JAPANESE NAVAL CAPTAIN PHOTO ALBUM COLLECTION
An exhaustive collection of hundreds of photographs, along with documents, clippings, magazines, and other ephemera relating to the career of Imperial Japanese naval commander Abe Toshio, HIJMS FUSHIMI. The albums stretch from the 1920's up to the end of the war, and largely concern the China campaign, including Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing, and the Yellow River. Abe was captain of the FUSHIMI from 1934 until the vessel was destroyed in 1944. The albums, which include about 500 photos, show landings of marines, demolition of obstacles, sinking of enemy ships, experiments with mines and torpedoes, destruction of river blockages, aerial photos of enemy positions and villages, bombardments, group photos, etc. Also present is a large quantity of photographs of other river gunboats (American, British, USS GUAM, HMS SCARAB) as well as other warships. Ephemera includes letters, invitations, notes from other commanders, including the HMS SCARAB, crew and officer's lists and death notices. The grouping even includes Toshio's own death notice: "Captain Abe Toshio, honorable war death, Showa 20th year (1945), February 25th, given by the Naval minister Mitsumasa Yonai". On Dec. 8, 1941, FUSHIMI became the flagship for Vice Admiral Prince Teruhisa Komatsu's First China Fleet Yangtze Squadron, Upper River Division, and supported operations by the Imperial Japanese Army. From Sep. 4, 1943, FUSSHIMI was attached to the Lower River Division, and patrolled Tung Ting Lake and adjacent waterway. On Nov. 29, 1944, she was attacked by Republic of China Air Force aircraft and sunk near Anqing. In September 1945, Fushimi was given to the Republic of China as a prize of war.