World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMasafumi Arima was born in Ijuin village (now part of Hioki city), Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan in 1895. He attended Tsurumaru Kagoshima Prefectural High School before joining the Japanese Navy. Despite his family's financial troubles during this time, he graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1915 and served aboard cruiser Iwate as a midshipman, aboard which he would visit ports in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and other places. In the 1920s, he served aboard several warships, including battleships Kongo and Hiei. In 1928, he completed his studies at the Naval War College and was promoted to the rank of lieutenat commander. After serving aboard battleship Haruna and cruiser Asama in the 1930s, he was promoted to the rank of captain to command converted seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru on 1 Dec 1937. He saw little action during the Second Sino-Japanese War which began in 1937, instead oversaw several naval air bases in Japan through 1942. On 25 May 1942, he was made the commanding officer of fleet carrier Shokaku, aboard which he saw actions in the Solomon Islands. He was described by his subordinates as a personable commanding officer who, for example, took the effort to greet the bridge personnel with a "good morning" each day. In May 1943, he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. In Apr 1944, he was made the commanding officer of 26th Air Flotilla, based at Clark Air Base in central Luzon island, Philippine Islands. Some time in mid-Oct 1944, he personally led a suicide attack targeting the US fleet off the Philippine Islands; it was unknown whether his flight had succeeded in damaging any targets. Arima was officially credited by the Japanese Navy as the first officer to make use of a special attack, and was posthumously promoted to the rank of vice admiral.

Masafumi Arima Interactive Map

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Masafumi Arima Timeline