1st Special Squadron (Japanese Navy)


The 1st Special Squadron was an Imperial Japanese Navy fleet. In accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the fleet helped defend Australia and New Zealand as well as Allied shipping in the Pacific and Indian oceans during World War I.

Background

At the outbreak of war, the Royal Australian Navy stood at 3,800 personnel and consisted of sixteen ships, including the , the light cruisers and, the destroyers, and, and the submarines and. Another light cruiser and three destroyers were under construction, and a small fleet of auxiliary ships was also being maintained.
After the Imperial German Navy's German East Asia Squadron was destroyed early in the war, most RAN ships were redeployed to the European theatres, leaving Australia and New Zealand exposed to German merchant raiders operating in the Pacific. The Australian government requested help from the British Admiralty, as the remaining warships could not effectively protect the region. These requests suggested that ships of the United States Navy be deployed to supplement the forces in Australian waters, but instead, the Admiralty contacted Japan and made arrangements for several ships to be sent to Australia.

1st Special Squadron

In January 1917, Japan created the 1st Special Squadron, made up of several cruisers supported by the 2nd Destroyer Division. They were tasked to defend the Strait of Malacca and shipping from Australia to Aden. To provide more coverage, the Japanese Navy formed the 3rd Special Squadron on March 26, 1917, to defend the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. With the capture and sinking of German raiders, the pressure against Allied shipping lessened, and after December 1917, the 3rd Special Squadron was dissolved and the operational area of the 1st Special Squadron was enlarged to include the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. The defence of Australia, New Zealand and of Indian shipping lanes by Japanese ships continued until October 1918.

Ships of the 1st Special Squadron

;Cruisers
NameKanjiImageLaunchedType
矢矧October 3, 1911
対馬December 15, 1902
新高November 15, 1902Niitaka class

;2nd Destroyer Division
NameKanjiImageLaunchedType
神風July 15, 1905
如月September 6, 1905Kamikaze class
初霜—May 13, 1905Kamikaze class
響—March 31, 1906Kamikaze class

Citations