The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
|
| Previous: Kaji Takeo | Table of Contents | Next: Kakogawa |
Kajioka Sadamichi was commander of Destroyer Squadron
6 when the Pacific War began.
He was assigned to escort the Wake invasion force, but
his squadron was dangerously weak to be pitted against an island
fortress that
was potentially strong. Overly confident that the 24th Air
Flotilla had
reduced the island’s defenses, he allowed himself to be lured
in, and his force
suffered heavy casualties before retreating. His second
assault on Wake was
reinforced with heavy
cruisers and aircraft
from the Soryu
and Hiryu
and fared better.
Kajioka subsequently commanded the invasion force for Lae, in March 1942. This nearly turned into another fiasco when Wilson Brown launched a raid across the Owen Stanley Mountains and did considerable damage to the invasion transport fleet. However, most of the troops and supplies had already landed, and faulty American torpedoes reduced the score of ships sunk and damaged.
Kajioka participated in the battle of the Coral Sea, escorting the Port Moresby invasion force that was forced to turn back when it lost its air cover.
Forced to retire in 1943, Kajioka was recalled to
convoy escort duty in 1944. He was killed when his flagship was sunk by
Harder
east of Hainan.
| 1891-5-18 | born | |
| 1911-7-18 |
Midshipman |
Graduates from Naval Academy, standing 67th in a class of 148. Assigned to CA Aso |
| 1912-4-19 | CA Tokiwa | |
| 1912-12-1 | Ensign | |
| 1914-12-1 | Lieutenant junior
grade |
Gunnery School Basic Course |
| 1915-5-26 | Torpedo School Basic Course | |
| 1915-12-13 | Torpedo Boat Division 15 |
|
| 1916-8-19 | CA Akitsushima | |
| 1917-12-1 | Naval College B Course | |
| 1918-4-15 | Naval College Major Course | |
| 1918-8-15 | Naval College Navigation Course | |
| 1918-12-1 | Lieutenant | Manshu |
| 1919-11-20 | AP Seito | |
| 1920-10-20 | Shiretoko | |
| 1920-12-3 | 3 Naval District |
|
| 1921-1-15 | Kiso | |
| 1921-11-10 | Chikuma | |
| 1922-12-1 | CA Kasuga | |
| 1924-12-1 | Lieutenant
commander |
Staff, Naval Hydrography Command |
| 1926-11-15 | CA Asama | |
| 1928-6-15 | Nachi | |
| 1930-12-1 | Instructor, Kasuga | |
| 1934-4-1 | Instructor, Navigation School |
|
| 1934-11-15 | Captain | Commander, Naruto |
| 1935-11-15 | Commander, Nagara | |
| 1936-12-1 | Commander, Kasuga | |
| 1938-6-15 | Commander, Kiso |
|
| 1938-12-15 | Manager, Yokosuka Harbour | |
| 1940-11-15 | Rear Admiral |
Commander, Sasebo Defense
Squadron |
| 1941-4-10 | Commander, Yokosuka Defense Squadron |
|
| 1941-7-1 | Staff, 4 Fleet |
|
| 1941-7-21 | Commander, Destroyer Squadron 6 | |
| 1942-7-14 | Commander, Cruiser Division 18 |
|
| 1942-9-1 | Commander, Rashin Base Force |
|
| 1943-10-10 | Awaiting assignment |
|
| 1943-10-25 | Retires |
|
| 1944-1-10 | Recalled to Navy General Staff |
|
| 1944-4-8 | Commander, 6 Convoy Headquarters |
|
| 1944-9-12 | Vice admiral |
Killed in action |
References
Materials of IJN (accessed 2007-12-12)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index
