The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 established during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

History

Established on 15 November 1943, the IJN 9th Fleet was a headquarters unit established to direct Japanese naval operations in New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

. The ships and equipment of the IJN 9th Fleet were under the operational control of the Southeast Area Fleet

Southeast Area Fleet

The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:The Southeast Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy combining the remaining surface elements of the IJN 8th Fleet with the IJN 11th Air Fleet, the No.5 Special Base Unit...

. It provided support for Japanese troops

New Guinea campaign

The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...

 on the northern coast of New Guinea, and also administered the No.2 and No.7 Base units of land forces assigned to occupy northern New Guinea. By the time the IJN 9th Fleet had been established, much of New Guinea had already been retaken by American forces under Operation Cartwheel

Operation Cartwheel

Operation Cartwheel was a major military strategy for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. Cartwheel was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul...

, and the IJN 9th Fleet could do little more than provide defensive support and limited supplies.

In March 1944, survivors of the two Base Units merged into the No.27 Special Base unit, at which time the IJN 9th Fleet came under the operational control of the Southwest Area Fleet

Southwest Area Fleet

The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942 to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces for the invasion, occupation and defense of the...

. It was disbanded on 10 July 1944.

Commanders of the IJN 9th Fleet

Commander in chief

	Rank	Name
1	Vice-Admiral	Yoshikazu Endo	>-

Chief of staff

	Rank	Name
1	Rear-Admiral	Masaki Ogata Masaki Ogata Masaki Ogata is a professional 9 dan Japanese Go player. He became an insei at the Nihon Ki-in in 1976 under Tsuchida Masamitsu, and turned professional in 1980. Ogata won the KIDO magazine Shinjin award with 38 wins and 8 losses in 1983, and the KIDO award for most wins in 1988 with a record of...	>-