Vice Admiral Baron , was an 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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Samejima was the grandson of Iwakura Tomomi, and adopted by Admiral Samejima Kazunori a native of Satsuma Domain and noted figure in the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, Tomoshige Samejima graduated 51st of 179 cadets in the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1909. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

duty on 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 operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

''Soya'' and

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s ''Sagami'', and ''Katori'' and as a sub-lieutenant on ''Aso'', and ''Hashidate''. After graduating from naval artillery and

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

classes, he was assigned to the battleships ''Kashima'' and ''Kawachi'' followed by the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

''Kaba''. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1915. He subsequently served on the cruiser ''Azuma'' and battleship ''Kongō'', and after a two-year tour as an instructor at the naval gunnery school from 1918–1920, he was reassigned to the battleship ''Mutsu''. In 1921, he served as aide-de-camp to Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito and was promoted to lieutenant commander. From 1921-1923, he attended the Navy Staff College, and on graduation, served two years on the light cruiser ''Yura''. From 1925-1927, he traveled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he studied at his own expense. On his return to Japan, he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

and assigned as aide-de-camp to Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito. Samejima returned to sea as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the ''Haguro'' from November 1929 - November 1930. His first command was in 1931 as captain of the transport Seito. KandaSurrender

In 1931, with the First Shanghai Incident, Samejima served on the staff of the Japanese 1st Expeditionary Fleet and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was given command of the cruisers ''Kitakami'' from 1932 to 1934, ''Mogami'' from 1934 to 1935,. ''Haguro'' from 1935–1936 and the battleship ''Nagato'' from 1936 to 1937. As

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

from December 1937, Samejima commanded Carrier Division 4 from 1937–1938, Cruiser Division 13 from August–September 1938, and Carrier Division 2 from September 1938 to October 1939. From November 1939 to October 1942, Samejima served as Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan, and was in this position at the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. He was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

in October 1941. From October 1942, Samejima returned to sea as commander of the IJN 4th Fleet, which was responsible for defending the South Seas Mandate against counter-attacks by the Allied forces. From April 1943 to the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, Samejima served as commander of the IJN 8th Fleet. He retired from active service in 1946 and died in 1966.

References

Notes

Books

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Web

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samejima, Tomoshige Japanese admirals of World War II Military personnel from Tokyo 1889 births 1966 deaths Kazoku