Imperial Japanese Naval Units (IJN)
Operation ‘A-GO’
1st Mobile Fleet
Vice Admiral Jisaburo
Ozawa
Mobile Force Vanguard (‘C’ Force)
Vice Admiral Takeo
Kurita
3rd Carrier Squadron
Rear Admiral Obayashi
CVL Chitose (F)
21 - A6M5b, 3 - B6N, 6 - B5N
(Air Group 653)
CVL Chiyoda
21 - A6M5b, 3 - B6N, 6 - B5N
(Air Group 653)
CVL Zuiho
21 - A6M5b, 3 - B6N, 6 - B5N
(Air Group 653)
1st Battle Squadron
Vice Admiral Matome
Ugaki
BB Yamato
BB Musashi
3rd Battle Squadron
Vice Admiral Suzuki
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
4th Cruiser Squadron
Vice Admiral Takeo
Kurita
CA Atago (F)
CA Takao
CA Chokai
CA Maya
7th Cruiser Squadron
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Tone
CA Chikuma
2nd Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Hayakawa
CL Noshiro (F)
31st Desdiv, Desron 2, 2nd Fleet
DD Asashimo
Lt. Commander Yoshirou Sugihara
DD Kishinami
Commander Toshirou Mifune
DD Okinami
Commander Akira Makino
32nd Desdiv, Desron 2, 2nd Fleet
DD Tamanami
Commander Tomiji Chihogi
17th Desdiv, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Hamakaze
Commander Kazue Maekawa
32nd Desdiv, Desron 2, 2nd Fleet
DD Fujinami
Commander Tatsuji Matsuzaki
Attached to Desron 2, 2nd Fleet
DD Shimakaze
Commander Hiroshi Uwai
‘A-Force’
Vice Admiral Jisaburo
Ozawa
1st Carrier Squadron
CV Taiho (F)*
26 - A6M5, 23 - D4Y, 17 - B6N, 2
- D3A (Air Group 601)
CV Shokaku*
Captain Hiroshi Matsubara
26 - A6M5, 24 - D4Y, 17 - B6N, 2
- D3A (Air Group 601)
CV Zuikaku
Captain Takeo Kaizuka
27 - A6M5, 23 - D4Y, 17 - B6N, 3
- D3A (Air Group 601)
Note: Per reference #4 this represents the aircraft actually embarked, which were evenly divided among the three carriers of the 1st Carrier Squadron for the ‘A-GO’ operation. Where the type of aircraft was not able to be divided into a whole number the odd aircraft have been assigned to the Shokaku and Zuikaku as they normally carried larger aircraft complements than that attributed to the Taiho.
5th Cruiser Squadron
Rear Admiral Shintaro
Hashimoto
CA Haguro
CA Myoko
10th Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Masanori
Kimura
CL Yahagi (F)
10th Desdiv, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Asagumo
Commander Kazuo Shibayama
17th Desdiv, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Urakaze
Commander Shooichi Yoshida
DD Isokaze
Lt. Commander Saneho Maeda
61st Desdiv, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Wakatsuki
Commander Yasuatsu Suzuki
DD Hatsuyuki
Commander Shooichi Taguchi
DD Akizuki
Commander Tomoe Ogata
DD Shimotsuki
Commander Kenji Hatano
‘B’ Force
2nd Carrier Squadron
Rear Admiral Takaji
Joshima
CV Junyo
Captain Kiyomi Shibuya
27 - A6M5, 6 - B6N, 9 - D4Y, 9 -
D3A (Air Group 652)
CV Hiyo*
Captain Toshiyuki Yokoi
26 - A6M5, 6 - B6N, 18 - D3A (Air
Group 652)
CV Ryuho
27 - A6M5, 6 - B6N (Air Group 652)
1st Battleship Squadron
BB Nagato
CA Mogami
4th Desdiv, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Michishio
Lt. Commander Tomoo Tanaka
DD Nowaki
Commander Setsuji Moriya
DD Yamagumo
Commander Shirou Ono
27th Desdiv, Desron 2, 2nd Fleet
DD Shigure
Lt. Commander Shigeru Nishino
DD Samidare
Lt. Commander Iokuta Nishimura
Unit??
