Takahide Aioi Explained

Takahide Aioi
Birth Date:January 4, 1912
Birth Place:Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Allegiance:
Branch: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Serviceyears:IJN

1933-1945
JMSDF: -July 1, 1967

Rank:IJN: Commander
JMSDF: Vice Admiral
Commands:IJN: Vice commander of the 343rd Air Group
JMSDF: Commander of the Fleet Submarine Force, Commander in Chief of the Self Defense Fleet
Battles:Second Sino-Japanese War
Pacific War
Awards:Order of the Rising Sun (3rd Class)
Order of the Sacred Treasure (4th Class)
Order of the Golden Kite (5th Class)

Vice Admiral was commander of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as well as an ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China and the Pacific, he was officially credited with destroying 10 enemy aircraft.

During the Pacific campaign of World War II, Aioi participated in the conquest of the Philippines as a pilot aboard the aircraft carrier Ryūjō. Later, he served as a group leader in the 202 Air Group in the Solomon Islands Campaign. Aioi experienced the Battle of Leyte Gulf aboard the carrier Zuikaku in 1944. He ended the war as executive officer of the 343 Air Group in Japan.

In 1954, Aioi joined the JMSDF, eventually rising to the rank of vice admiral.

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