[4] He placed ninth out of 144 cadets in his class, and was good friends with his Naval Academy classmates Tamon Yamaguchi and Yoshio Suzuki, both of whom were killed in action during World War II.

[5] On 1 December 1922, Ugaki entered the Japanese Naval War College (海軍大学校, Kaigun Daigakkō, short form: Kaidai (海大)).

[4] In 1924, he graduated in its 22nd class, and on 1 December 1924 he was promoted to lieutenant commander[4] and began a stint as gunnery officer aboard the light cruiser Ōi.

[7] On 1 December 1937, he took command of the battleship Hyūga,[4] which operated as part of the Japanese blockade of the southern coast of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Ugaki was one of three survivors, the others being the bomber's pilot, Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Hiroshi Hayashi, and the Combined Fleet's Paymaster, Captain Motoharu Kitamura.

After listening to the announcement of Japan's defeat, Ugaki made a last entry in his diary noting that he had not yet received an official cease-fire order, and that as he alone was to blame for the failure of his valiant aviators to stop the enemy, he would fly one last mission himself to show the true spirit of bushido.

Prior to boarding his aircraft, Ugaki posed for pictures and removed his rank insignia from his dark green uniform, taking only a ceremonial short sword given to him by Admiral Yamamoto.

[16] Elements of this last flight most likely followed the Ryukyu flyway southwest to the many small islands north of Okinawa, where U.S. forces were still on alert at the potential end of hostilities.

Endo served as radioman during the mission, sending Ugaki's final messages, the last of which at 19:24 reported that the plane had begun its dive onto an American vessel.

However, U.S. Navy records do not indicate any successful kamikaze attack on that day, and it is likely that all aircraft on the mission (with the exception of three that returned due to engine problems) crashed into the ocean, struck down by American anti-aircraft fire.

Although there are no precise accounts of an intercept made by Navy or Marine fighters or Pacific Fleet surface units against enemy aircraft in this vicinity at the time of surrender, it is possible further research may reveal more detail as to which ships (if any) were attacked.

[citation needed] The next morning, the crew of LST-926 claimed to have found the still smoldering remains of a "cockpit" (implying a shootdown or violent ditching of some sort, but not the exact cause) with three bodies on the beach of Iheyajima Island.