was a vice admiral 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Shimizu was a native of

Nagano prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

. He graduated 24th out of 191 cadets from the 36th class of the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stu ...

, in November 1908. His classmates included future admirals Chuichi Nagumo and

Nishizō Tsukahara , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Tsukahara was born in Fukui Prefecture, but his official residence was Kofu city, Yamanashi Prefecture, where he was raised. Tsukahara graduated from the 36th class of ...

. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

duty on the cruiser ''Soya'', battleship ''Katori'' and cruiser ''Hashidate'', and as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

on the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

''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 Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in 1925 to a

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

, and was appointed XO of the ''Jingei''. After being sent to Europe and the United States in 1929, he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in 1929, and became captain of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

''Tama'' in 1931. In November 1934, he received command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

''Ise'', and in 1935 became

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

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 The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) that during World War II, had primary responsibility for the command of submarine operations. History The 6th Fleet was formed on 15 November 1940, and was assigned general control of all IJN ...

, which consisted of the Japanese

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

forces. He was serving in this capacity during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, and authorized the

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

force which attempted to penetrate American defenses at the start of the attack.Boyd, ''The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II'' pages 61-80 On 1 February 1942, an American task force raided

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...

Wotje Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...

, and

Maloelap The Maloelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only , but that encloses a lagoon of ...

in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

, 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 An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

with his submarines, Shimizu was reassigned in July 1942 to take command of the

IJN 1st Fleet The was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. History First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 1st Fleet was created during the Russo-Japanese War when the Imperial General Headquarters divided the Readiness Fleet in ...

. 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.

References

Books

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External links

*
Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimizu, Mitsumi 1888 births 1971 deaths People from Nagano Prefecture Japanese admirals of World War II Imperial Japanese Navy admirals