Raymond A. Spruance

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Raymond A. Spruance (April 1944)

Raymond Ames Spruance (born July 3, 1886 in Baltimore , Maryland , † December 13, 1969 in Monterey , California ) was Admiral in the US Navy during World War II .

biography

Family and education

Spruance was the son of Alexander Peterson Spruance and Annie Ames Hiss. After graduating from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1906, he trained as a marine electrician.

He was married to Margaret Dean (1888–1985).

Naval career until 1940

He served from 1907 on the battleships USS Iowa (BB-4), Pennsylvania and Mississippi and four destroyers . In 1917 he became an Assistant Engineer Officer.

Spruance graduated from Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island , in 1926/27 . From 1929 to 1931 he was a senior officer on the battleship USS Mississippi . He commanded the USS Mississippi from April 1938 to December 1939 and was appointed Rear Admiral ( Rear Admiral promoted). Before and after that he also worked as an instructor at naval war colleges. In 1940/41 he was in command of the 10th Naval District in San Juan , Puerto Rico .

Second World War

Admirals Spruance, Mitscher , Nimitz and Lee

Spruance was in command of a cruiser division with four heavy cruisers during the attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941 . With this fleet he also participated in the first counterattack by the USA under the leadership of Vice Admiral William F. Halsey .

In May 1942 he took over as Commander in Chief Task Force 16 and led it together with Task Force 17 under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher in the successful Battle of Midway , in which all four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk with the loss of their own aircraft carrier. The battle ended Japanese superiority in the Pacific.

In September 1942, Spruance became Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet . In August 1943 he became Commander in Chief of the Central Pacific Force , which was transformed into the 5th US Fleet from 1944. Between Halsey (3rd US Fleet and Task Force 38 ) and Spruance (5th US Fleet and Task Force 58 ) the command of the fighting units in the Pacific changed while the other unit prepared future operations in Pearl Harbor. From 1943 to 1945 its flagship was the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis or the battleship USS New Jersey . In 1944/45 his units were successfully involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Okinawa .

In 1945 Spruance took over as Admiral von Chester W. Nimitz the supreme command of the Pacific Fleet, which he held until 1946. His promotion to Fleet Admiral ( Commodore ) was several times by Congressman Carl Vinson blocked in 1945 for fighting that this place was only awarded Halsey.

Spruance was President of the Navy College from February 1946 to July 1948. He finished his naval career in 1948. From 1952 to 1955 he was the United States Ambassador to the Philippines .

He was buried on Yerba Buena Island in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, near San Francisco , with Fleet Admiral Nimitz, his friend, Admiral Richmond K. Turner, and Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood .

honors and awards

Honors

Awards (selection)

literature

  • Thomas B. Buell: The Quiet Warrior. A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. 2nd printing. US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1987, ISBN 0-87021-562-0 .

Web links

Commons : Raymond A. Spruance  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes


personal data
SURNAME Spruance, Raymond A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spruance, Raymond Ames (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US Navy Admiral
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Baltimore , Maryland
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1969
Place of death Monterey , California