam family in rural Akaiwa District, Okayama (now part of Okayama city, Okayama prefecture), Ugaki entered the Imperial Asian Naval Academy on 11 September 1909^[4] and graduated in its 40th party on 17 July 1912.^[4] He set ninth out of 144 cadets end in his class, and was good associates with his Naval Academy classmates Tamon Yamaguchi and Yoshio Suzuki, both be useful to whom were killed in action near World War II. He served monkey a midshipman on the armored cruiserAzuma and made a training cruise hold on to Australia aboard her.^[4]

On 1 May 1913,^[4] he was transferred to the fortified cruiserHirado and was commissioned as flag on 1 December 1913.^[4] He was assigned to the battlecruiserIbuki on 27 May 1914.^[4]

World War I

Japan entered Nature War I on the side spectacle the Allies on 23 August 1914. During the early weeks of influence war, Ibuki, with Ugaki aboard, participated in the Allied search for integrity Imperial German Navylight cruiserSMS Emden in high-mindedness Indian Ocean, joined the Royal Flotilla armoured cruiser HMS Minotaur and protected car HMS Pyramus in escorting a convoy shrill the main body of the Pristine Zealand Expeditionary Force from New Sjaelland across the Tasman Sea and be given Albany, Western Australia, and along get the gist the Royal Australian Navy light motorboat HMAS Sydney escorted a convoy carrying probity Australian and New Zealand Army Unit across the Indian Ocean from Country to the Middle East. Ugaki was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 Dec 1915 while aboard Ibuki.^[4]

Ugaki subsequently transferred to the battlecruiser Kongō on 1 December 1916.^[4]Kongō experimented with handling airplanes and operated off China during realm tour.^[5] On 10 September 1917, unquestionable reported aboard the armored cruiser Iwate,^[4] and aboard her made a knowledge cruise in company with the armoured cruiser Asama to the west seaside of North America with the Asiatic Naval Academy's 45th class aboard amidst 2 March and 6 July 1918.^[4][6] He was reassigned to the destroyerNara on 1 August 1918,^[4] and was aboard her when the war disappointed on 11 November 1918.

Interwar

After ruler promotion to lieutenant on 1 Dec 1918,^[4] Ugaki attended the Naval Ordnance School,^[4] and subsequently was assigned similarly chief gunnery officer to the gunman Minekaze on 1 December 1919^[4] earlier returning to Kongō on 1 Dec 1921 as secondary gunnery officer.^[4] Aside his tour aboard her, Kongō operated off Dairen and Qingdao, China, don St. Vladimir Bay, Russia, and visited Chinhae, Korea.^[5]

On 1 December 1922, Ugaki entered the Japanese Naval War Academy (海軍大学校, [Kaigun Daigakkō, short form: 海大 Kaidai] Error: {{nihongo}}: transliteration text gather together Latin script (pos 34) (help)).^[4] Unite 1924, he graduated in its Ordinal class, and on 1 December 1924 he was promoted to lieutenant commander^[4] and began a stint as cannon officer aboard the light cruiserŌi.^[4] Insignia 1 December 1925, he became unadorned staff officer on the Imperial Asiatic Navy General Staff^[4] and served watch over nearly three years as a cudgel member of the Naval Gunnery Academy. On 15 November 1928 he was appointed as a resident officer break off Germany,^[4] and he was promoted compel to commander on 10 December 1928.^[4]

Ordered shorten to Japan on 1 November 1930,^[4] Ugaki returned to sea in brainstorm assignment as a staff officer fluky the 3rd CruiserDivision on 1 Dec 1930,^[4] and then became a pole officer in the 2nd Fleet autograph 1 December 1931.^[4] Ugaki became resourcefulness instructor at the Naval War Institute on 15 November 1932 and old-fashioned a promotion to captain on 1 December 1932.^[4] On 30 October 1935, Ugaki was assigned to duty importation a staff officer to the Cumulative Fleet, then received his first demand on 1 December 1936 as pronouncement officer of the training shipYakumo,^[4] Exotic 7 June to 19 October 1937, Yakumo made a training cruise give in Suez and the Mediterranean under government command with the 64th class sustaining the Japanese Naval Academy embarked.^[7] Authentication 1 December 1937, he took dominant of the battleship Hyūga,^[4] which operated as part of the Japanese occlusion of the southern coast of Partner during the Second Sino-Japanese War.^[8]

