Shigeharu Murata was a torpedo bomber pilot officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
16 Facts About Shigeharu Murata
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Shigeharu Murata was the commander of torpedo bombers in the Attack on Pearl Harbor that crippled several United States Navy battleships and during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands that resulted in the sinking of carrier Hornet.
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Shigeharu Murata was killed in action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
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Shigeharu Murata entered Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in April 1927 and graduated from the 58th class in November 1930.
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Shigeharu Murata was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in November 1933.
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Shigeharu Murata participated in the early stages of Second Sino-Japanese War and was involved in USS Panay incident on 12 December 1937.
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In March 1938, Lieutenant Murata was transferred to 12th Air Group and assigned as one of the flight division leaders.
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In September 1941, Lieutenant Shigeharu Murata was transferred back to Akagi.
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Shigeharu Murata was assigned as the torpedo squadron leader and was promoted to lieutenant commander.
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Shigeharu Murata participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, where he commanded the torpedo bombers that crippled Battleship Row.
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In July 1942, Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata was transferred to the carrier Shokaku and was assigned as its torpedo bomber squadron leader.
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In late October 1942, Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where he commanded the first strike wave that consisted of 21 D3A dive bombers, 20 B5N torpedo bombers and 21 A6M Zero fighters.
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The torpedo released by Shigeharu Murata appeared to have been among the two that hit the carrier.
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However, during the attack, Shigeharu Murata's B5N was hit by anti-aircraft artillery and went down in flames.
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Shigeharu Murata 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.
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Shigeharu Murata was posthumously promoted by two ranks to captain and received a special individual citation from the IJN.