Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)

The 3rd Fleet (第三艦隊) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions.

Russo-Japanese War
First established on 28 December 1903, the 3rd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as an administrative unit to manage vessels considered obsolete for front-line combat service. These vessels were used primarily for training and for coastal patrol duties. The 3rd Fleet came under the aegis of the Combined Fleet for the duration of the Russo-Japanese War from March 1904. Although initially derided as a "dinosaur fleet", the 3rd fleet proved invaluable at the Battle of Tsushima and the Invasion of Sakhalin. It was disbanded on 20 December 1905.

South China Fleet
The 3rd Fleet was revived on 24 December 1908 as an expeditionary force during the Chinese Republican Revolution, to safeguard Japanese interests (civilians and property) on the Chinese mainland and (if necessary) to conduct emergency evacuation. It was nicknamed the "South China Fleet" after its chief area of envisioned activity was the South China Sea. Its cruisers patrolled the Yangtze River and other large rivers in China, and its headquarters was in the Japanese concession in Shanghai. It was disbanded on 25 December 1915.

World War I
The 3rd Fleet was reconstituted on the same day as the dissolution of the "South China Fleet", initially to act as a training force to supplement Japan's contribution to the World War I under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. When the Russian Revolution was proclaimed by the communist forces in Russia, the mission of the 3rd Fleet was changed to that of patrols of the Russian sea coast for the Siberian Intervention by Japanese ground forces in support of anti-Bolshevik forces. The 3rd Fleet was disbanded on 1 December 1922, and many of its vessels were scrapped almost immediately under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

First China Expeditionary Fleet
The 3rd Fleet was again raised on 2 February 1938 as part of Japan's emergency buildup of forces after the Shanghai Incident. The buildup took the form of three separate expeditionary fleets, consisting primarily of cruisers and gunboats to patrol the Chinese coast and major riverways and to support the landings of Japanese ground forces. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the 3rd Fleet came under the aegis of the China Area Fleet. It was disbanded on 15 November 1939; however, some of the organizational and command structures for ground forces under the First China Expeditionary Fleet remained in place until August 1943.

Southern Expeditionary Fleet
The 3rd Fleet was recreated once again on 10 April 1941 with the additional designation "Southern Expeditionary Fleet" for the specific task of invading the Philippines. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, its headquarters was in Palau and its mission expanded to include the invasions of Java, Borneo and other islands of the Netherlands East Indies. It was superseded by the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet under the aegis of the Southwest Area Fleet on 10 March 1942.

Order of Battle at time of Pearl Harbor

 * Based at Takao, Formosa

12th Carrier Division
 * AV Kamikawa Maru (flagship)
 * AV Sanuki Maru
 * AV Sanyo Maru

16th Division
 * CL Nagara (fleet flagship)
 * CL Kuma
 * CA Ashigara

17th Division
 * AN/CM Itsukushima (flagship)
 * AN/CM Yaeyama
 * CM Tatsumiya Maru
 * CM Tatsuharu Maru

Supply Group
 * AR Yamabiko Maru
 * AP Senko Maru
 * AW Koan Maru
 * AW Asayama Maru (aka Chozan Maru or Chosan Maru)
 * AW Goryu Maru
 * AO Hayatomo Maru
 * AO Genyo Maru
 * AP Kosei Maru
 * AGS Kyodo Maru

5th Destroyer Squadron
 * CL Natori (flagship)
 * 5th Destroyer Division
 * DD Asakaze
 * DD Harukaze
 * DD Hatakaze
 * DD Matsukaze
 * 22nd Destroyer Division
 * DD Fumizuki
 * DD Minazuki
 * DD Nagatsuki
 * DD Satsuki

6th Submarine Squadron
 * AS Chōgei (flagship)
 * 9th Submarine Division
 * I-123
 * I-124
 * 9th Submarine Division
 * I-121
 * I-122

