Takeo Kurita

Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita (栗田 健男, Kurita Takeo, 28 April 1889 – 19 December 1977) was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of 149 cadets. As a midshipman, he served on the cruisers Kasagi and Niitaka. On being commissioned as ensign in 1911, he was assigned to Tatsuta. After his promotion to sub-lieutenant in 1913, Kurita served on the battleship Satsuma, destroyer Sakaki and cruiser Iwate. Kurita became a lieutenant on 1 December 1916, and served on a number of ships: cruiser Tone, destroyers Kaba and...