was a dive bomber pilot

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

(IJN) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He is best known for being the commander of the dive bomber squadron of carrier '' Shōkaku'' and for leading strikes against

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(USN) carriers in both

Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific cam ...

and

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

, where they severely damaged ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

'' on two occasions. He was killed in action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

Early career

Mamoru Seki came from a military family; his father was a Captain in IJN and participated in Battle of Tsushima, while his uncle on his mother's side was Vice Admiral Sakonji Seizō. He enrolled in the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students st ...

in 1926 and graduated from the 58th class in November 1930. In April 1932, he was commission as

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. In 1933, he was selected for the navy pilot training program at

Tateyama Tateyama may refer to: People with the surname * Midori Tateyama, Japanese writer * Shohei Tateyama (born 1981), Japanese baseball player * Yoshinori Tateyama (born 1975), Japanese baseball player * Homarefuji Yoshiyuki (born 1985), Japanese su ...

Air Group. He became one of the first pilots in IJN that specialized in dive bombing and conducted pioneering research and development of dive-bombing techniques. After that, he served as an instructor at Kasumigaura Air Group near

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Later on, Seki became a flight division leader (

Buntaichō The was a naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), normally held by a Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant, who commanded a division of flight personnel (Organization of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service#Buntai, ''bu ...

) in the dive bomber squadron of carrier '' Ryūjō'' and participated in

Canton Operation The Canton Operation (; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zhànyì) was part of a campaign by Empire of Japan, Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade Republic of China (1912-1949), China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

in 1938. In October 1941, he was promoted to

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

. He was then transferred to

Usa The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Air Group in

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

on Kyushu and served as an instructor when the Pacific War started.

Pacific War

In July 1942, Lieutenant Commander Seki was transferred to the carrier '' Shōkaku'' as its group commander (

Hikōtaichō The was a senior naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, normally held by a Lieutenant Commander or a very senior Lieutenant, who commanded all flight personnel in an air group. Administrative role On the ground, the ' ...

), as well as its dive bomber squadron leader. In late August 1942, he participated in the

. There he led the first strike wave against the USN carriers that consisted of 27

Aichi D3A The Aichi D3A Type 99 Carrier Bomber ( Allied reporting name "Val") is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was involved in almost all IJN actions, including the a ...

dive bombers and 15

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M w ...

fighters.

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Keiichi Arima was a non-aviator dive bomber Officer (armed forces), officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He participated in Central China campaigns and later led Aichi D3A dive bombers from carrier Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku ...

led one of the three flight divisions (chūtai) within his strike force, while fighter escorts were led by Lieutenant Yasuhiro Shigematsu from ''Shōkaku'' and Lieutenant Moriyasu Hidaka from ''

Zuikaku ''Zuikaku'' (Japanese: 瑞鶴 "Auspicious Crane") was the second and last built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Her aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the ...

''. Seki's strike hit ''Enterprise'' with three bombs that severely damaged the carrier. The second strike wave, led by Lieutenant Sadamu Takahashi of ''Zuikaku'', failed to locate the enemy carriers and therefore missed the opportunity to finish off ''Enterprise''. In late October 1942, ''Shōkaku'' participated in the

, where Lieutenant Commander Seki led the second strike wave that consisted of 19 Aichi D3A dive bombers, 16

Nakajima B5N The Nakajima B5N ( ja, 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II. Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Al ...

torpedo bombers and nine A6M Zero fighters. Like in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, one of the three flight divisions (chūtai) within his strike force was led by Lieutenant Arima. The Zero fighter escort was led by Lieutenant Hideki Shingō, who was the fighter squadron leader of ''Shōkaku''. Seki's strike hit ''Enterprise'' with two bombs and scored one near-miss with another bomb that caused severe damage to the carrier. However, during the attack, Lieutenant Commander Seki was hit by anti-aircraft artillery and his D3A caught fire and disintegrated. His bomb missed ''Enterprise'' and landed in the water close to the side of the carrier. He was one of many experienced carrier pilots lost in the battle; among them was his academy classmate Lieutenant Commander

Shigeharu Murata was a torpedo bomber pilot officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He was the commander of torpedo bombers in the Attack on Pearl Harbor that crippled several United States Navy (USN) battleships and during the Battle of t ...

, who led the first wave strike that crippled ''

Hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

''. He was posthumously promoted to Commander.

References

; Notes ; Sources * * * * * ; Combat reports * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seki, Mamoru 1909 births Japanese naval aviators Imperial Japanese Navy officers 1942 deaths Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Japanese military personnel killed in World War II