Name Takahide Aioi | Died March 6, 1993 | |
 | ||
Years of service IJN: 1933-1945JMSDF: -July 1, 1967 Rank IJN: CommanderJMSDF: Admiral Commands held IJN: Vice commander of the 343rd Air GroupJMSDF: Commander of the Fleet Submarine Force, Commander in Chief of the Self Defense Fleet Battles/wars Second Sino-Japanese WarPacific War Service/branch Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force | ||
Vice Admiral Takahide Aioi (相生高秀, Aioi Takahide, January 4, 1912 – March 6, 1993) was commander of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as well as an ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China and the Pacific, he was officially credited with destroying 10 enemy aircraft.
During the Pacific campaign of World War II, Aioi participated in the conquest of the Philippines as a pilot aboard the aircraft carrier Ryūjō. Later, he served as a group leader in the 202 Air Group in the Solomon Islands Campaign. Aioi experienced the Battle of Leyte Gulf aboard the carrier Zuikaku in 1944. He ended the war as executive officer of the 343 Air Group in Japan.
In 1954, Aioi joined the JMSDF, eventually rising to the rank of vice admiral.