DD Hayashimo
Lt. Commander Toshio Hirayama
DD Akishimo
Lt. Commander Kotarou Nakao
Tanker Group 1
Directly assigned to Combined Fleet
DD Hibiki
Commander Takeugi Mori
DesDiv 21
Directly assigned to Combined Fleet
DD Hatsushimo
Lt. Commander Kouji Takigawa
DesDiv 22, Desron 3, Central Pacific
Area Fleet
DD Yunagi
Lt. Commander Goro Iwabuchi
Unit ??
DD Tsuga
Oiler Hayasui
(3) more oilers assigned
Tanker Group 2
Desdiv 17, Desron 10, 3rd Fleet
DD Yukikaze
Lt. Commander Masamichi Terauchi
Desdiv 30, Desron 3, 8th Fleet
DD Uzuki
Lt. Yoshiro Watanabe
Oiler Genyo Maru*
Oiler Senyo Maru*
24 submarines
Note: three of the six tankers assigned to this operation were sunk.
Base Air Force Commander Marianas - Vice
Admiral Kakuji Kakuta
250 aircraft of various types
United States Naval Forces (USN)
5th Fleet
Admiral Raymond Spruance
Task Force 58 (TF58)
Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher
TF 58.1
Rear Admiral Joseph
J. (‘Jocko’) Clark
CV12 Hornet
41 - F6F, 33 - SB2C, 18 - TBF
CV10 Yorktown (F)
46 - F6F, 40 - SB2C, 17 - TBF, 4
- SBD
CVL24 Belleau Wood
26 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CVL29 Bataan
24 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CA68 Baltimore
CA69 Boston
CA70 Canberra
CL95 Oakland
Desron 46
DD589 Izard
DD581 Charrette
DD582 Conner
DD587 Bell
DD588 Burns
DD544 Boyd
DD545 Bradford
DD546 Brown
DD547 Cowell
TF 58.2
Rear Admiral Alfred
E. Montgomery
CV17 Bunker Hill (F)
42 - F6F, 33 - SB2C, 18 - TBF
CV18 Wasp
39 - F6F, 32 - SB2C, 18 - TBF
CVL28 Cabot
26 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CVL26 Monterey
21 - F6F, 8 - TBF
CL60 Santa Fe
CL63 Mobile
CL80 Biloxi
CL54 San Juan
Desron 52
DD536 Owen
DD535 Miller
DD537 The Sullivans
DD538 Stephen Potter
DD539 Tingey
DD673 Hickox
DD674 Hunt
DD675 Lewis Hancock
DD676 Marshall
TF 58.3
Rear Admiral John W.
Reeves
CV6 Enterprise (F)
Captain Matthais B Gardner
31 - F6F, 3 - F4U, 21 - SBD,
14 - TBF
CV16 Lexington (F) - Task Force 58 Flagship
Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher
41 - F6F, 34 - SBD, 18 - TBF
CVL30 San Jacinto
24 - F6F, 8 - TBF
CVL23 Princeton
24 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CA 35 Indianapolis (F) - 5th Fleet Flagship
Admiral Raymond Spruance
CL96 Reno
CL57 Montpelier
CL55 Cleveland
CL62 Birmingham
Desron 50
DD668 Clarence K. Bronson
DD669 Cotten
DD670 Dortch
DD671 Gatling
DD672 Healy
DD651 Cogswell
DD650 Caperton
DD652 Ingersoll
DD653 Knapp
DD515 Anthony
DD516 Wadsworth
DD513 Terry
DD630 Braine
TF 58.4
Rear Admiral William
K. Harrill
CV9 Essex
Captain R. A. Ofstie
42 - F6F, 36 - SB2C, 20 - TBF
CVL27 Langley
23 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CVL25 Cowpens
23 - F6F, 9 - TBF
CL53 San Diego
CL64 Vincennes
CL81 Houston
CL89 Miami
DD486 Lansdowne
DD487 Lardner
DD488 McCalla
DD399 Lang
DD407 Sterett
DD408 Wilson
DD370 Case
DD398 Ellet
DD570 Charles Ausburne
DD478 Stanly
DD509 Converse
DD512 Spence
DD514 Thatcher
TF 58.7
Vice Admiral Willis
A. Lee
BB56 Washington (F)
Captain Thomas R. Cooley
Battleship Division 8
Rear Admiral Glenn
B. Davis
BB55 North Carolina
Captain Frank B. Thomas
BB58 Indiana (F)
Captain Jennings
Battleship Division 7
Rear Admiral O. M.
