Mamoru Seki was a dive bomber pilot and officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
14 Facts About Mamoru Seki
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Mamoru Seki is best known for being the commander of the dive bomber squadron of carrier Shokaku and for leading strikes against United States Navy carriers in both Battle of the Eastern Solomons and Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where they severely damaged Enterprise on two occasions.
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Mamoru Seki was killed in action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
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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 Seizo.
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Mamoru Seki enrolled in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1926 and graduated from the 58th class in November 1930.
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Mamoru Seki became one of the first pilots in IJN that specialized in dive bombing and conducted pioneering research and development of dive-bombing techniques.
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Later on, Seki became a flight division leader in the dive bomber squadron of carrier Ryujo and participated in Canton Operation during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938.
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Mamoru Seki was then transferred to Usa Air Group in Oita Prefecture on Kyushu and served as an instructor when the Pacific War started.
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In July 1942, Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki was transferred to the carrier Shokaku as its group commander, as well as its dive bomber squadron leader.
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Mamoru Seki's strike hit Enterprise with three bombs that severely damaged the carrier.
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In late October 1942, Shokaku participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki led the second strike wave that consisted of 19 Aichi D3A dive bombers, 16 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and nine A6M Zero fighters.
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However, during the attack, Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki was hit by anti-aircraft artillery and his D3A caught fire and disintegrated.
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Mamoru Seki's bomb missed Enterprise and landed in the water close to the side of the carrier.
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Mamoru Seki was one of many experienced carrier pilots lost in the battle; among them was his academy classmate Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata, who led the first wave strike that crippled Hornet.