Mitsuo Fuchida

Mitsuo Fuchida
Commander Mitsuo Fuchida (1941-44)
Native name	淵田 美津雄
Born	3 December 1902 (1902-12-03) Katsuragi, Nara, Japan
Died	30 May 1976 (1976-05-31) (aged 73) Kashiwara, Osaka, Japan
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service / branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1924–1945
Rank	Captain
Unit	1st Air Fleet
Commands	Akagi: 1st (flag), 2nd and 3rd air squadrons
Battles / wars	World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Attack on Pearl Harbor Bombing of Darwin Indian Ocean raid Battle of Midway
Other work	Christian evangelist Author

Mitsuo Fuchida (淵田 美津雄, Fuchida Mitsuo, 3 December 1902 – 30 May 1976) was a Japanese captain^[1] in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a bomber observer in the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. He is perhaps best known for leading the first wave of air attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Working under the overall fleet commander, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack.

After the war ended, Fuchida became a Christian convert and evangelist, traveling across the United States and Europe to tell his story. He later settled in the U.S. (although never taking American citizenship for himself).^[2] Some of Fuchida's wartime claims have been challenged as self-serving by historians, including his claimed advocacy for a third wave attack on Pearl Harbor.