Yukio Seki
| Yukio Seki (関 行男) | |
|---|---|
Lt. Seki in flightgear
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|
| Born |
September 29, 1921 Iyo Saijō, Japan |
| Died | October 25, 1944 (aged 23) Leyte Gulf, Philippines |
| Allegiance |
 Empire of Japan
|
| Service/ |
 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
| Years of service | 1938–44 |
| Battles/wars | |
Yukio Seki (関 行男 Seki Yukio, August 29, 1921 – October 25, 1944) was a Japanese naval aviator of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As a kamikaze pilot Lieutenant Seki led one of the three fighter groups of the second official kamikaze attack in World War II (the first official attack was an unsuccessful attempt led by Yoshiyasu Kunō on October 21, 1944). Seki's final action took place on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He led a unit of five bomb-armed Mitsubishi Zero fighters, crash-diving his plane deliberately into the USS St. Lo's flight deck, being the first kamikazes to sink an enemy ship.
Yukio Seki was born 1921 in Iyo Saijō, a small town in Shikoku. His parents ran an antiques store specializing in tea ceremony utensils. At an early age, Seki was exposed to naval training courses at his middle school and planned a career in the Navy. Since naval personnel were fully prepared to die in battle, and since Yukio was an only child, the family adopted a daughter nearly Yukio's age to carry on the family affairs.
In 1938 he tried to enroll in the War Academy of both the Imperial Navy and the ground forces. He was accepted to both; he chose the Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima. During this time, his father died and his mother closed the antiques shop and lived alone. In 1941, one month before the Pearl Harbor attack, Seki graduated and was ordered to the Battleship Fusō. In June of the same year, he was promoted to lieutenant. Soon he was transferred to the seaplane carrier Chitose.
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