Kido Butai

E49440

Kido Butai was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s elite carrier strike force during World War II, responsible for major early-war operations including the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Aliases (2)
  • Dai-go Kōkū Sentai ×1
  • Kido Butai (First Air Fleet carrier strike force) ×1

Statements (44)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Imperial Japanese Navy carrier strike force
naval aviation task force
activeDuring World War II
commander Chuichi Nagumo
Isoroku Yamamoto
Jisaburo Ozawa
commandStructure First Air Fleet
composedOf Akagi
Hiryu
Kaga
Shokaku
Soryu
Zuikaku
country Empire of Japan
dateOfSignificantAction 1941-12-07
declineCause loss of carriers and aircrews at Midway
engagedInBattle Battle of Midway
Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Indian Ocean Raid
attack on Pearl Harbor
engagedInConflict Pacific War
Second Sino-Japanese War
formedFrom fleet aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy
historicalImpact temporarily shifted naval balance in the Pacific toward Japan
languageOfName Japanese
locationOfSignificantAction Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
meaningOfName carrier striking task force
mobile force
militaryBranch naval aviation
notableFor attack on Pearl Harbor
early Pacific War carrier operations
objectiveAtPearlHarbor cripple the United States Pacific Fleet
partOf Imperial Japanese Navy
role offensive carrier strike force
statusByLateWar effectively destroyed as an elite carrier force
strategicDoctrine concentrated carrier task force operations
tacticalStrength mass employment of carrier air power
usedAircraftType Aichi D3A
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
Nakajima B5N
usedWarfareType carrier-based aerial warfare
naval air strikes


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