Native name 大森 茂高 Years of service 1933-1942 Name Shigetaka Omori | Allegiance Empire of Japan Rank Ensign | |
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Died 26 October 1942 (aged 25–26)
South Pacific Service/branch Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) | ||
Shigetaka Ōmori (大森 茂高, Ōmori Shigetaka, 1916 – 26 October 1942) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China and the Pacific, he was officially credited with destroying, or assisting in destroying, nine to 16 enemy aircraft.
In February 1938, Ōmori was posted to the 13th Kōkūtai in China. His first successful aerial combat was on 25 February 1938 over the city of Nanchang. In March he was transferred to the 12th Kōkūtai, with which he flew until December. At the beginning of World War II, he was assigned to the aircrew complement of the aircraft carrier Hōshō.
Ōmori flew from the aircraft carrier Akagi at the Battle of Midway and was credited with destroying two US aircraft over Midway Island and helped in shooting down six US torpedo bombers which attacked the Japanese fleet. After the battle he was transferred to the carrier Shōkaku. Flying from Shōkaku as part of the carrier's combat air patrol, Ōmori was killed in aerial combat during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942.