But the American commander, who could be daring and resourceful when necessary, could also exhibit shrewd caution when his experienced mind sensed an ambush. During the operation, the Fifth Fleet burned up 630 million gallons of fuelmore than the entire Pacific Fleet used in 1943. Early on the morning of Thursday, June 4, 1942, Nagumos carriers launched a 108-plane strike against Midway and inflicted Historian Samuel Eliot Morison believed he was one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history. United States Admiral in command of naval units on the Pacific Theatre in 1942. Because of gaps in the search patterns flown by the Japanese, the American carriers were able to approach unseen. Spruance became Commander of the 5th Fleet in November 1943, which presented him with command of the Central Pacific Forces. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He was fond of symphonic music, and his tastes were generally simple. Japanese fleet in charge of landing army units on Midway. While in that capacity he assumed additional duty as a member of the board on doctrine of aircraft in connection with fleet fire control. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. He was appointed as Ambassador to the Philippines by President Harry S. Truman, and served there from 1952 to 1955. In 1916 he aided in the fitting out of the battleship Pennsylvania and he served on board her from her commissioning in June 1916 until November 1917. The Turning Point in the Pacific. The Fifth Fleet commanders citation read: Responsible for the operation of a vast and complicated organization which included more than 500,000 men of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, 318 combatant vessels and 1,139 auxiliary vessels, [he] directed the forces under his command with daring, courage and aggressiveness. The struggle by the U.S. Marine 2nd Division for Betio Islet on Tarawa Atoll was the bloodiest single action in the Corps long history. Nimitz had no battleships left after the Pearl Harbor attack, and after the Battle of the Coral Sea there were only two flattops ready for action, Enterprise and Hornet. Answer: Admiral Yamamoto had hoped to fight a classic-style sea battle with battleships, but Spruance had proved that the aircraft carrier was now emerging as the capital ship of naval combat forces. These plans proved moot when the war came to an abrupt end in early August with the use of the atom bomb. Lieutenant aboard the Hiryu who led and was killed during the first Japanese counterattack after the sinking of 3 Japanese aircraft carriers. When I look at myself objectively, he wrote in retirement, I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men. Meanwhile, the Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands had been carried out as planned on June 3. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. After Rome fell, the bishop of Constantinople became the most pow Spruance was detached from command of the Fifth Fleet on November 8, 1945, and he relieved Fleet Admiral Nimitz as commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean areas. [12] Spruance assumed command of Task Force 16 with its two carriers, USSEnterprise and USSHornet, under battle command of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. In 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. At the crucial Battle of Midway your daring and skilled leadership routed the enemy in the full tide of his advance and established the pattern of air-sea warfare which was to lead to his eventual capitulation[24]. Returning to Newport, Spruance remained at the college until retiring from the US Navy on July 1, 1948. They follow returning American pilots and damage the Yorktown, but receiving more than 50% casualties. In this position, he traveled to London and Edinburgh. It was June 4, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and Admira Fletcher had to engage four Japanese ships in the Battle of Midway. ThoughtCo, Jul. It was a cool, clear day. This occurred at the same time that Admiral Turner's forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls, about 700 miles to the east. Although some historians and many newsmen have written many words about Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy and his brilliant career in the Pacific in World War II, the complete story of this reserved and self-effacing man is now being told for the first time by one of his close friends and wartime associates. Finishing the course, he completed a tour in the Office of Naval Intelligence before being posted to USS Mississippi (BB-41) in October 1929 as executive officer. With their 233 planes and crews at the ready, the three U.S. flattops were stationed well north of Midway, out of sight of enemy reconnaissance planes. In May 1942, intelligence suggested that the Japanese were planning on assaulting Midway Island. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511. His wife, Margaret Dean (18881985), is buried alongside him, as are Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, his longtime friend Admiral Richmond K. Turner, and Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, an arrangement made by all of them while living. He held that post until the following February, when he was ordered back to the Naval War College at Newportthis time as president. He is responsible for the Japanese battle plan to attack Midway and the Aleutian Islands. Spruance was calculating and cautious. Meanwhile, Task Force 58 was busy in the forefront of clearing the Japanese from the 600-mile-long Marianas chain. When Yorktown was struck at Midway, however, Fletcher transferred his flag to the cruiser Astoria and placed Spruance tactically in charge. Critical for the defense of Hawaii, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, intended to dispatch Halsey to block the enemy thrust. At 8:20 