Komura graduated from the Naval Staff College in 1929, and with a promotion to lieutenant commander assumed command of the destroyer Kuretake, followed by the Namikaze two years later. From 1932 to 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 was captain of the battleship Fusō from December 1942-June 1943 and Musashi from June–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, the light cruiserYahagi 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 12:20 on 7 April, the Yamato force was attacked by waves of 386 aircraft (180 fighters, 75 dive bombers, 131 torpedo bombers) from Task Force 58.
At 12:46, 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 14:05 at 30°47′N128°08′E / 30.783°N 128.133°E / 30.783; 128.133 taking 445 crewmen with her. Komura was among the survivors rescued by the destroyer 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 until 1978. He was portrayed by actor Hirotarō Honda in the 2005 Japanese movie Yamato.
Feifer, George (2001). "Operation Heaven Number One". The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb. The Lyons Press. ISBN1-58574-215-5.
Hara, Tameichi (1961). "The Last Sortie". Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN0-345-27894-1. — First-hand account of the battle by the captain of the Japanese cruiser Yahagi.
Yoshida, Mitsuru; Minear, Richard H. (1999). Requiem for Battleship Yamato. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-544-6. A first-hand account of the battle by Yamato's only surviving bridge officer.
External linksedit
Nishida, Hiroshi. "Imperial Japanese Navy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
January 01, 1970
keizō, komura, 古村, 啓蔵, komura, keizō, july, 1896, february, 1978, rear, admiral, imperial, japanese, navy, during, world, born, 1896, july, 1896nakanojo, gunma, japandied7, february, 1978, 1978, aged, tokyo, japanallegiance, empire, japanservice, branch, imper. Keizō Komura 古村 啓蔵 Komura Keizō 20 July 1896 7 February 1978 was a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II Keizō KomuraBorn 1896 07 20 20 July 1896Nakanojo Gunma JapanDied7 February 1978 1978 02 07 aged 81 1 Tokyo JapanAllegiance Empire of JapanService wbr branch Imperial Japanese NavyYears of service1917 1945RankRear AdmiralCommands heldKuretake Namikaze 2nd Destroyer Division Chikuma Fusō Musashi 1st Carrier Division 2nd Destroyer SquadronBattles warsWorld War II Pacific War Attack on Pearl Harbor Indian Ocean Raid Battle of Midway Battle of Santa Cruz Battle of the Philippine Sea Operation Ten Go Contents 1 Biography 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksBiography editKomura was born in Nakanojo Gunma prefecture citation needed He graduated from the 45th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1917 ranked 10th in his class of 89 cadets As midshipman Komura served on the cruiser Iwate and battleship Settsu After his commissioning as ensign he was assigned to the battleships Hizen and Suwo He later served in various capacities aboard the battleship Nagato destroyers Nire and Hokaze and cruisers Izumo Kako and Jintsu Komura graduated from the Naval Staff College in 1929 and with a promotion to lieutenant commander assumed command of the destroyer Kuretake followed by the Namikaze two years later From 1932 to 1934 he was naval attache 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 June 1943 and Musashi from June 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 the light cruiser 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 12 20 on 7 April the Yamato force was attacked by waves of 386 aircraft 180 fighters 75 dive bombers 131 torpedo bombers from Task Force 58 nbsp Light cruiser Yahagi under intense bomb and torpedo attack 2 At 12 46 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 14 05 at 30 47 N 128 08 E 30 783 N 128 133 E 30 783 128 133 taking 445 crewmen with her Komura was among the survivors rescued by the destroyer 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 until 1978 He was portrayed by actor Hirotarō Honda in the 2005 Japanese movie Yamato References edit Nishida Imperial Japanese Navy CombinedFleet comFurther reading editFeifer 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 amp 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 Minear Richard H 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 External links editNishida Hiroshi Imperial Japanese Navy Archived from the original on 2013 01 30 Retrieved 2006 12 08 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Keizō Komura amp oldid 1216138162, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
