南雲忠一
In September 1924, "Saga" was reassigned to the Japanese First Fleet. Commander Chūichi Nagumo served as captain from 20 March 1926 to 15 October 1926. She was reassigned to the Japanese Third Fleet from June 1931, joining the 11th Sentai in October 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of hostilities in the Second Sino-Japanese War. From 15 December 1938 to 20 October 1939, she was captained by Commander Tamotsu Oishi. From November 1939, she was assigned to the Second China Expeditionary Fleet in southern China.