William HP Blandy

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William Henry Purnell Blandy

William Henry Purnell Blandy (born June 28, 1890 in New York City , New York , † January 12, 1954 in St. Albans , New York), nicknamed "Spike", was an admiral in the United States Navy . He became known for his command of Joint Task Force 1 during Operation Crossroads .

Life

Blandy was born on June 28, 1890 in New York City. In 1909 he was admitted to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland , which he graduated in 1913 as top of the class. He was inducted into the US Navy as an ensign and transferred to the battleship USS Florida . During his time on the Florida Blandy took part in the occupation of Veracruz on April 21, 1914 and the missions with the British Grand Fleet towards the end of the First World War. In November 1918 he left the battleship, promoted to lieutenant commander, and was transferred to the headquarters of the US Navy in London. After some time at the Bureau of Ordnance, he attended the Naval Academy and the Naval Gun Factory for further training. In 1921/22 he was Deputy Fire Control Officer on the USS New Mexico , then Executive Officer of the USS Vega . After serving on the USS Pruitt and the USS Stewart , where he demonstrated his skill in handling naval guns, he became head of the guns department of the Bureau of Ordnance. From 1927 to 1929 he returned to New Mexico as a fire control officer, then in 1930 he was a gun officer on the staff of Admiral Lucius A. Bostwick on board the West Virginia . Until 1934 he was a naval attaché in Brazil , then he was given command of the Destroyer Division 10. In 1936 he became the commandant of the target ship USS Utah . After his promotion to captain in 1939, he returned to the Bureau of Ordnance, where he was involved in the development of anti-aircraft weapons.

In February 1941, Blandy was promoted to the Navy's youngest Rear Admiral and appointed chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. In December 1943 he received command of Amphibious Group One, with which he participated in the Kwajalein invasion in early 1944. In November 1944, Blandy became the commander of the Amphibious Support Force, his flagship being the USS Estes . He was involved in the Battle of Iwojima and the Battle of Okinawa , then he received the supreme command of the cruiser and destroyer fleets of the US Pacific Fleet.

Blandy cutting an atomic bomb cake (1946)

After the war, Blandy commanded Joint Task Force One aboard the USS Mount McKinley , which carried out nuclear weapons tests in Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads in 1946 . The most famous quote from him has come down to us from this period:

“The bomb will not start a chain reaction in the water converting it all to gas and letting all the ships on all the oceans drop down to the bottom. It will not blow out the bottom of the sea and let all the water run down the hole. It will not destroy gravity. I am not an atomic playboy, as one of my critics labeled me, exploding these bombs to satisfy my personal whim. "

“The bomb will not start a chain reaction in the water that will turn everything into gas and cause ships in all oceans to fall to the sea floor. It won't blast a hole in the ocean floor that will drain all the water. It won't destroy gravity. I'm not an atomic playboy, as one of my critics called me, who lets these bombs explode on a personal whim. "

In February 1947, Blandy was promoted to Admiral and received supreme command of the US Atlantic Fleet . In February 1950 he retired from active service in the US Navy. William HP Blandy died on January 12, 1954 at the US Naval Hospital in St. Albans, New York. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The US Navy named the destroyer USS Blandy after him .

Web links

Commons : William HP Blandy  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jonathan M. Weisgall: Operation Crossroads. The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1994, ISBN 1-557-50919-0 , p. 45.
  2. ↑ USS Blandy at navsource.org; As of February 10, 2010
  3. ↑ Jonathan M. Weisgall: Operation Crossroads. The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1994, ISBN 1-557-50919-0 , p. 46.
  4. ↑ Jonathan M. Weisgall: Operation Crossroads. The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1994, ISBN 1-557-50919-0 , p. 64.
personal data
SURNAME Blandy, William HP
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blandy, William Henry Purnell; Blandy, Spike (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION United States Navy Admiral
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1954
Place of death St. Albans , New York