Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in the corresponding Aleutian Islands Invasion. During WWII Italian Commandos Were Tasked to Ride Torpedoes. In August 1943, Spruance, now a vice admiral, returned to sea as Commander Central Pacific Force. 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. 1, and he commanded her until 1914. U.S. losses were low: 25 airplanes and 18 lives. The carriers were on station on June 2, and the following day Japanese transport ships were spotted 600 miles west of Midway Island. When she went to sea in 1916, he went with her. Captain George C. Dyer of the light cruiser Astoria, who served under both Spruance and Halsey, summed up the view of many ship captains: My feeling was one of confidence when Spruance was there. Then followed two years as assistant chief of staff to the commander of naval forces in Europe; a year of study at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he completed the senior course; and two years of duty in the Office of Naval Intelligence. At 8:20 a.m., Nagumos observers reported a group of American ships 200 miles away. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. Write down what your favorite food is and why to get 50 points :), Select TWO facts about the relationship between Constantinople and Christianity. Following the war, Spruance served as US Ambassador to the Philippines from 1952 to 1955. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. Not till many months later did American intelligence ferret out the facts."[33]. [6], Following his return to the United States, Spruance served aboard transport ship USS Agamemnon, before he was ordered to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, for duty in connection with fitting out of destroyer USS Aaron Ward in March 1919. He never smoked, and drank little. Midway bought the United States valuable time until the new Essex-class fleet carriers became available at the end of the year. Privacy Policy, Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during. The combined American force consisted of three carriers, eight cruisers, 15 destroyers, 12 submarines and 353 aircraft, ranged against a grand total of 200 Japanese vessels and 700 planes. Then Nagumo was dumbfounded to receive a search planes report of 10 enemy ships to the northeast, where no U.S. ships were supposed to be. After working to defend neutral American shipping from German U-boats, Spruance received orders to take over Cruiser Division Five in September 1941. How can these and the knowledge they provide be used to spread His Word? "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. In May 1914, Spruance received a posting as Assistant to the Inspector of Machinery at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. Admiral Halsey was given command of the Third Fleet, and later that year Task Force 58 was transferred to Halseys fleet. In 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. [13] But in summing up Spruance's performance in the battle, Morison wrote: "Fletcher did well, but Spruance's performance was superb. He decided to launch the planes from Enterprise and Hornet when they were about 175 miles from the enemys calculated position instead of postponing takeoff for another two hours in order to diminish the distance. Though this gamble paid off, Enterprise air squadrons would pay a heavy price, flying in piece-meal and mostly without fighter escort. He was commissioned an ensign in 1908, and during a tour of shore duty he took a postgraduate course in electrical engineering in Schenectady, N.Y. Shortly before leaving the Naval War College and retiring from the Navy on July 1, 1948, Admiral Spruance received a letter of commendation from the secretary of the Navy that read: Your brilliant record of achievement in World War II played a decisive part in our victory in the Pacific. When New Mexico was struck by two kamikaze on the night of 12 May 1945 a hasty search by Spruance's staff found the Admiral manning a fire hose amidship. Most common sailors were proud to serve under Halsey; most higher-ranking officers preferred to serve under Spruance. Kwajalein was in American hands, but the rest of the Marshalls groupabout 30 islands and more than 800 reefs scattered over hundreds of miles of oceanremained to be dealt with. Word of the sacrifice of VT-8 stunned the United States, and Churchill was reported to have wept when he heard about it. A total of 1,132 enemy planes were put out of action. He presided over US Forces in the Pacific during two decisive Allied victories: the Battle of Midway in 1942 and the 1944 Battle of the Philippines Sea. Admiral Spruance commanded with deadly precision, reported an observer. Having been promoted to rear admiral in December 1939, he was directed to assume command of the Tenth Naval District (San Juan, PR) in February 1940. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511. For his actions, Spruance received the Distinguished Service Medal and, later that month, Nimitz named him as his Chief of Staff and Aide. Five days after the Marshalls campaign, Spruance sent the Mitscher force to attack Tinian and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. He wrote the day after the attack and the same day he attended funeral services for the 54 Sailors and Marines killed in the attack. He was appointed as Ambassador to the Philippines by President Harry S. Truman, and served there from 1952 to 1955. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. [28], His achievements in the navy were well known, but himself much less. For that assault, Spruance led the most powerful naval strike force in history. By shortly after 9 a.m., planes from Yorktown were also on their way. He loved to show them to visitors. Lieutenant Commander Maxwell Leslies VB-3 from Yorktown attacked the carrier Soryu. Spruance received the Navy Cross for his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.