Mitsumi Shimizu
|
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Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi (November 1941)
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Native name
| ?水 光美
|
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Born
| March 16, 1888
Nagano prefecture
, Japan
|
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Died
| May 5, 1971
(1971-05-05)
(aged 83)
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Allegiance
|
Empire of Japan
|
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Service/
branch
|
Imperial Japanese Navy
|
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Years of service
| 1908?1944
|
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Rank
| Vice Admiral
|
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Commands held
| Tama
,
Ise
, Naval Personnel Bureau, 7th Squadron,
6th Squadron
,
Training Fleet
,
3rd China Expeditionary Fleet
,
6th Fleet
,
1st Fleet
|
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Battles/wars
| |
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Mitsumi Shimizu
(
?水 光美
,
Shimizu Mitsumi
, March 16, 1888 ? May 5, 1971)
was a
vice admiral
in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
in
World War II
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Shimizu was a native of
Nagano prefecture
. He graduated 24th out of 191 cadets from the 36th class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
, in November 1908. His classmates included future admirals
Chuichi Nagumo
and
Nishiz? Tsukahara
.
[1]
He served his
midshipman
duty on the cruiser
Soya
, battleship
Katori
and cruiser
Hashidate
, and as an
ensign
on the
battlecruiser
Ikoma
and
Sagami
. He subsequently served in the Personnel Department of the
Navy Ministry
, specializing in legal affairs and accounting. However, realizing that the key to promotion in the navy was via command of a vessel, he requested a transfer as a
lieutenant commander
in 1925 to a
submarine tender
, and was appointed
XO
of the
Jingei
.
[2]
After being sent to Europe and the United States in 1929, he was promoted to
commander
in 1929, and became captain of the
cruiser
Tama
in 1931. In November 1934, he received command of the
battleship
Ise
, and in 1935 became
Chief of staff
of the
Sasebo Naval District
.
[3]
He was promoted to
rear admiral
the same year. He became a
vice admiral
in 1939.
In June 1940, Shimizu was appointed
commander in chief
of the IJN Training Fleet. However, in July 1941, he was transferred to take command of the
IJN 6th Fleet
, which consisted of the Japanese
submarine
forces. He was serving in this capacity during the
attack on Pearl Harbor
, and authorized the
midget submarine
force which attempted to penetrate
American defenses
at the start of the attack.
[4]
On 1 February 1942, an American task force raided
Kwajalein
,
Wotje
, and
Maloelap
in the
Marshall Islands
, sinking three ships, damaging eight, and destroying numerous airplanes and ground facilities.
Enterprise
received only minor damage in the Japanese counterattack, and for his failure to sink the
aircraft carrier
with his submarines, Shimizu was reassigned in July 1942 to take command of the
IJN 1st Fleet
. The IJN 1st Fleet consisted of the Japanese battleship fleet, and was held in reserve waiting for the "decisive battle" under the Japanese
kantai kessen
doctrine, so the transfer meant that Shimizu was removed from front line service. However, on 8 June 1943, while anchored in
Kure harbor
, the
Japanese battleship
Mutsu
exploded and sank in an accident. Shimizu was forced to accept responsibility, and retired from active service on 21 February 1944.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
Books
[
edit
]
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965).
Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
. Devin-Adair Pub.
ISBN
0-8159-5302-X
.
- Ito, Masanori (1986).
The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy
(reissue ed.). Jove.
ISBN
0-515-08682-7
.
- Boyd, Carl (2002).
The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II
. Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-015-0
.
External links
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
Military offices
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Preceded by
|
1st Fleet
Commander-in-chief
14 July 1942 ? 20 October 1943
|
Succeeded by
|