1st Base Force
 * 21 Minesweeper Division
 * AM W-7
 * AM W-8
 * AM W-9
 * AM W-10
 * AM W-11
 * AM W-12
 * 1st Gunboat Division
 * PG Busho Maru
 * PG Keiko Maru
 * PG Kanko Maru
 * PG Myoken Maru
 * 1st Subchaser Division
 * PC Ch-1
 * PC Ch-2
 * PC Ch-3
 * 2nd Subchaser Division
 * PC Ch-13
 * PC Ch-14
 * PC Ch-15
 * 51st Subchaser Division
 * PC Kyo Maru No. 12
 * PC Kyo Maru No. 13
 * AN Tōkō Maru No. 1 Go
 * 52nd Subchaser Division
 * PC Shonan Maru No. 17
 * PC Takunan Maru No. 5
 * AN Fukuei Maru No. 15
 * Other
 * AN/CM Shirataka
 * AN/CM Aotaka
 * AGM Ikushima Maru
 * AGM Kimishima Maru
 * AP Myoku Maru
 * AG Hakusan Maru

2nd Base Force
 * 21st Torpedo Boat Division
 * PT Chidori
 * PT Hatsukari
 * PT Manazuru
 * PT Tomozuru
 * 11th Minesweeper Division
 * AM W-13
 * AM W-14
 * AM W-15
 * AM W-16
 * 30th Minesweeper Division
 * AM W-17
 * AM W-18
 * AM W-19
 * AM W-20
 * 2nd Gunboat Division
 * PG Kamitsu Maru
 * PG Tokuyo Maru
 * PG Taiko Maru
 * PM Banyo Maru
 * 3rd Gunboat Division
 * PG Aso Maru
 * PG Kiso Maru
 * PG Nampo Maru
 * 53rd Subchaser Division
 * PC Kyo Maru No. 2
 * PC Kyo Maru No. 11
 * AN Korei Maru
 * 54th Subchaser Division
 * PC Shonan Maru No. 1
 * PC Shonan Maru No. 2
 * AN Nagara Maru
 * 21st Subchaser Division
 * PC Ch-4
 * PC Ch-5
 * PC Ch-6
 * PC Ch-16
 * PC Ch-17
 * PC Ch-18
 * 31st Subchaser Division
 * PC Ch-10
 * PC Ch-11
 * PC Ch-12
 * Other
 * CMN Wakataka
 * ACM Nichiyu Maru
 * PG/CM Imizu Maru
 * PG/CM Seian Maru
 * PG/CM Shinko Maru
 * AP Sumanoura Maru
 * AP Kumagawa Maru
 * AP Kenryu Maru
 * AG Hakozaki Maru

32nd Special Base Force
 * 1st Patrol Boat Division
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 1
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 2
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 32
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 33
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 34
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 35
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 36
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 37
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 38
 * PB Patrol Boat No. 39
 * Other
 * CMc Kamome
 * CMc Tsubame
 * PG/CM Imizu Maru
 * AMc Nichiyu Maru

World War II (post-July 1942)
The sixth (and final) incarnation of the 3rd Fleet was formed on 14 July 1942 immediately after the disastrous Battle of Midway as an aircraft carrier task force modeled after similar units in the United States Navy. It was centered on the new aircraft carriers JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Shōkaku and JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Zuikaku. It played an important role during the Pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Santa Cruz, in which the American aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) was sunk, but at the cost of many of the best air crews in the Japanese Navy.

After March 1944, the 3rd Fleet was basically merged with the 2nd Fleet, and suffered through the disastrous Battle of the Philippine Sea, losing 3 of its aircraft carriers, including the newly commissioned JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Taihō and over 350 carrier planes.

In October 1944, the 3rd Fleet was designated the "Northern Force" in a three-force plan to defeat the Allied invasion of the Japanese-held Philippines. The 3rd Fleet carriers were divested of all but 108 aircraft and sent to lure the American-led fleet away from protecting the troop landing ships. On 25–26 October, facing a large force that included ten USN carriers, with 600–1,000 aircraft, 3rd Fleet lost 4 aircraft carriers, one light cruiser and one destroyer at the Battle off Cape Engaño. The 3rd Fleet effectively ceased to exist, and was officially disbanded on 15 December 1944.

3rd Creation (2nd Sino-Japanese War)
''On 15 November 1939 the 3rd Fleet was reorganized into the 1st China Expeditionary Fleet. Admiral Oikawa retained command of the China Area Fleet but command of the former 3rd Fleet passed to Tanimoto Umatarō. Command History continues there.''

4th Creation (Pacific War)
Chief of Staff