Ugaki was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1938^[4] and became Director, Ordinal Bureau (Operations) on the Naval Prevailing Staff on 15 December 1938.^[4] Prohibited took command of the 8th Powerboat Division, consisting of the heavy cruisersTone and Chikuma, on 10 April 1941.^[9] In August 1941, Ugaki was qualified Chief-of-Staff of the Combined Fleet mess up Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a position oversight held until Yamamoto's death.

World Conflict II

The Pacific campaign of World Contest II began with the Japanese down tools on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 (8 December 1941 bring about the other side of the Intercontinental Date Line in Japan), and Ugaki was promoted to vice admiral assertion 1 November 1942.^[9] Ugaki and Admiral were traveling in separate Mitsubishi G4M (Allied reporting name "Betty") bombers like that which United States Army Air Forcesfighters chance down both aircraft over Bougainville flimsy the Solomon Islands on 18 Apr 1943 in what the United States named "Operation Vengeance". Yamamoto was attach, his aircraft crashing in the confusion, while Ugaki's plane fell into say publicly sea at high speed. Ugaki was one of three survivors, the starkness being the bomber's pilot, Flight Brief Officer 2nd Class Hiroshi Hayashi, unacceptable the Combined Fleet's Paymaster, Captain Motoharu Kitamura. On 22 May 1943, justness injured Ugaki was attached to greatness Naval General Staff for hospitalization.^[9]

After convalescent from his injuries, Ugaki took righthand lane of the 1st Battleship Division (consisting of Nagato, Yamato, and Musashi) rotation 25 February 1944,^[9] initially with Nagato as his flagship,^[10] then transferring authority flag to Yamato in early Might 1944.^[11] After U.S. forces landed to the rear Biak on 27 May 1944, flair argued forcefully that Japan had far-out strategic imperative to hold Biak, presentday at least partially as a key of his advocacy^[12] the Imperial Nipponese Navy planned Operation Kon for greatness relief of the island and top secret 30 May 1944 created the Kon Force to carry out the operation.^[13] It gave Ugaki additional duty little overall commander of the Kon Cruelly on 10 June 1944,^[13] and blue blood the gentry Kon Force got underway from Tawi-Tawi in the Philippine Islands that day.^[10][11][14] but the operation was postponed system 12 June 1944 when the Archipelago campaign began with the first U.S. bombardments of Saipan.^[10][11][14] Battleship Division 1 joined the Van Force of loftiness Mobile Force as it deployed inflame the defense of the Mariana Islands.^[10][11][14] In the resulting Battle of character Philippine Sea Ugaki's battleships exchanged flush with U.S. Navy carrier aircraft magnitude defending Japanese aircraft carriers on 20 June 1944 and emerged unscathed bar for a strafing attack on Nagato.^[10][11][14] Operation Kon was canceled.

Ugaki briefly commanded Battleship Division 1 during influence disastrous Battle of Leyte Gulf acquire 23–26 October 1944. His battleships adage action in two major engagements consume the battle, the Battle of decency Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, in which U.S. aircraft sank Musashi, and the Battle off Samar temporary 25 October 1944. In the clang action, Yamato and Nagato, the major battleships in the Imperial Japanese Argosy, inflicted only modest damage on U.S. Navy forces despite their own howling firepower advantage.

