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Raizo Tanaka
April 27, 1892 – July 9, 1969
Japanese Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka
Place of birth	Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands	Imperial Japanese Navy
Battles/wars	World War II oBattle of the Java Sea oBattle of Midway oBattle of the Eastern Solomons oBattle of Tassafaronga
Awards	Order of the Rising Sun Gold Rays Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold and Silver Star

Raizo Tanaka (田中 頼三 Tanaka Raizō, April 27, 1892 – July 9, 1969 ^[1]) was a Japanese naval commander during World War II. A torpedo specialist, he mainly commanded destroyer units and was a primary leader of the Tokyo Express reinforcement and resupply runs by navy units during the Guadalcanal campaign. In this capacity he was the victor in the Battle of Tassafaronga in which, utilizing torpedoes, he defeated a much larger force of U.S. cruisers and destroyers.

Contents 1 Early career 2 World War II 3 Postwar 4 References 4.1 Books 4.2 External links 5 Notes

Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan in 1892, Tanaka attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and graduated in 1913 with 50 other classmates in the academy's 41st class. As a midshipman, Tanaka served on various Japanese navy ships from December 19, 1913 to October, 1915, including Azuma, Aki, and Nisshin. After promotion to sub-lieutenant, he served on Kasagi and Kongo. He then attended the basic torpedo and gunnery schools from December, 1916 through December, 1917. He then served on Hatsushimo and Katori before attending the torpedo school advanced course from December, 1919 to December, 1920. Between 1921 and November, 1923 Lieutenant Tanaka was assigned as the executive officer on Karasaki, Iwate, Shiokaze, and Yura.^[2] In December, 1925, Tanaka was appointed as executive officer as well as an instructor at the Japanese navy's torpedo school. After one year at the school, he did two years of staff duty, including one year at Kure, the navy's main base.^[3]

In 1930, Lieutenant commander Tanaka commanded the destroyer Tachikaze and in 1931, after promotion to commander, commanded the destroyer Ushio. From December, 1932 to December, 1936, he worked on the staff for the Yokosuka Naval District. From December 1, 1937 until December 15, 1938, Captain Tanaka commanded the cruiser Jintsu. He then served as Chief of Staff of the Mako Guard District from December 15, 1938 to November 15, 1939. Subsequently, he commanded the battleship Kongo from November, 1939 to November, 1940.^[4]

On September 26, 1941, Captain Tanaka took command of Destroyer Squadron 2 (DesRon2) with his flag on Jintsu. He was promoted to Rear Admiral on October 15 of the same year. DesRon2, under Tanaka, and initially comprising eight destroyers in addition to Jintsu, participated in the Japanese invasions of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, including the Battle of the Java Sea, during the early months of the Pacific War between Japan and Allied forces.^[5]

On May 21, 1942, Tanaka's DesRon2, consisting of Jintsu and 10 destroyers, sortied from Kure to support the Japanese assault on Midway Island by escorting the transports carrying the invasion troops. After the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Midway, the ships returned to Japan via Guam.^[6]

After the Allied landings on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942, Tanaka and DesRon2 departed Japan immediately for the main Japanese central Pacific base at Truk. DesRon2 departed Truk on August 16, escorting a convoy carrying troops to counterattack the Allied forces on Guadalcanal. On August 25, during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, Tanaka's ships were attacked by U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. One transport and one destroyer were sunk and Jintsu was heavily damaged, with Tanaka suffering injuries. Due to the damage to Jintsu, Tanaka shifted his flag to destroyer Kagero.^[7]

Stationing himself at the Japanese naval base in the Shortland Islands, over the next several months Tanaka organized reinforcement and resupply efforts to Japanese forces involved in the Guadalcanal campaign. Due to the threat of Allied air attack, Tanaka directed the use of warships to deliver men and material to Guadalcanal because the warships could make the run to Guadalcanal and back in a single night, reducing their exposure to Allied air attack. The Japanese called these supply runs "Rat Transportation" and the Allies called them the "Tokyo Express."

On November 30, 1942, late in the Guadalcanal campaign, Tanaka personally led an Express run to Guadalcanal. Tanaka's force included eight destroyers which Tanaka led from his flagship Naganami. That night, a U.S. force of five cruisers and four destroyers, commanded by Carleton H. Wright, prepared to intercept Tanaka's ships in Ironbottom Sound near Guadalcanal. Using radar, the U.S. ships surprised Tanaka's force and sank one Japanese destroyer with gunfire. Tanaka, however, quickly responded by issuing orders for his ships to maneuver, fire torpedoes, and vacate the area. The Japanese "Long Lance" torpedos hit four of Wright's cruisers as Tanaka's ships escaped back up The Slot towards the Shortlands. One of the U.S. cruisers sank and the other three hurt cruisers were so badly damaged that it was nine months before any of them returned to action. The Battle of Tassafaronga was one of the most severe defeats suffered by the U.S. Navy in World War II.

On December 12, 1942 on another Express run, Tanaka's destroyer was hit and sunk by torpedos fired from a U.S. PT boat near Guadalcanal and Tanaka was injured. On December 29, 1942 Tanaka was transferred to Singapore. In 1943 he was assigned to shore duty in Burma and remained on shore duty for the rest of the war.^[8] He was promoted to Vice Admiral on October 15, 1944.

Tanaka retired from the navy on June 26, 1946 and died on July 9, 1969 at 77 years of age.^[9]

• Crenshaw, Russell S., Jr. (1995). The Battle of Tassafaronga. Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of Ame. ISBN 1-877853-37-2. 
• D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 081595302X. 
• Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1. 
• Frank, Richard B. (1990). Guadalcanal : The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 0-14-016561-4. 
• Hara, Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1. 
• Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons. Exposition Press. ISBN 0682403334. 
• Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870213113. 
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). "Chapter 8", The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943, vol. 5 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-58305-7. 

• Author unknown. Rear-Admiral Raizo Tanaka. Geocities. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
• Naval History via Flix. Tanaka Raizo. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
• Nishida, Hiroshi. Tanaka, Raizo (Naval Academy 41st). Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
• Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp. HIJMS JINTSU: Tabular Record of Movement. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
• Wendel, Marcus. Japanese Navy: Mako Guard District. Axis History Factbook. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.