Donald B. Duncan

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Admiral Donald B Duncan

Donald Bradley Duncan (born September 1, 1896 in Alpena , Michigan , † September 8, 1975 in Pensacola , Florida ) was an American admiral in the US Navy , who was Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1951 to 1956 .

Life

Military training, World War I and time up to World War II

After attending school in 1913, Duncan began his military training at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis , which he graduated in 1917. After his promotion to lieutenant in the sea in 1917 and the entry of the United States into the First World War in November 1917, he found his first use on the battleship USS Oklahoma , which operated together with the Grand Fleet of the British Royal Navy in European waters to there protect allied convoys.

Between 1920 and 1921 he also trained as a naval aviator at Naval Air Station Pensacola , which he completed with the pilot's badge (Naval Aviator Badge) . He later completed postgraduate studies at the US Naval Academy and, from 1925 to 1926, studied high-frequency engineering at Harvard University , which he completed with a Master of Science (M.Sc.).

His subsequent uses led Duncan aboard aircraft carriers and in various functions in the Bureau of Aeronautics , in charge of the Naval Air Office of the US Navy before he finally First Officer ( Executive Officer ) of the naval aviation base in Pensacola was.

Second World War

As the first in command of the aircraft carrier USS Essex , Duncan took part in the Pacific War from May 1943

On June 2, 1941, Commander Duncan first commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the newly commissioned service USS Long Iceland , the first escort aircraft carrier of the US Navy, and remained in that position even after the US entry into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force . On 29 December 1941 his replacement was made by Commander John Jennings Ballentine, while he himself in the staff of Admiral Ernest King , the commander of US Fleet ( US Fleet ) changed and there worked as a staff officer for air operations. There he dealt significantly with the planning for the Doolittle Raid , the surprise attack by the air forces of the US Army on April 18, 1942 on Tokyo . He suggested the use of North American B-25 - bombers from aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet before that under the command of Captain Marc Mitscher was.

Subsequently, on December 31, 1942, Captain Duncan became the first in command of the newly commissioned aircraft carrier USS Essex , with which he set out for the Pacific from the naval base in Pearl Harbor in May 1943 to take part in the Pacific War. Together with the 16th task force (Task Force 16) , he took part in aircraft carrier operations against Marcus Island on August 31, 1943 . The USS Essex then became the flagship of the 14th Task Force (Task Force 14) , which carried out an unsuccessful attack on the Japanese-occupied atoll Wake on October 5 and 6, 1942 . Command of the USS Essex he held until November 6, 1943 and received for his local merits a letter of commendation (Letter of Commendation) the commander of the air forces of the US Pacific Fleet ( US Pacific Fleer ) while the ship itself a Presidential Unit Citation was awarded as an outstanding unit.

Then in November 1943, the appointment of Rear Admiral Duncan to Vice Chief of Staff and Vice-planning officer on the staff of the Commander in Chief of the US Fleet, Admiral King. He remained in this position until July 1945 and was honored with the Legion of Merit in November 1946 for his military achievements there .

Postwar and admiral in the US Navy

The frigate USS Duncan , which entered service on May 15, 1980 , was named in his honor

In July 1945 Duncan returned to the Pacific, where he was Vice Admiral Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet and thus one of the closest employees of the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz .

On March 6, 1947, he joined the US Department of the Navy ( US Department of the Navy ) in Washington, DC , where he Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Force (Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air) was. He held this post until his replacement by Vice Admiral John D. Price on January 20, 1948. He was then appointed commander of the Second Task Fleet , whose command he held until August 1951.

Duncan was promoted to Admiral on August 9, 1951 and also took over from Admiral Lynde D. McCormick as Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO). He held the second highest function within the leadership of the US Navy after the Chief of Naval Operations. In this capacity, he was replaced by Admiral James S. Russell on September 1, 1956. With a term of more than five years, Duncan was the VCNO with the longest term to date. On March 1, 1957, he officially retired from active military service and was then governor of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum , a retirement home for former members of the US Navy, between 1957 and May 1962 .

After his death he was buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola . The USS Duncan , a frigate of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, was named in his honor on May 15, 1980 . He is also the namesake of the Duncan Peninsula in Antarctica.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Commanding Officers of the USS Long Island (CVE-1) (NavSource Online)
  2. ^ Essex IV (CV-9) on the Naval History and Heritage Command homepage
  3. ↑ Vice Chief of Naval Operations on the homepage of the Naval History and Heritage Command
  4. ↑ USS Duncan (FFG 10) (NavSource Online)
personal data
SURNAME Duncan, Donald B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duncan, Donald Bradley (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American admiral in the US Navy
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Alpena , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 1975
Place of death Pensacola , Florida