Tsutomu Sakuma

Infobox Military Person
name= Tsutomu Sakuma
lived= 13 September 1879 - 15 April 1910
placeofbirth=Fukui, Japan
placeofdeath=Inland Sea, Japan


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1901-1910
rank=Lieutenant
commands="No.4 submarine"
Staff Officer 1st Fleet
The destroyer "Harukaze" (春風)
"No.6 submarine"
battles=Russo-Japanese War

Tsutomu Sakuma ("佐久間 勉", September 13, 1879-April 15, 1910) was a Japanese naval officer who served during the Russo-Japanese War and one of the first submarine commanders of the Imperial Japanese Navy, known primarily as the commanding officer during the sinking of the submarine No.6.

Born in the Fukui prefecture, Sakuma graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1901. Serving with the 15th Torpedo Boat Flotilla during the Russo-Japanese War, Sakuma took part in the Battle of Tsushima on May 26, 1905 onboard the cruiser "IJN Kasagi".

After completing the torpedo warfare school, Sakuma started to get involved in the submarine service in 1906, first taking the command of the "No.4 submarine", and eventually the Japan-built Holland-type "No.6 " in 1908. On April 15, 1910, while engaged in a practice dive in the Inland Sea, the submarine suffered a malfunction resulting in the loss of the ship and crew. Two days later the it was recovered by Japanese authorities, and Sakuma's journal was found with a detailed analysis of what may have caused the accident ending with an apology to the Emperor for the loss of the submarine and 14 crewmembers before the ship's air mercilessly ran out. Posted in later press reports, Sakuma became a posthumous national hero and an example for courage and steadfastness within the Imperial Japanese Navy.

References

*Dupuy, Trevor N. "The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography", New York, 1992
* [http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/px29.htm#lt01 Nishida, "Imperial Japanese Navy" ] (written in Japanese)