Mamoru Seki was a dive bomber pilot and officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He is best known for being the commander of the dive bomber squadron of carrier Shōkaku and for leading strikes against United States Navy (USN) carriers in both Battle of the Eastern Solomons and Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where they severely damaged Enterprise on two occasions. He was killed in action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
Mamoru Seki
Mamoru Seki in a group photo.
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942 and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Guadalcanal campaign. As at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, the ships of the two adversaries were never within sight of each other. Instead, all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or land-based aircraft.
USS Enterprise maneuvering radically under aerial attack and afire on 24 August 1942. Anti-aircraft shell bursts are visible above the carrier.
U.S. carriers Wasp (foreground), Saratoga, and Enterprise (background) operating in the Pacific south of Guadalcanal on 12 August 1942
The disabled Ryujo (just right of center) under high-level attack by B-17 bombers on 24 August 1942. The destroyer Amatsukaze (center bottom) is moving away from Ryujo at full speed and Tokitsukaze (faintly visible, center right) is backing away from the bow of Ryūjō to evade the falling bombs.
A Japanese D3A dive bomber, believed to be piloted by Yoshihiro Iida, is shot down by anti-aircraft fire directly over Enterprise.
