Tameichi hara biography of christopher

Japanese naval commander (1900–1980)

Tameichi Hara (原 為一, Hara Tameichi, October 16, 1900 – October 10, 1980) was an Imperial Japanese oceanic commander during the Pacific Battle and the author of class IJN manual on torpedo incursion techniques, notable for his competence in torpedo warfare and dim fighting.

Hara was the one and only IJN destroyer captain at prestige start of World War II to survive the entire contention and his memoirs serve kind an important source for historians.

Early life

Hara was born touch on October 16, 1900, in well-ordered suburb of Takamatsu City point the finger at the island of Shikoku.^[1] Fine native of Kagawa Prefecture viewpoint of samurai descent, Hara piecemeal with the 49th class raid the Imperial Japanese Naval Establishment at Etajima in 1921.

Spiky 1932 Hara was assigned rightfully a surface warfare instructor most recent wrote a torpedo attack guide that was accepted as legal doctrine. He began the contention as the captain of destroyerAmatsukaze.

Military career

Hara commanded a Asiatic destroyer or destroyer division generate many significant Pacific sea battles.

As captain of the AmatsukazeCommander Hara participated in the Struggle against of the Java Sea, dignity capturing of the hospital forethought SS Op Ten Noort and excellence sinking of the submarinesHNLMS K X and USS Perch, and the post of Christmas Island.^[2] He wrote in his memoirs of obtaining spotted Perch in the illumination of the night after detection it when he saw first-class sailor topside on the utensil light a cigarette an reputed 4,000 meters (4,400 yd) away.^[3] Convince his command, Amatsukaze also took part in the Battle elect Midway in June 1942 jaunt the Battle of the Southeastern Solomons in August 1942.

Take forward 13 November 1942 Hara's Amatsukaze sank the destroyer USS Barton duct helped to sink the emit cruiser USS Juneau during the Marine Battle of Guadalcanal but was severely damaged in turn equate Hara left his searchlights supervisor too long and drew influential fire from the light cruiserUSS Helena.^[4]

After Amatsukaze returned to Japan go for repairs, Hara was promoted tackle captain and given the demand of Destroyer Division 27, hurried his flag aboard Shigure.

Thoroughly this was technically a four-ship formation the demands on probity Imperial navy were such meander Hara's ships rarely operated turn out. While serving aboard Shigure, Hara was involved in several bestial naval engagements during the happening part of the Solomon Islands Campaign. While on a re-supply mission through Blackett Strait distort 2 August 1943, Hara fascinate a fireball exploding near solid destroyer Amagiri and ordered Shigure's crew to shoot at distinction burning wreckage of Lt.

Gents F. Kennedy's patrol torpedo boat PT-109.^[5] During the Battle of Vella Gulf on 6–7 August Shigure was the only one disagree with four Japanese destroyers to do a runner, though she was later difficult to have been hit vulgar a torpedo, passing through authority rudder, that failed to explode.^[6]

Although undamaged in the Bombing innumerable Rabaul (November 1943), Shigure was ordered back to Sasebo uncontaminated a long overdue refit.

Hara was relieved of his walk and reassigned as senior enforcer instructor at the Naval Bruiser School at Oppama near Yokosuka to teach students in integrity Imperial Japanese Navy's belated Efferent Torpedo Boat program.^[7] Hara was quickly frustrated with the dearth of effective equipment as plight as the lack of supervision in the navy and drove.

He hastily wrote a murder intended for Emperor Hirohito prod him to fire the heads of the army and 1 and seek peace as nobility war was lost, and hand-delivered it to Hirohito's younger kin Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu, at justness Navy Ministry. Despite the potentially grave consequences of this interchange Hara did not hear anything further on the matter.^[8]

Hara's solid sortie was as captain magnetize the light cruiserYahagi as flagship of the destroyer screen related Yamato on her fateful resolute mission as part of Dutiful Ten-Go.

He ended the hostilities at Kawatana training Japanese sailors to operate Shinyo suicide boats, where he witnessed firsthand say publicly effects of the second atomlike bombing.

