Takeo Takagi (高木 武雄) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the commander of the IJN 6th Fleet, which oversaw the deployment of all submarines.

Biography

Takagi was a native of Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture. He was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, ranking 17th of 148 cadets in 1911. As a midshipman, he served on the cruiser JAPANESE CRUISER Aso and battleship JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Shikishima, and after his commissioning as ensign, on the cruiser JAPANESE CRUISER Asama and battleship JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Kawachi. As a lieutenant, he served on submarine JAPANESE SUBMARINE S-15, and following advanced coursework in navigation and in torpedo warfare, he became executive officer and then captain of the submarine JAPANESE SUBMARINE S-24. After graduation from Naval Staff College in 1923, he was promoted to lieutenant commander, and assumed command of the submarine JAPANESE SUBMARINE Ro-28, followed by JAPANESE SUBMARINE Ro-68 in 1926. He was promoted to commander in 1928, and held a number of staff positions. He was sent to the United States and Europe in 1931, and promoted to captain in 1932. In 1933, Takagi was assigned command of the cruiser JAPANESE CRUISER Nagara, followed by JAPANESE CRUISER Takao in 1936 and the battleship JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Mutsu in 1937. Takagi was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1938, and was Chief of the 2nd Section of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in 1939. At the start of the Pacific War, Takagi was commanding the naval forces supporting the invasion of the Philippine Islands in late 1941, Takagi headed the task force covering the Java landings in Dutch East Indies. He was senior Japanese commander in the Battle of the Java Sea, sinking two cruisers and three destroyers in exchange for damage to a single Japanese destroyer. Takagi was promoted to vice admiral on 1 May 1942. He was commander of the carrier task force (JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Shōkaku and JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Zuikaku) in "Operation Mo". Thus he was also senior Japanese commander at the Battle of the Coral Sea. He commanded the 5th Cruiser Division during the Battle of Midway. In November 1942, Takagi was reassigned to be commander of the Mako Guard District. In April 1943, The Guard District moved to Takao, Taiwan and Takagi was assigned to be commander of the renamed Takao Guard District. On 21 June 1943, he was again given a front line assignment, when he was made commander of the IJN 6th Fleet (submarines), based in the Mariana Islands. Takagi was killed in action during the Battle of Saipan in 1944. Missing after the battle, it is not clear whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape in a submarine. He was posthumously promoted to full admiral.

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