Ships
- IJN Yasoshima Commanding officer from 15 June 1944 (Lieutenant Commander, reserve) · In command when she was sunk, 25 November 1944; survived
Sonichiro Matsumura was a lieutenant commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy who commanded the escort ship and former Chinese cruiser Yasoshima from 15 June 1944 to 25 November 1944. He survived her sinking.
The sources used here do not record his date or place of birth or anything about his family.
He was an officer of the naval reserve. His training and earlier service are not recorded in the sources used here.
He was a lieutenant commander of the naval reserve. On 15 June 1944 he took command of Yasoshima, the former Chinese cruiser Ping Hai, newly rebuilt as an escort ship. Through July and September he escorted convoys from Yokosuka to the Bonins, losing ships to the submarines Bang and Finback. In late September she became flagship of the 1st Transport Squadron, and in November she sailed for Manila. On 25 November 1944, near Santa Cruz on the west coast of Luzon, an aerial torpedo from a Ticonderoga Avenger hit her in the stern and she sank. He and about 100 of her crew survived.
What became of him after this command is not recorded in the sources used here.