Shima Kiyohide

was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Biography

A native of Miyazaki prefecture, Shima was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 69th out of 148 cadets. As a midshipman, he served aboard the cruisers and and the battleship . As an ensign, he was assigned to the battleship , and as a sub-lieutenant, he served on the battlecruiser , and cruiser .

Shima was promoted to lieutenant in 1918, and after taking courses in torpedo warfare and navigation, was assigned as Chief Communications Officer on the battlecruiser . In 1921, he graduated from the Naval War College and was promoted to lieutenant commander. In 1925–1926, Shima was appointed aide-de-camp to Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito, concurrently serving on the battleships and . In 1928–1929, he was sent to the United States and Europe. On his return, he served in a number of staff positions, primarily as an instructor at various naval ordnance schools. In 1933, he was promoted to captain, and in 1936, he received his first command, the cruiser . Shima became a rear admiral on 15 November 1939 and was Chief of Staff of the Maizuru Naval District.

Pacific War

With the start of the Pacific War, Shima was given a combat command, and led the Tulagi invasion force that occupied Tulagi in the Solomon Islands on 3 May 1942 as part of ''Operation Mo''. Shima was promoted to vice admiral on 1 May 1943, and on 15 February 1944 became commander in chief of the IJN 5th Fleet.

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23–26 October 1944, Shima led the "Second Striking Force" of three cruisers and seven destroyers in the Battle of Surigao Strait. Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura′s and Vice-Admiral Shima's fleets were collectively called the "Southern Force". Because of the strict radio silence imposed on the forces, Shima was unable to synchronize his movements with those of Nishimura's. Shima's force—two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and four destroyers—reached the battle after Nishimura's forces had run into a trap and lost two battleships and three destroyers. In the pre-dawn hours of 25 October 1944, as Shima's flotilla entered the strait, they came under attack from a squadron of American PT boats. ''PT-137'' fired a torpedo at one of Shima's destroyers, but it ran deep and passed beneath the target to strike at 0325 near the No. 1 boiler room, killing 37 crewmen. During the nighttime battle, Shima fired 16 torpedoes at two islands he mistook for American ships. Then, seeing what he thought were the wrecks of both of Nishimura's battleships, he ordered a retreat, "At that time, things flashed in my head were thus: ... If we continued dashing further north, it was quite clear that we should only fall into a ready trap." Retreating before coming into range of the United States Navy (USN) battleships and cruisers, Shima's flagship, the heavy cruiser , collided with Nishimura's heavy cruiser , flooding the latter's steering room. ''Mogami'' fell behind in the retreat and was sunk by U.S. aircraft the next morning. Aside from the collision damage to heavy cruiser ''Nachi'' and a PT torpedo hit to light cruiser ''Abukuma'', Shima's forces were unscathed.

While under repair at Manila on 29 October, ''Nachi'' and were attacked by aircraft from USN Task Force 38. ''Nachi'' was hit by a single bomb to her aircraft deck, and this, as well as strafing attacks, killed 53 crewmen and further delayed repairs. On 5 November, Shima, was ashore for a conference, but arrived at dockside in time to see ''Nachi'' being attacked by three waves of U.S. aircraft from the aircraft carriers and . The cruiser escaped the first wave undamaged, but was hit by five bombs and two or three torpedoes in the second wave while attempting to get underway. During the third wave, ''Nachi'' was hit by five torpedoes in her port side, which severed her bow and stern, and by an additional 20 bombs and 16 rockets. The central portion of the vessel sank in of water about northeast of Corregidor (around ).

After losing his flagship, Shima was reassigned to command the Takao Guard District from 10 May 1945 to 30 November 1945. From 10 May to 15 June 1945, he was also final commander of the First Air Fleet.

Postwar

In 1959, in response to a letter from an American teenager of San Fernando, California, Shima defended his actions and performance in the Battle of Surigao Strait. In particular, Shima found fault with historian James A. Field Jr who, in reference to the utter defeat of Japanese forces in the battle, referred to Shima as "the buffoon of the tragedy."

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shima, Kiyohide
1890 births
1973 deaths
People from Miyazaki Prefecture
Japanese admirals of World War II
Imperial Japanese Navy admirals