Hustvedt
BB61 Iowa
Captain John L. McCrea
BB62 New Jersey
Captain Carl F. Holden
Battleship Division 9
Rear Admiral E. W.
Hanson
BB57 South Dakota
BB60 Alabama
Captain Fred D. Kirtland
CA45 Wichita
CA36 Minneapolis
CA32 New Orleans
CA38 San Francisco
DD389 Mugford
DD371 Conyngham
DD392 Patterson
DD386 Bagley
DD357 Selfridge
DD480 Halford
DD472 Guest
DD473 Bennett
DD474 Fullam
DD475 Hudson
DD540 Twining
DD798 Monssen
DD541 Yarnall (Radar Pickett)
DD683 Stockham (Radar Pickett)
Pickett Line Submarines
TF 17
Vice Admiral Charles
A. Lockwood, Jr.
SS179 Plunger
Edward Fahy
SS206 Gar
George Lautrup
SS311 Archerfish
William Wright
SS390 Plaice
Clyde Stevens, Jr.
SS193 Swordfish
Edward Montross
SS387 Pintado
Bernard Clarey
SS386 Pilotfish
Robert Close
SS282 Tunny
John Scott
SS218 Albacore
Commander J. W. Blanchard
SS197 Seawolf
SS385 Bang
Anton Gallaher
SS230 Finback
James Jordan
SS186 Stingray
Samuel Loomis
SS229 Flying Fish
Lt. Commander Risser
SS262 Muskallunge
Michael Russillo
SS304 Seahorse
Lt. Commander Cutter
SS388 Pipefish
William Deragon
SS244 Cavalla
Lt. Commander Kossler
SS215 Growler
Ben Oakley
7th Fleet Submarines
Rear Admiral Christie
SS256 Hake
John Broach
SS241 Bashaw
SS263 Paddle
SS257 Harder
Commander Samuel D. Dealey
SS255 Haddo
Chester Nimitz, Jr.
SS272 Redfin
Lt. Commander Austin
SS222 Bluefish
Charles Henderson
SS259 Jack
SS250 Flier
Jack Crowley
*Ships sunk in action
Sources:
1. ‘Battleship at War’ by I. Musicant
2. ‘The Big E’ by Commander E. Stafford,
USN
3. ‘The Iowa Class Battleships’
by M. Muir
4. ‘Warship International No. 1,
1977; Fighting Flattops the Shokaku’s’ by W. Dickson
5. ‘Sea Battles in Close-Up WWII,
Vol. 2, Chapter 8, The Philippine Sea’ by E. Grove
6. ‘Chronology of the War at Sea
1939-1945’ by J. Rohwer & G. Hummelchen
7. ‘A Battle History of the Imperial
Japanese Navy 1941-1945’ by P. Dull
8. ‘Ship Data #1, USS North Carolina
(BB-55)’ by A. Lott & R. Sumrall
9. ‘Ship Data #2, USS Alabama (BB-60)’
by A. Lott & R. Sumrall
10. Nihon Kaigun Website @ http://www.combinedfleet.com/
see Allyn D. Nevitt’s Long Lancers section
11. Nihon Kaigun Website @ http://www.combinedfleet.com/
see Anthony Tully’s ‘Kido Butai’ page
12. ‘U. S. Warships of WWII’ by P. Silverstone
13. ‘Silent Victory; Vol. 2’ by
C. Blair, Jr.