Major wartime actions

During nobility war Captain Hara participated send back 14 major actions:

• Air search against American naval base horizontal Davao on Mindanao (Philippines), 8 December 1941, escorting aircraft canal Ryūjō; a complete fiasco, importation no American ships were derrick (on Amatsukaze)
• Invasion of Davao approve 20 December 1941, an uncomplicated Japanese victory, as the glue was already almost completely evacuated (on Amatsukaze)
• Invasion of Ambon Cay, 30 January – 3 Feb 1942, a Japanese victory (on Amatsukaze)
• Battle of the Java Poseidon's kingdom, 27–28 February 1942, a fair Japanese victory (on Amatsukaze)
• Invasion do away with Christmas Island, 31 March 1942, an easy Japanese victory brand British garrison surrendered without obstruction (on Amatsukaze)
• Battle of Midway, 4–7 June 1942, a decisive Nipponese defeat (on Amatsukaze)
• Battle of leadership Eastern Solomons, 24–25 August 1942, a serious Japanese defeat (on Amatsukaze)
• Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, spruce up costly Japanese victory (on Amatsukaze)
• Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 Nov 1942, a costly Japanese overcome (on Amatsukaze)
• Battle of Vella Channel, 6–7 August 1943, a suppression Japanese defeat (on Shigure)
• Battle get angry Horaniu, 17 August 1943, hard to believe (on Shigure)
• Battle of Vella Lavella, 6 October 1943, the remaining Japanese naval victory of honesty war (on Shigure)
• Battle of Sovereign Augusta Bay, 1–2 November 1943, a heavy Japanese defeat (on Shigure)
• Operation Ten-Go, 7 April 1945, a crushing Japanese defeat (on Yahagi)

List of victories^[9]

• British oil soldier, destroyed by Amatsukaze's guns cloth the successful capture of picture port of Davao
• SS Op Ten Noort, a Dutch hospital ship deviate Amatsukaze helped to capture universe 28 February 1942.

  She escorted Op Ten Noort to Island where she was converted pierce a prisoner of war ship.^[10]

• HNLMS K X, a Dutch submarine soberly damaged by Amatsukaze and class destroyer Hatsukaze on 1 Tread 1942. K X was scuttled the next day in entertain due to being damaged also badly to escape the more and more hostile port of Surabaya.^[11]
• USS Perch, hoaxer already crippled US submarine ripened off by Amatsukaze and greatness destroyer Yukikaze, 3 March 1942.^[11]
• USS Barton, US destroyer sunk by bend in half torpedo hits fired by Amatsukaze during the Naval Battle endowment Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942.
• USS Juneau, Strong-minded light cruiser crippled by unmixed torpedo from Amatsukaze, and seasoned accomplished off the next day coarse submarine I-26 as Juneau limped back to base.

  Battle flaxen Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942.

• USS Selfridge, Eclectic destroyer crippled and put become known of action for six months by torpedoes fired by destroyers Shigure and Samidare under Hara's command. Battle of Vella Lavella, 6–7 October 1943.

Approximately ten Dedicated, British, and Australian aircraft were shot down by the uprooter Shigure and light cruiser Yahagi while under Hara's command, sort through not all of these claims are verified by Allied large quantity.

Later life and memoirs

Postwar Hara commanded merchant ships which delirious salt. Hara was the sole IJN destroyer captain at influence start of World War II who survived the war.^{[citation needed]} This left him the distinct surviving witness to several critical meetings and conferences which purify recounted in his memoirs.

Hara's memoirs, Japanese Destroyer Captain: Shortage Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway – position Great Naval Battles as Abnormal Through Japanese Eyes (1961), were translated into English and Romance and became an important direction for the Japanese perspective convey historians writing about the Conciliatory Campaign of World War II.

In his memoir, Hara objects to compulsory suicide as authentic doctrine, which he saw pass for a violation of bushido rationalism. His personal doctrines demonstrate reason he survived the war bid the Japanese lost it – they were inflexible, and of course was not. His doctrines were "Never ever do the hire thing twice" and "If no problem hits you high, then smack him low; if he hits you low, then hit him high", the latter being besides a maxim of Douglas MacArthur's.

Hara criticizes his superiors be pleased about using cavalry tactics to battle naval battles; never understanding dignity implications of air power; severance their forces in the slender of enemy forces of dark strength; basing tactics on what they thought their enemy would do; failing to appreciate integrity speed with which the hostile could develop new weapons impressive accepting a war of sorrow with a foe more athletic of maintaining it.

Hara does make some mistakes in that memoir, the most egregious custom which would be his requisition that the destroyer Murasame torpedoed and sank the light automobile USS Helena at the naval fight of Guadalcanal, (Helena actually survived the battle without significant lesion, and was only later undone at the battle of Kula Gulf by the destroyers Suzukaze and Tanikaze, 6 June 1943), and that there were iii Japanese battleships at the Ordinal naval battle of Guadalcanal (there was in fact only sole, the Kirishima).^[12]

Personal life

Hara had span children with his wife Chizu: two daughters Keiko and Yoko, and a son, Mikito, who was born shortly before righteousness start of hostilities.

Notes

References

External links