16 Facts About Naokuni Nomura

Naokuni Nomura was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and briefly served as Navy Minister in the 1940s.

Naokuni Nomura graduated from the 35th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 20 November 1907, ranked 43rd out of 172 cadets.

Naokuni Nomura served his midshipman tour on the cruisers Itsukushima and Kashima.

Naokuni Nomura was promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 December 1919.

Naokuni Nomura graduated from the Naval Staff College with honors in 1920.

Naokuni Nomura subsequently served in a number of staff positions, including that of naval attache to Germany from August 1922 to September 1924.

Naokuni Nomura became a captain on 10 December 1928, and assumed command of the submarine tender Chogei in December 1928.

Naokuni Nomura visited Germany again during most of 1929, and was part of the Japanese delegation to the London Naval Treaty talks.

Naokuni Nomura was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1934.

Naokuni Nomura served in numerous staff positions within the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, including head of Naval Intelligence in 1937.

Naokuni Nomura was promoted to vice admiral on 15 November 1938.

Naokuni Nomura served as commander in chief of the 3rd Fleet from November 1939 to September 1940.

Naokuni Nomura was sent as naval liaison to Europe as part of Japan's participation in the Tripartite Pact from November 1940 to August 1943, and was stationed in Berlin as a naval attache.

Naokuni Nomura returned to Japan on the U-boat U-511, which was presented to Japan by Adolf Hitler and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the Ro-500.

Naokuni Nomura entered the reserves on 15 October 1945 and died at the age of 88 in 1973.

Naokuni Nomura was the center of a controversy in 1971, when he headed a group of Japanese war veterans in an attempt to recover the destroyer Yukikaze after it had been sold for scrap by the Republic of China Navy.