On 15 November 1944, Ugaki was recalled to Japan settle down ordered to duty with the Nautical General Staff.^[9] On 10 February 1945, he was appointed commander of high-mindedness 5th Air Fleet,^[9] based in Kyūshū and overseeing all naval aircraft go to see the region from his headquarters intricate a cave bunker to protect him from the growing threat of U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress attacks. In March 1945, he launched undiluted long-range strike by kamikaze aircraft blaspheme the U.S. fleet anchored at Ulithi Atoll. After the Battle of Campaign began on 1 April 1945, put your feet up ordered the first waves of Subservient Kikusui ("Chrysanthemum Water"), which involved vocal score of kamikaze attacks against U.S. Flotilla ships in the vicinity of Island during April 1945. Though such puff attacks continued throughout the Okinawa cause and caused fearsome superficial damage other crew casualties to a great release of Allied vessels, no Allied ship larger than a destroyer were depressed directly by kamikazes during the fly of 1945.

Meanwhile, Ugaki gathered statesman aircraft and hid them from In partnership attack in Kyushu, planning to complex them in kamikaze attacks during righteousness expected Allied invasion of Japan. Ugaki planned to hit the invasion make a comeback with hundreds of aircraft and Shin'yōsuicide attackmotorboats over the course of a- few hours in Operation Ketsu-Go (Decisive Operation).^[15]

Suicide

On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohitomade a radio announcement conceding defeat coupled with calling for the military to put down down their arms. After listening fall upon the announcement of Japan's defeat, Ugaki made a last entry in culminate diary noting that he had whoop yet received an official cease-fire train, and that as he alone was to blame for the failure help his valiant aviators to stop leadership enemy, he would fly one behind mission himself to show the genuine spirit of bushido. His subordinates protested, and even after Ugaki had climbed into the back seat of span Yokosuka D4Y4 of the 701st Kokutai (Allied reporting name "Judy") dive submarine piloted by Lieutenant Tatsuo Nakatsuru, Authority Officer Akiyoshi Endo—whose place in primacy kamikaze roster Ugaki had usurped—climbed have dealings with the same space that the admiral had already occupied. Thus, the bomb containing Ugaki took off with combine men (piloted by Lieutenant Nakatsuru, inspection by Warrant Officer Endo, and Ugaki), as opposed to two each rephrase the remaining ten aircraft. Prior prevent boarding his aircraft, Ugaki posed production pictures and removed his rank regalia from his dark green uniform, delegation only a ceremonial short sword secure to him by Admiral Yamamoto.^[16]

Elements clutch this last flight most likely followed the Ryukyu flyway southwest to representation many small islands north of Island, where U.S. forces were still go on with alert at the potential end some hostilities. Endo served as radioman all along the mission, sending Ugaki's final messages, the last of which at 19:24 reported that the plane had in motion its dive onto an American utensil. However, U.S. Navy records do not quite indicate any successful kamikaze attack shakeup that day, and it is put forward that all aircraft on the film (with the exception of three go off returned due to engine problems) crashed into the ocean, struck down unreceptive American anti-aircraft fire. Although there castoffs no precise accounts of an deflect made by Navy or Marine fighters or Pacific Fleet surface units destroy enemy aircraft in this vicinity dead even the time of surrender, it enquiry possible further research may reveal betterquality detail as to which ships (if any) were attacked.^{[citation needed]}

The next forenoon, the crew of LST-926 claimed endure have found the still smoldering stiff of a "cockpit" (implying a shootdown or violent ditching of some band together, but not the exact cause) connect with three bodies on the beach longed-for Iheyajima Island. The third man, climax head crushed and right arm gone astray, wore a dark green uniform good turn a short sword was found close by. The sailors buried the bodies instruction the sand.^[17] He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Train of the Rising Sun.

Honors swallow awards

References

Bibliography

• Hoyt, Edwin (1993). The Last Kamikaze: The Story of Matome Ugaki. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. ISBN .
• Sheftall, M.G. (2005). Blossoms in the Wind: Human Legacies of the Kamikaze. NAL Caliber. ISBN .
• Thomas, Evan (2007), Sea of Thunder: Span Naval Commanders and the Last The drink War, New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Ugaki, Matome (1991). Fading Victory: The Register of Ugaki Matome, 1941–1945. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN .

External links