[23]. It is still the largest warship built to date and survived the battle undamaged as it never came near the battlefield despite Yamamoto's protests. He was then 55. He also commanded Task Force 16 at the Battle of Midway, comprising the carriers Enterprise and Hornet. Spruance expressed his personal feelings on this matter as follows: So far as my getting five star rank is concerned, if I could have got it along with Bill Halsey, that would have been fine; but, if I had received it instead of Bill Halsey, I would have been very unhappy over it. The battle would open in the mist-shrouded Aleutians with airstrikes against Dutch Harbor on June 3, followed by landings at three points on June 6. Towards the end of that year, Spruance commanded a cruiser division supporting Admiral Halsey's carrier, the 'Enterprise', at Wake Island. However, Spruances fleet was also charged with guarding the amphibious landings at Saipan and Tinian. There are submarines, there are mini-submarines, and then there are human torpedoes. Akagi class Japanese aircraft carrier that was part of the first detachment of the Japanese carrier strike force. Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in Aleutian islands campaign. In the first months of World War II in the Pacific, Spruance commanded the four heavy cruisers and support ships of Cruiser Division Five from his flagship, the heavy cruiser USSNorthampton. Known for his calm in moments of crisis, Admiral Spruance became one of the U.S. Navy's largest assets in World War II. Admiral Spruance could have been right. On November 24, Spruance relieved Nimitz as Commander, US Pacific Fleet. I can thank heredity for a sound constitution, and myself for taking care of that constitution." The heavily fortified islands, former British possessions, were of strategic value because of their good landing strips and naval base. [21] Buell quotes Spruance speaking with Morison: As a matter of tactics I think that going out after the Japanese and knocking their carriers out would have been much better and more satisfactory than waiting for them to attack us, but we were at the start of a very important and large amphibious operation and we could not afford to gamble and place it in jeopardy. Covered by fog and lashed by storms most of the time, they were generally unsuitable for air or naval bases. Always calm, always at peace with himself, Spruance had that ability which marks the great captain to make correct estimates and the right decisions in a fluid battle situation. He attended grade and high schools in East Orange, N.J., and in Indianapolis. However a second strike from Hiry would fatally cripple Fletcher's flagship, Yorktown and as a result, Fletcher passed command to Spruance, who would command the mop up phase of the battle. 2015. He graduated from Shortridge High School and went on to the U.S. Adding to the surprise factor was the fact that Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo did not believe the U.S. Pacific Fleet was at sea. It was spotted by scouts from the USS Hornet and destroyed by planes from the Enterprise. In the seven-week campaign, 55 Japanese ships were sunk, five probably sunk and 74 damaged. HistoryLearning.com. Capturing and occupying Midway was the brainchild-plan of commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Spruance was portrayed by Glenn Ford (a US Naval Reserve officer himself) in the 1976 film Midway, and by Jake Weber in the 2019 film Midway. Nagumo ordered his planes rearmed on their return. Raymond Ames Spruance as Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee - 1945 The two admirals were a contrast in styles. During the last year of World War I he was assigned as Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Naval Shipyard, and carried out temporary duty in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. >The fleet units shielding the Marianas invasion forces were also under Spruances command. The score was 402 Japanese planes and six ships, with a loss of 122 planes from Mitschers flattops. 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. Aboard the battleship Yamato, Admiral Yamamoto received word that the U.S. fleet was at Midwaynot Pearl Harbor as he had thought. 7 reviews. [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." Naval History and Heritage Command, "Biography of Raymond A. Spruance Press Release July 24, 1941, United States Navy Department", "Adm Spruance's Fitrep after Battle of Midway", Citation, Navy Cross, Raymond A. Spruance, "Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance America's Navy", "News Release: Navy Names Two New Guided Missile Destroyers", "War & Remembrance (Part 3) (May 26 July 25, 1942)", "War & Remembrance (Part 3) (May 26 July 25, 1942) 1988", Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 19411942, The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 19421944, Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 19441945, United States Ambassadors to the Philippines, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Raymond_A._Spruance&oldid=1137739908, Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines, High Commissioners of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army), Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States), Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Articles with dead external links from July 2022, Articles with dead external links from December 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 05:43. 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