Search results
Gunichi Mikawa (三川 軍一, Mikawa Gun'ichi, 29 August 1888 – 25 February 1981) was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that defeated the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of 8 ...
Gunichi Mikawa. Contributor: C. Peter Chen. Mikawa was born on 29 August 1888. He graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1910 at the age of 22, and went on to serve aboard the cruiser Asama, battleship Satsuma, and later the battlecruiser Kongo.
On the night of 11 October, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area—under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa—sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal.
- 11-12 October 1942
- American victory
Learn about Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, who led the Japanese naval force that defeated the U.S. Navy in the first battle of Savo Island in 1942. Find out how he planned, executed, and survived the daring night attack on the Allied invasion fleet off Guadalcanal.
By noon, Eighth Fleet Commander-in-Chief Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa (left); Ohmae, his chief of staff for the upcoming operation; and other fleet staff members had formulated a plan for a night surface attack led by the heavy cruiser Chokai (top) against the enemy vessels.
That night, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa of the Imperial Japanese Navy took advantage of the situation and brought his seven cruisers and one destroyer down “the Slot” between Guadalcanal and Savo Island. Having sent out seaplanes earlier in the day, by nightfall Mikawa now knew the location of U.S. and Australian ships.
Gunichi Mikawa (三川 軍一, Mikawa Gun'ichi, 29 August 1888 – 25 February 1981) was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that defeated the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of 8–9 August ...
