Chuichi Nagumo (March 25, 1887 – July 6, 1944) was a Vice Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and Commander of the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy for a while. He was also member of the Fleet Faction group within the navy that wanted unlimited naval growth to build the most powerful navy in the world.
Nagumo was the fleet commander during the bombing of Darwin and attack on Pearl Harbor (task force Carrier Striking Task Force) and number of other military campaigns around the world. In 1944, he was assigned to defend Saipan. His forces were overwhelmed by the invading American forces, and Nagumo committed suicide.
Chuichi Nagumo oversaw the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Akagi.[1] He was hesitant to carry out the proposed invasion ofHawaii, fearing that the American Pacific Fleet would lay waste to his. However, based on the success the initial bombing attack and the reassuring words of Commanders Minoru Genda and Mitsuo Fuchida, and Lt. Saburo Shindo that the American fleet posed no threat, Nagumo agreed to go forward with the invasion.[2]
After Hawaii was successfully invaded and occupied, and the American forces defeated, Nagumo was sent to the Dutch East Indies.[3]