a.m., Nagumos observers reported a group of American ships 200 miles away. The Gilberts attack was planned and directed by Spruance, with the assistance of Rear Adms. Since the Japanese planes were returning from the Midway strike, Spruance ordered that his strike be launched without delay so as to maximize the chances that the Japanese carriers would be caught while landing planes or spotting the next wave. Midway bought the United States valuable time until the new Essex-class fleet carriers became available at the end of the year. Lieutenant Commander Maxwell Leslies VB-3 from Yorktown attacked the carrier Soryu. The setback in the Japanese timetable to encircle the Pacific gave the U.S. industrial machine time to crank up war production, and ultimately, to turn the advantage on Japan in the production of ships, planes, guns, and all the other matriel of war. After Midway, although the Japanese still held a temporary advantage in vessels and planes, the U.S. Navy and the nation gained confidence and, most critically, time. As the war progressed, Spruance became one of two primary fleet commanders, the other being Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, employed by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. "When I look at myself objectively," he wrote in retirement, "I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men. His tour of sea duty ended in 1921, and he spent the next three years with the Navy Departments Bureau of Engineering and the Doctrine of Aircraft board. Three bombs hammered her. While both Fletcher and Spruance were rear admirals, Fletcher was senior and nominally in overall command. Japanese propagandists pointed to their success in the Aleutians to offset the defeat at Midway, but actually the Aleutians were of little strategic value. That is how the US navy could inflict great damage to the Japanese fleet and aircraft. Known as "island hopping," U.S. forces moved from island to island, using each as a base for capturing the next. The Indiana War Memorial in Indianapolis has a meeting room named for Spruance as well as displays honoring his career and that of the USS Indianapolis. [31] The series, based on Herman Wouk's book of the same name, shows Spruance's decision to end the battle and retreat rather than confront the rest of the Japanese fleet as having been opposed by his subordinates, and he was mocked behind his back as "lacking the stomach." In the fighting, the Japanese lost three carriers and around 600 aircraft. In one incident a distraught officer rushed to report, "Captain, we've just dropped a depth charge over the stern!" Then he returned to the Naval War College as a staff member. [11] Although Spruance was proven as a cruiser division commander, he had no experience handling carrier-air combat; Halsey reassured Nimitz, and he told Spruance and Fletcher to rely on their newly inherited staff, particularly Captain Miles Browning, a battle-proven expert in carrier warfare. On April 1, Spruance began the Battle of Okinawa. This was followed by a promotion to Deputy Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet in September. Spruance's rise to fame . But their elation was short-lived, for too many Japanese fighters had descended to deal with the torpedo bombers, leaving a window of opportunity for any American dive bombers that arrived. This was followed by an assault on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944. Hickman, Kennedy. D. Suburban America, 100 POINTS! Japanese Admiral and a pioneer in aircraft carrier warfare. However, an invasion was rendered unnecessary when the atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. In the course of a two-hour interview, he stood or walked about all the timenot restlessly, but slowly and deliberately. Commanded the first Japanese air strike against Midway Island at the beginning of the battle. This saw Allied forces move against Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands. With World War I raging, he became Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Navy Yard. Admiral Spruance could have been right. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy, April 1955 . He was promoted to captain in 1932, and the following year he was assigned as chief of staff and aide to the commander of a destroyer scouting force. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Although there are no options attached we can say the following. During the Midway engagement which resulted in the defeat of and heavy losses to the enemy fleet, his seamanship, endurance, and tenacity in handling his task force were of the highest quality. Spruance, Raymond A. Hickman, Kennedy. How can these and the knowledge they provide be used to spread His Word? Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, is named Spruance Hall. Then it was back to Pebble Beach. For the main Midway assault, the Japanese force consisted of the main battle fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, composed of three battleships, a light carrier and a destroyer screen; Admiral Chuichi Nagumos combined fleet of two battleships, two heavy cruisers, destroyers and four fleet carriers carrying more than 250 aircraft; and an invasion task force led by Admiral Nobutake Kondo, consisting of a dozen transport ships carrying 5,000 troops, closely supported by four heavy cruisers, two battleships and a light carrier; and a three-cordon submarine force intended to neutralize U.S. countermoves. The following year, the new admiral was ordered to the Pacific. Lieutenant in command of the USS Enterprise air group. His classmates included Arthur L. Bristol, William L. Calhoun, William A. Glassford, Charles C. Hartigan, Aubrey W. Fitch, Frank J. Fletcher, Robert L. Ghormley, Isaac C. Kidd, John S. McCain Sr., Leigh Noyes, Ferdinand L. Reichmuth, John H. 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