was a

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

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 was the commander of torpedo bombers in the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

that crippled several

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) battleships and during the

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 ...

that resulted in the sinking of carrier ''Hornet''. He was killed in action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

Early career

Shigeharu Murata entered

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 April 1927 and graduated from the 58th class in November 1930. In April 1932, he completed the navy pilot training program at Kasumigaura Air Group and was commissioned 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 ...

. He was promoted to

Lieutenant Junior Grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

in November 1933. In July 1934, he was assigned to

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 and in October 1935 to carrier '' Kaga''. In October 1936, 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, ...

and was promoted to full

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 ...

in December. In 1937, he was transferred to the 13th Air Group and flew a

Yokosuka B4Y The Yokosuka B4Y, (Navy Type 96 Carrier Attack Bomber), carrier-borne torpedo bomber was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1936 to 1943. The B4Y replaced the Mitsubishi B2M2 and was the last biplane bomber used operationally b ...

bomber. He participated in the early stages of

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 ...

and was also involved in

USS Panay incident The USS ''Panay'' incident on December 12, 1937, was a Japanese bombing attack on the U.S. Navy river gunboat and three Standard Oil Company tankers on the Yangtze River. They strafed survivors in the water. The boats were rescuing U.S. and Ch ...

on 12 December 1937. In March 1938, Lieutenant Murata was transferred to 12th Air Group and assigned as one of the flight division leaders (

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 ...

). There he participated in strikes on

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

Central China Central China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially part of South Centra ...

. In December, he was transferred to carrier '' Akagi'' and became flight division leader (Buntaichō) in the torpedo bomber squadron. In June 1939, he was assigned 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 in October he began an advanced training course for torpedo attack specialization at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

Air Group. In November 1940, he was appointed as an instructor at the same Air Group and conducted research on torpedo attack techniques in shallow waters.

Pacific War

In September 1941, Lieutenant Murata was transferred back to ''Akagi''. He was assigned as the torpedo squadron leader (as

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 ' ...

) and 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 participated in the

, where he commanded the torpedo bombers that crippled Battleship Row. After that, he participated in the

Indian Ocean Raid The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...

and subsequently in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

. He was on board ''Akagi'' when the bomb released by Lieutenant

Dick Best Dick Best (born 22 September 1954) is a former rugby union coach, and current journalist. Best was Director of Rugby at London Irish. He coached the England national team. England won 13 and lost two of the 17 games played when Best was their c ...

hit the carrier and set it afire. In July 1942, Lieutenant Commander Murata was transferred to the carrier '' Shōkaku'' and was assigned as its torpedo bomber squadron leader (as

). In late August 1942, he participated in the

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 ...

, however, he did not see any action. For this battle, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo had decided to hold the

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 in reserve, while allocating two waves of

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 to soften up the enemy fleet beforehand. The dive bomber strikes, under Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki (''Shōkaku'') and Lieutenant Sadamu Takahashi (''Zuikaku'') respectively, were launched late in the afternoon, leaving little possibility of launching the torpedo bombers. In late October 1942, Lieutenant Commander Murata participated in the

, where he commanded the first strike wave that consisted of 21 D3A dive bombers, 20 B5N torpedo bombers and 21

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 was ...

fighters. The dive bombers were led by Lieutenant Sadamu Takahashi from ''Zuikaku'', while four escorting ''Shōkaku'' fighters were led by Lieutenant Hisayoshi Miyajima, eight from ''Zuikaku'' by Lieutenant Ayao Shirane and nine from ''Zuihō'' by Lieutenant Moriyasu Hidaka. On the way, the IJN strike force encountered a USN strike force on a reciprocal course. At that point, Lieutenant Hidaka and his nine Zeros abandoned the escort duty and attacked the USN aircraft. When the rest of the strike force approached the USN fleet, Murata led an extremely well-coordinated torpedo and dive-bombing attack that achieved three bomb and two torpedo hits on the carrier ''Hornet''. The torpedo released by Murata appeared to have been among the two that hit the carrier. However, during the attack, Murata's B5N was hit by anti-aircraft artillery and went down in flames. He was one of the many experienced carrier pilots lost in the battle; these included his academy classmate, Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki, who led the second wave strike that 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 ...

''. He was posthumously promoted by two ranks to Captain and received a special individual citation from the IJN.

Portrayal in media

Shigeharu Murata appeared in the 1970 film

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ！) is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji ...

and was portrayed by Japanese actor Toshio Hosokawa (細川俊夫).

References

; Notes ; Sources * * ; Combat reports * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murata, Shigeharu 1909 births 1942 deaths Imperial Japanese Navy officers Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni Japanese military personnel killed in World War II Japanese naval aviators Japanese World War II bomber pilots Aviators killed by being shot down Battle of Midway