Keizō Komura
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| Keizō Komura | |
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| 25 June 1896 – 14 May 2000[1] | |
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| Place of birth | Nakanojo, Gunma, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1917-1945 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held | Chikuma, Fusō, Musashi 1st Carrier Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II oattack on Pearl Harbor oIndian Ocean Raid oBattle of Midway oBattle of Santa Cruz oBattle of the Philippine Sea o "Operation Ten-Go", |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Komura.
Keizō Komura (古村啓蔵 Komura Keizō?, 25 June 1896 – 14 May 2000) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
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[edit] Biography
Komura was born in Nakanojo, Gunma prefecture. He graduated from the 45th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1917, ranked 10th in his class of 89 cadets. As midshipman, Komura served on the Iwate and Settsu. After his commissioning as ensign, he was assigned to the Hizen and Suwo. He later served in various capacities aboard the battleship Nagato, destroyer Nire, cruiser Izumo, Hokaze, cruiser Kako, and Jintsu.
Komura graduated from the Naval War College (Japan) in 1929, and (with a promotion to lieutenant commander) assumed command of the destroyer Kuretake, followed by the Nametake two years later. From 1932-1934, he was naval attaché to the United Kingdom. After his return to Japan, he served in various staff positions. He was promoted to captain on 15 November 1938.
Komura commanded the cruiser Chikuma during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Participating in naval operations in the Indian Ocean with the carrier task force, Komura took part in several battles including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Santa Cruz.
Komura was captain of the battleship Fusō from December 1942 to June 1943 and Musashi from June until December 1943.
Komura was promoted to rear admiral on 1 November 1943. Appointed chief of staff of the First Task Force, Komura took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. In October 1944, Komura assumed command of the 1st Carrier Division shortly before the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
On 16 November 1944, Yahagi was assigned as the flagship of Rear Admiral Komura's new DesRon 2. On 6 April 1945, Komura received orders for "Operation Ten-Go", to attack the American invasion force on Okinawa. Yahagi was ordered to accompany battleship Yamato from Tokushima for its final suicide mission against the American fleet.
At 1220 on 7 April 1945 the Yamato force was attacked by waves of 386 aircraft (180 fighters, 75 bombers, 131 torpedo planes) from Task Force 58.
At 1246, a torpedo hit Yahagi directly in her engine room, killing the entire engineering room crew and bringing her to a complete stop. Dead in the water, Yahagi was hit by at least six more torpedoes and 12 bombs by succeeding waves of air attacks. Yahagi capsized and sank at 1405 at taking 445 crewmen with her. Rear Admiral Komura was among the survivors rescued by Yukikaze.
Recalled to Japan in May, Komura was stationed in Tokyo Bay as commanding officer of Yokosuka Naval District until 30 November 1945.
Komura lived on after the war to a very advanced age, and was 104 year old when he died in 2000. He was portrayed by actor Hirotaro Honda in the 2005 Japanese movie Otokotachi no Yamato.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Feifer, George (2001). "Operation Heaven Number One", The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-215-5.
- Hara, Tameichi (1961). "The Last Sortie", Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1. — First-hand account of the battle by the captain of the Japanese cruiser Yahagi.
- Skulski, Janusz (1989). The Battleship Yamato. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-019-X.
- Spurr, Russell (1995). A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato, April 1945. Newmarket Press. ISBN 1-55704-248-9.
- Yoshida, Mitsuru; Richard H. Minear (1999). Requiem for Battleship Yamato. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-544-6. — A first-hand account of the battle by Yamato's only surviving bridge officer.
[edit] External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
[edit] Notes
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