Royal E. Ingersoll

Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll

Royal Eason Ingersoll (born June 20, 1883 in Washington, DC , † May 20, 1976 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an American admiral in the US Navy , who was among other things commander in chief of the CINCLANT ( US Atlantic Fleet ) between 1941 and 1944 and was promoted to admiral on July 1, 1942. He continued to function from 1944 to 1945 as deputy supreme commander of the US fleet and at the same time as deputy chief of naval operations (Deputy Chief of Naval Operations ) .

Life

Military training and World War I

Ingersoll, son of Rear Admiral Royal R. Ingersoll and his wife Cynthia Eason Ingersoll, completed his schooling in Annapolis , La Porte and Wilmer's Preparatory School . In 1901 he began his officer training at the US Naval Academy , which he graduated with honors in January 1905. In August 1905 he took part as an officer in the US delegation at the peace conference at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , where the Treaty of Portsmouth to end the Russo-Japanese War was concluded on September 5, 1905 . This was followed by two years of service aboard the unit line ship USS Missouri , the gunboat USS Marietta , the transport ship USS Hancock and the battleship USS Connecticut , on which he was promoted to lieutenant at sea (Ensign) in January 1907 .

After further assignments, he was an instructor for seamanships and international law between 1911 and 1913, and most recently for English at the US Naval Academy. Subsequently, he was an officer in Asia Squadron (US Asiatic Squadron) and then aboard the battleship USS New York , the flagship of the Asian fleet ( US Asiatic Fleet ) , and was there for a short time First Lieutenant. This was followed by a position as aide-de-camp and flag lieutenant of the chief of staff of the Asian fleet. After his return to the United States he was in June 1916. telecommunications officer in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Department of the Navy ( US Department of the Navy ) , where he in August 1916 and to Lieutenant Commander (Lieutenant Commander) was promoted.

Time between the world wars

In February 1934, Ingersoll became the commanding officer of the newly commissioned heavy cruiser USS San Francisco

After the end of the First World War he was appointed to the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William Shepherd Benson and dealt there with the establishment of a communications department. He was then transferred to the SS George Washington liner in February 1919 and accompanied President Woodrow Wilson on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean . This was followed in March 1919 by a renewed use on the battleship USS Connecticut , whose first officer ( Executive Officer ) he was until September 1920. After he had been promoted to frigate captain (Commander) in June 1921 , he returned to the Navy Ministry and served there in the intelligence department (Office of Naval Intelligence) . In March 1924 he finally took over his first command of his own, as the commander of the patrol ship USS Nokomis , which was converted into a survey ship and carried out on work on the north coast of Cuba .

In June 1927 Ingersoll was promoted to captain at sea (Captain) and completed a course at Naval War College in Rhode Island , whereupon he remained for a year as a staff officer at Naval War College. He then became assistant to the Chief of Staff of the US Battle Fleet in June 1928 and carried out this service on board its flagship, the battleship USS California . Shortly after Admiral William V. Pratt became commander in chief of the battleship fleet, he also took over the post as its assistant on its flagship, the battleship USS Texas . He then moved again to the Navy Ministry in August 1930, where he worked in the Fleet Training Department in the Chief of Naval Operations' office, before he became commander of the heavy cruiser USS Augusta in May 1933 .

Ingersoll then moved to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in November 1933 , where he prepared for the commissioning of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco , of which he was first in command from February 1934 to June 1935. He then moved again to the Navy Ministry and served there for three years until July 1938 was the head of the war planning department in the office of the chief of naval operations. In this role he was technical advisor to the US delegation to the London Naval Conference in June 1936 . In December 1937 he traveled again to London, where he dealt with the requirements resulting from the London Fleet Treaty for the limitation of naval armament.

After his promotion to Rear Admiral (Rear Admiral) in May 1938 Ingersoll in July 1938 was commander of the reconnaissance fleet (US Scouting Fleet) belonging to the 6th Cruiser Division (Cruiser Division Six) where the heavy cruiser him USS Minneapolis was provided.

World War II and post-war period

In July 1940, Ingersoll returned to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Harold R. Stark , and was his assistant. On December 30, 1941, Admiral Ernest J. King's successor took over as Commander-in-Chief of the CINCLANT ( US Atlantic Fleet ) . As such, he was promoted to Vice Admiral (Vice Admiral) in January 1942 with the heavy cruiser USS Augusta as its flagship. On July 1, 1942, he was promoted to admiral .

Ingersoll took over the post of Commander of the Western Sea Frontier in San Francisco in November 1944 with the status of Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Fleet and at the same time Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Deputy Chief of Naval Operations ) . He held these functions until April 1946 and finally retired in August 1946 after 41 years of service. He has received several awards for his longstanding services, including the Navy Cross , the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , the American Defense Service Medal with a gold star, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three stars of merit, the World War I Victory Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. He was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the French Legion of Honor and the Grand Cross of the Brazilian Order of Merit (Ordem do Mérito Naval) .

From his marriage to Louise Van Harlingen Ingersoll his son Royal Rodney Ingersoll emerged, who was a first lieutenant at sea in an accident on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in early June 1942 during the Battle of Midway . After his death, Royal E. Ingersoll was buried in Pine Lake Cemetery in La Porte , Indiana .

Web links

• Royal E. Ingersoll in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Royal E. Ingersoll Dead; Headed the Atlantic Fleet . In: The New York Times, May 22, 1976