| Unit Name: | First Carrier Division |
| Dates: | April 1, 1928 - April 10, 1945 |
| Country: | Empire of Japan |
| Allegiance: | Axis Powers of World War II |
| Branch: | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Type: | Naval aviation unit |
| Role: | Aircraft carrier support |
| Battles: | Attack on Pearl Harbor Battle of Rabaul Bombing of Darwin Indian Ocean raid Battle of Midway Battle of the Eastern Solomons Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Battle of the Philippine Sea |
| Notable Commanders: | Chūichi Nagumo Jisaburo Ozawa |
was an aircraft carrier unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet. At the beginning of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, the First Carrier Division consisted of the fleet carriers Akagi and Kaga. The division participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor and Indian Ocean Raid. After Akagi and Kaga were sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, carriers Shōkaku, Zuikaku, and Zuihō were redesignated as the First Carrier Division.
| Date | Ships |
|---|---|
| 1 April 1928 (original) | , and Destroyer Squadron 6:, |
| 1 December 1931 | , and Destroyer Squadron 2 :,,, |
| 15 November 1934 | , Hōshō and Destroyer Squadron 5:,,, |
| 1 December 1937 | Kaga and Destroyer Squadron 29:,,, |
| 15 November 1939 | Akagi and Destroyer Squadron 19:,,, |
| 10 April 1941 | Akagi, Kaga and Destroyer Squadron 7:, |
| 14 July 1942 | ,, |
| 1 April 1944 | , Shōkaku, Zuikaku |
| 15 August 1944 | , |
| 15 December 1944 | Amagi, Unryū,,, |
| 10 April 1945 | dissolved |
| Rank | Name | Date | |
| 1 | R.ADM | 1 April 1928 | |
| x | Disbanded | 10 December 1928 | |
| 2 | R.ADM | Sankichi Takahashi | 1 April 1929 |
| 3 | R.ADM | 30 November 1929 | |
| 4 | R.ADM | 1 December 1930 | |
| 5 | R.ADM | 15 November 1932 | |
| 6 | R.ADM | 3 October 1933 | |
| 7 | R.ADM | 1 June 1934 | |
| 8 | R.ADM | 15 November 1935 | |
| 9 | R.ADM | 1 December 1936 | |
| 10 | R.ADM | 1 December 1937 | |
| 11 | R.ADM | 25 April 1938 | |
| 12 | R.ADM | 15 November 1939 | |
| 13 | R.ADM | 1 November 1940 | |
| 14 | V.ADM | 10 April 1941 | |
| 15 | V.ADM | 11 November 1942 | |
| 16 | R.ADM | 1 October 1944 | |
| 17 | R.ADM | 10 December 1944 | |
| x | vacant post | 10 February 1945 | |
| x | dissolved | 10 April 1945 | |
The First Carrier Division participated in the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history, the Battle of the Marianas, and specifically the aircraft carrier Battle of the Philippine Sea (the so-called “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”) on 19–20 June, where the Japanese naval forces were decisively defeated with heavy and irreplaceable losses to their carrier-borne and land-based aircraft.[1]