During the Pacific War of 1941–1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service disposed of an increasing number of "air fleets" - airborne combat units attached to the Navy. The 1st Air Fleet was the primary carrier unit, while other Air Fleets were for defence, training or supporting naval operations in particular theatres.
See main article: article and 1st Air Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy). The formed the primary carrier fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), a grouping of naval aircraft and aircraft carriers that at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet. As losses mounted, the carriers were removed and the 1st Air Fleet was transformed into a land based Naval aviation force forward based on islands and land masses along the perimeter of the Japanese controlled sphere.
The was organized late in the War to defend the National Defence Zone along with 1st Air Fleet. Their area of responsibility was based in the Kyūshū-Okinawa-Formosa district. In October 1944 Vice admiral Shigeru Fukudome moved his HQ from Taiwan to Manila. There he was reinforced and charged with a share of the air defense of the Philippines. However, most of the airplanes and pilots disappeared in November 1944 as a result of fighting against the Halsey Fleet from the front during the Philippines campaign. Soon thereafter, in Jan 1945, the 2nd Air Fleet was dissolved and merged into the 1st Air Fleet.
| 15 June 1944 (original) | 141st NAG,[1] 345th NAG, 762nd NAG | |||
| 10 July 1944 | 21st Air Flotilla, 25th Air Flotilla, 141st NAG, 221st NAG, 341st NAG, 762nd NAG, 763rd NAG, Kyūshū NAG[2] | |||
| 8 January 1945 | disbanded | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | Shigeru Fukudome | 15 June 1944 | |
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | Ushie Sugimoto | 15 June 1944 | |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | Tomozō Kikuchi | 27 October 1944 | |
The was in charge of air defense of Eastern Japan.
| 10 July 1944 (original) | Combined Fleet | 27th Air Flotilla | ||
| 15 December 1944 | Combined Fleet | 25th Air Flotilla, 27th Air Flotilla, 131st NAG, 210th NAG, 252 NAG, 343rd NAG, 601st NAG, 706th NAG, 722nd NAG, 752nd NAG, 801st NAG 1023rd NAG | ||
| 25 May 1945 | Combined Fleet | 13th Air Flotilla, 25th Air Flotilla, 27th Air Flotilla | ||
| 15 October 1945 | disbanded | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | Shun'ichi Kira | 10 July 1944 | |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | Kinpei Teraoka | 17 November 1944 | |
| 3 | Vice-Admiral | Sadayoshi Yamada | 26 August 1945 | |
| x | vacant post | 1 October 1945 | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | Kanzō Miura | 10 July 1944 | WIA on 30 July 1944 |
| x | vacant post | 31 July 1944 | ||
| 2 | Captain | Tarō Taguchi | 1 August 1944 | |
| x | vacant post | 26 December 1944 | ||
| 3 | Captain | Chūzaburō Yamazumi | 1 January 1945 | |
| 4 | Captain | Chihaya Takahashi | 26 August 1945 | |
| x | vacant post | 1 October 1945 | ||
The was in charge of the air defense of Western Japan.
| 10 February 1945 (original) | Combined Fleet | 203rd NAG, 701st NAG, 721st NAG, 762nd NAG, 801st NAG, 1022nd NAG, Kyūshū NAG, Nansei-Shotō NAG | ||
| 25 May 1945 | Combined Fleet | 12th Air Flotilla, 72nd Air Flotilla, Takuma NAG, 171st NAG, 634th NAG, 701st NAG, 721st NAG, 762nd NAG, 801st NAG, 931st NAG Kyūshū NAG, San'in NAG, Nansei-Shotō NAG, Naikai NAG, Saikai NAG | ||
| 10 October 1945 | disbanded | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | 10 February 1945 | KIA on 15 August 1945 | |
| x | vacant post | 16 August 1945 | ||
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | 17 August 1945 | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Captain Rear-Admiral | 10 February 1945 1 May 1945 | ||
The was a training unit.
| 1 March 1945 (original) | Combined Fleet | 11th CAG,[3] 12th CAG, 13th CAG | ||
| 1 June 1945 | Combined Fleet | Kasumigaura NAG, Yatabe NAG, Hyakurihara NAG, Jinmachi NAG, 2nd Kōriyama NAG, Matsushima NAG, Tōkyō NAG, Genzan NAG | ||
| 10 October 1945 | disbanded | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | 1 March 1945 | ||
| x | vacant post | 1 October 1945 | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | 1 March 1945 | ||
| 2 | Captain Rear-Admiral | 20 June 1945 15 September 1945 | LODD on 15 September 1945 | |
| x | vacant post | 16 September 1945 | ||
See main article: article and 11th Air Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy). The was a grouping of naval aviation and surface units based in Formosa that moved through the Philippines and New Guinea then supported the Solomon Islands campaign during the Japanese advance at the start of the war. Heavily engaged in the Guadalcanal Campaign. From the end of 1942 they provided air cover to the Southeast Area Fleet.
