was a

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

pilot

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

(IJN) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He led a successful torpedo attack on the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

''Prince of Wales''. Later he was the leader of the Kisarazu Air Group during

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

and

New Guinea Campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...

and commanded

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

-based

s in various battles in 1942. He was killed in ground combat during the Battle of Kwajalein on 2 February 1944.

Early career

Miyoshi Nabeta graduated from merchant marine college. In January 1934, he became Reserve

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

and entered a reserve pilot training program of the navy, where he specialized in medium bomber aircraft. On 1 August 1934, he was transferred from reserve officer rank to regular officer rank.

Pacific War

On 10 December 1941,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Miyoshi Nabeta participated in the

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse The sinking of ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'' was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of the British colonies of Malaya ( ...

off the south-east coast of

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

. He led a division of torpedo-armed

Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M is a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Air Service (IJNAS) of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to ...

medium bombers from Kanoya Air Group and scored three torpedo hits on the

''Prince of Wales''. Lieutenant Nabeta became the leader (''

Hikōtaichō was a senior naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, normally held by a Lieutenant Commander or a very senior Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant, who commanded all flight personnel in an air group. Administrative role On the ...

'') of the Kisarazu Air Group. On 20 August 1942, he led 19 G4M bombers to Kavieng on

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

to participate in the

. His first mission was on 25 August when he led a formation of 23 bombers from Kisarazu, Misawa and 4th Air Group to attack Henderson Field on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

. On 30 August, he led a formation of 18 bombers from Kisarazu and Misawa to make a level-bombing attack on Allied shipping near Guadalcanal, which sank the destroyer ''Colhoun''. On 2 September, he again led a raid on Henderson Field with 18 bombers from Kisarazu and Misawa. By now he suffered no losses, however, in another raid with 26 bombers on 10 September, he lost two bombers to intercepting US Marine Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters.木更津空飛行機隊戦闘行動調書 On 12 September, Lieutenant Nabeta led a combined raid of 26 bombers from Kisarazu, Misawa and

Chitose Air Group The Chitose Air Group (Chitose Kōkūtai) was an air group of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. The group was formed on 1 October 1939 at Chitose Air Base, Chitose Airfield, Hokkaidō equipped with Mitsubishi G3M, Mitsub ...

on Henderson Field. This time his formation was ambushed by a large force of 28 Wildcats led by

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

John Smith and Lieutenant Commander Leroy Simpler and he lost six bombers. On 27 September, he led 18 bombers from Kisarazu and Takao in a very successful attack on Henderson Field that resulted in the destruction of five Douglas SBD

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s and five Grumman TBF

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

s on the ground, and also damaged six Wildcat fighters. On 14 October, he led another attack of 26 bombers that cratered the airfield. During the raid on 18 October he lost three bombers out of 15 to intercepting Wildcat fighters. His last mission during the Guadalcanal Campaign took place on 25 October, where he led 16 bombers from Kisarazu and the 753rd Air Group on another raid against Henderson Field, during which he lost two bombers. In 1943, Lieutenant Commander Nabeta became a staff officer of the 24th Air Flotilla and was posted on Roi in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

. On 2 February 1944, he was killed in ground combat when Allies landed on Roi.

References

; Notes ; Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabeta, Miyoshi Japanese naval aviators Imperial Japanese Navy officers Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II