Figure 1.-- Japanese dive bomber pilot Lieutenant Kiyoto Furuta was one of the few IJNAS aviators to take part in the Pearl Harbor attack and survive the War. Among other achievements he managed to score hits on the 'USS Enterprise' in two separate battles.

Kiyoto Furuta (古田 清人) was a Japanese carrier dive bomber pilot. He was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture to a poor farm family with five children (1914). We like to post photographs of historical figures as children, but his family was too poor to afford a photographic portrait. The military offered a rare opportunity route for rural farm boys. Desiring to escape the hard work in the field, he volunteered for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (1931). He trained at the Kure naval base and qualified as a mechanic. He wanted to become a pilot. He passed the entrance test for naval pilot training, but had ear problems which were eventually resolved. He trained at the Kasumigaura Training Naval Air Station near Tokyo. He graduated from 32nd class, specializing in dive bombing. We are not sure how this came about. At the time, the IJN placed its primary emphasis on torpedo attack. His real objective was to be a civil aviation pilot, but that was not to be. Japan needed carrier pilots. He flew the Aichi D3A dive bomber. The American designation was 'Val'. It was Japan's primary naval dive bomber -- the counterpart to the American Dauntless. The Vals would sink more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraft. Furuta participated in all of the early carrier battles except for the Coral Sea (1941-42). He was on Akagi during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Darwin and Indian Ocean Raids. He participated on the strike on Midway Atoll and survived the ensuing American air attack which sank Akagi. He then served on Shōkaku during the ferocious naval battles around Guadalcanal during Solomon Islands Campaign. He scored bomb hits on the until then charmed U.S. carrier USS Enterprise--the only American carrier left. He actually succeeded in hitting Enterprise twice--at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. Hitting a carrier was no small feat. Even at Midway, only a few American pilots actually scored hits. Two carrier hits was a rare feat for naval aviators. Japan did not routinely bring its experienced pilots back to help train new recruits. They stayed on station until shot down, losing their irreplaceable combat experience. An exception was Lieutenant Kiyoto Furuta, one of the most extraordinary naval aviators of the War. We are not sure why he came home and served as an instructor. Perhaps his brilliant career was recognized. As far as we know, this is a matter no addressed in the available biographical record. Furuta would be one of the few IJNAS aviators to take part in the Pearl Harbor attack and survive the War. He survived but like many other former officers had a trouble finding a job, since former officers were not allowed to hold public jobs in the post-war period as a result of the policies established by the American occupation authorities.

Created: 5:09 AM 11/6/2020
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Last updated: 4:30 PM 4/1/2024