The was in charge of air cover for the Northeast Area Fleet.
| 18 May 1943 (original) | Combined Fleet | No units, they were existence only in the documents. | ||
| 5 August 1943 | 24th Air Flotilla, 27th Air Flotilla, 51st Air Flotilla, Horomushiro Communication Unit, 5th Weather Observation Unit | |||
| 1 April 1944 | Northeast Area Fleet | 27th Air Flotilla, 51st Air Flotilla, Horomushiro Communication Unit, 5th Weather Observation Unit, 41st Air Base Unit | ||
| 5 December 1944 | Combined Fleet | 452nd NAG, Hokutō NAG, Chishima Base Force | ||
| 1 March 1945 | Combined Fleet | Hokutō NAG, Chishima Base Force | ||
| 30 November 1945 | disbanded | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | 18 May 1943 | ||
| 5 August 1943 | Commander in chief of the Northeast Area Fleet | |||
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | 15 September 1944 | Commander in chief of the Northeast Area Fleet | |
| 5 December 1944 | ||||
| 15 February 1945 | Commander in chief of the Ōminato Guard District | |||
| 3 | Vice-Admiral | 15 March 1945 | Commander in chief of the Ōminato Guard District | |
| x | vacant post | 1 October 1945 | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | 18 May 1943 | ||
| 5 August 1943 | Chief of staff of the Northeast Area Fleet | |||
| 5 December 1944 | ||||
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | 6 February 1945 | ||
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | 15 February 1945 | Chief of staff of the Ōminato Guard District Commander of the Ōminato Transportation Department | |
| x | vacant post | 1 October 1945 | ||
The was in charge of air cover for the Southwest Area Fleet.
| 20 September 1943 (original) | Combined Fleet | No units, they were existence only in the documents. | |
| 1 January 1944 | 23rd Air Flotilla, 28th Air Flotilla, 732nd NAG | ||
| 15 August 1944 | Southwest Area Fleet | 28th Air Flotilla, 381st NAG, 102nd Air Base Unit, 104th Air Base Unit | |
| 15 December 1944 | Southwest Area Fleet | 28th Air Flotilla, Malay NAG, Tōin NAG | |
| 5 February 1945 | 23rd Air Flotilla, 28th Air Flotilla, 11th AG,[4] 12th AG, 13th AG, 31st AG, 936th NAG, Malay NAG, Tōin NAG | ||
| 1 June 1945 | 10th Area Fleet | 28th Air Flotilla, 31st AG, 381st NAG | |
| 12 September 1945 | Surrendered to United Kingdom in Singapore. | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral Admiral | 20 September 1943 1 March 1944 | Commander in chief of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | 18 July 1944 | Commander in chief of the Southwest Area Fleet | |
| 15 August 1944 | Commander in chief of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |||
| 3 | Vice-Admiral | 1 November 1944 | Commander in chief of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 4 | Vice-Admiral | 8 January 1945 | Commander in chief of the IJN 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 5 | Vice-Admiral | 13 January 1945 | IJN 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 5 February 1945 | Commander in chief of the 10th Area Fleet and the IJN 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |||
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral Vice-Admiral | 20 September 1943 1 November 1943 | Chief of staff of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral Vice-Admiral | 1 March 1944 15 October 1944 | Chief of staff of the Southwest Area Fleet | |
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | 1 November 1944 | Chief of staff of the Southwest Area Fleet and the 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet Commander of the 31st Special Base Force | |
| 17 November 1944 | Chief of staff of the Southwest Area Fleet and 3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |||
| 4 | Rear-Admiral | 8 January 1945 | Chief of staff of the IJN 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |
| 5 February 1945 | Chief of staff of the 10th Area Fleet and the IJN 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet | |||
The was in charge of air cover for the Central Pacific Area.
| 4 March 1944 (original) | 22nd Air Flotilla, 26th Air Flotilla, Seaplane tender Akitsushima | |
| 5 May 1944 | Central Pacific Area Fleet | Seaplane tender Akitsushima |
| 8 July 1944 | HQ was annihilated | |
| 18 July 1944 | disbanded | |
| Rank | Name | Date | Note, additional post | |
| 1 | Vice-Admiral Admiral | 4 March 1944 8 July 1944 | Commander in chief of the Central Pacific Area Fleet KIA on 8 July 1944 | |
| x | vacant post | 9 July 1944 | ||
| Rank | Name | Date | Additional post | |
| 1 | Rear-Admiral Vice-Admiral | Hideo Yano | 4 March 1944 8 July 1944 | Chief of staff of the Central Pacific Area Fleet KIA on 8 July 1944 |
| x | vacant post | 9 July 1944 | ||