The is the first of a series of
three-wheeled cargo carrier
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
s made in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
by
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
between 1947 and 1962.
A number of prototypes were built in 1946, leading to series production beginning in May 1947. Along with the
Silver Pigeon scooter it represented the company's first contributions to the Japanese
post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
personal transport boom.
Mizushima Works
The Mizushima Aircraft works was originally established in September 1943 to build the
Mitsubishi G4M2 (504 examples) and later the
N1K2-J ''Shiden-Kai'' (7 planes completed). The factory was built on mostly virgin land, and the township of Mizushima,
Kurashiki
is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...
was established around the plant.
The factory was heavily damaged in a 22 June 1945
B-29
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...
bombing raid and no more planes were produced.
In November 1945, the Occupying Forces were petitioned to allow the company to be reorganized for peacetime activities, and Mizushima Engineering Works was born. Originally part of
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
, the
zaibatsu
is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signi ...
was broken up into three separate companies in January 1950, with Mizushima becoming part of Central Japan Heavy-Industries, Ltd. This company was renamed Shin-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in May 1952, as the occupation ended and the Mitsubishi name was once again allowed to be used.
The Mizushima factory changed name again in October 1960, becoming the "Mizushima Motor Works."
TM3
The Mizushima XTM-1 prototype was completed in 1946.
The original production version (TM3A) appeared the following year and was a mechanically simple and rugged vehicle, with a 400
kg carrying capacity.
Unlike most three-wheeled trucks in the market, however, the TM3A was equipped with a folding canvas covering and a windshield to protect the occupants.
Evolutions
Later models would be introduced offering greater load-bearing abilities and a wider variety of
bodystyles.
The 1948–50 ''TM3D'' model was built with a hardtop passenger cabin in response to customer demands, while the final development of the Mizushima line, the TM18 Mitsubishi 1500 pickup introduced in 1955,
could carry up to two
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s in its cargo bed. The first models had air-cooled single-cylinder engines, but with the 1955 TM7 a 1.3-liter OHV twin-cylinder engine with appeared. This engine type diverged into a 1145 and a 1489 cc version in 1958, to help cover weight classes ranging from .
During the Mizushima's life approximately 91,000 were produced, before it was replaced by the
Mitsubishi Minicab
The is the kei truck and microvan, built and sold in Japan by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1966. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Galant Shop. An all-electric model of the Minicab, called the Minicab MiEV, ...
and various other four-wheeled light- and medium-duty trucks in 1962.
Mizushima models
Leo
![MITSUBISHI-Leo-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/MITSUBISHI-Leo-01.jpg)
The 1959 Mitsubishi Leo, heavily influenced by the Mizushima, was a transition between the company's first
post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
vehicles and the
Mitsubishi Minica
The is a kei car produced by Mitsubishi Motors mainly for the Japanese domestic market from 1962 to 2011. It was first built by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, one of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' three regional automotive companies until they we ...
, which represented the company's future in the 1960s. The Leo used a 309 cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine, the
ME20, producing 12.5 hp at 4,500 rpm. Payload was , top speed .
Almost four decades later,
Olivier Boulay
Olivier Boulay (born August 9, 1957, in France) is an automobile designer. Since 2009, he has been the Vice President of Daimler's Advanced Design Centre in Beijing, China. would borrow heavily from the Leo for styling cues for his first
prototypes
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
when he became Mitsubishi Motors' design chief in 2001.
References
*
Three-wheeled motor vehicles
Mizushima
1940s cars
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