Yukio Seki

Yukio Seki (関 行男)
Lt. Seki in flightgear
Born(1921-09-29)September 29, 1921
Iyo Saijō, Ehime, Japan
DiedOctober 25, 1944(1944-10-25) (aged 23)
USS St. Lo (CVE-63), Leyte Gulf, Philippines
Allegiance Empire of Japan
Service / branch Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
Years of service1938–44
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 [ja] 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 USS St. Lo's flight deck, being the first kamikazes to sink an enemy ship.