World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseShigetada Horiuchi was a graduate of the Naval Academy and the Naval War College. In Nov 1929, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and served aboard the light cruiser Nagara as her chief navigator. Between Feb 1931 and Feb 1933, he served in London as a naval attaché. After some time as a staff officer, he became the executive officer of light cruiser Yura in 1935. As Japan became involved in WW2 starting in 1937 with the Second Sino-Japanese War, he first served in various staff positions, including a 7-month period as a naval attaché to Japanese-occupied Indochina. He became the Chief of Staff of the 1st Escort Fleet in May 1944, which was responsible for escorting transports in the general Taiwan, Philippines, and Borneo area; during a post-war interrogation, he told Captain Steadman Teller of the US Navy that American submarine patrols frustrated him deeply. He was made the commanding officer of the 901st Air Group based at Takao in Taiwan from Jan 1945 until the end of the war. He had 170 aircraft of various types spread throughout the region, with a concentration of his fighters at Hainan, China. He was mostly engaged in the protection of surface transport vessels, particular oil tankers sailing for Japan, by means of hunting down Allied submarines.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Horiuchi assisted in the demobilization of Japanese armed forces.

Shigetada Horiuchi Timeline