I am lazy, and I never have done things myself that I could get someone to do for me. He remained in the position only briefly as he accepted a posting as President of the Naval War College on February 1, 1946. To the Aleutians, the Japanese dispatched an invasion task force of three transports carrying 2,400 troops, supported by two heavy cruisers, a two-carrier support force and a covering group of four battleships. >The fleet units shielding the Marianas invasion forces were also under Spruances command. Fletcher quickly ordered his dive bombers to strike, which fatally damaged the fourth Japanese carrier; it was scuttled the next day. After the enemys raids on Midway, Admiral Spruance ordered the launching of every possible plane to search for and attack the Japanese carriers. Commanding the battleship for nearly two years, Spruance was aboard when World War II began in Europe. Flagship of Task Force 16 under the command of Raymond Spruance. Yorktowns planes hit Soryu as she was turning into the wind to launch aircraft. All four of Japans aircraft carriers were sunk, devastating Japans ambitions in the Pacific. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Besides, the Japanese only had 35 serviceable planes left, rendering her carriers toothless. In the seven-week campaign, 55 Japanese ships were sunk, five probably sunk and 74 damaged. For that assault, Spruance led the most powerful naval strike force in history. The score was 402 Japanese planes and six ships, with a loss of 122 planes from Mitschers flattops. About his intellect he was equally unpretentious: "Some people believe that when I am quiet that I am thinking some deep and important thoughts, when the fact is that I am thinking of nothing at all. At 8:20 a.m., Nagumos observers reported a group of American ships 200 miles away. Furthermore, Spruance ordered that the air squadrons fly directly to their targets before assembling every squadron into a proper formation, gambling that the attacks would leave the enemy carriers in disarray and delay the launching of their own counterstrike. During the third week of May 1942, U.S. naval intelligence units confirmed that the Japanese wouldby early Juneinvade Midway Island. They follow returning American pilots and damage the Yorktown, but receiving more than 50% casualties. After serving aboard the battleship Iowa, Spruance went on a world cruise aboard the battleship Minnesota. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. While one was at sea, the other would be planning their next operation. (2021, July 31). While in that capacity he assumed additional duty as a member of the board on doctrine of aircraft in connection with fleet fire control. This site is using cookies under cookie policy . He was then ordered to the China station, with sea duty aboard the battleship Connecticut and the cruiser Cincinnati. Retiring to Pebble Beach, CA, he died there on December 13, 1969. On the afternoon of June 4, 24 American dive bombersincluding 10 refugees from Yorktownscored four hits on Hiryu. Successfully concluding operations, Spruance was promoted to admiral in February. The following year, they made me executive officer of the transport Agamemnon, bringing troops home from France. [Admiral Spruance wrote this foreward for Mitsuo Fuchida's book, Midway, The Battle That Doomed Japan; The Japanese Navy's . On 6 December 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese bombers and America was swept into World War Two. 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. When she went to sea in 1916, he went with her. As the war progressed, Spruance became one of two primary fleet commanders, the other being Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, employed by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. [22] Spruance later chose the battleship USSNew Jersey as his flagship, as the huge Iowa-class battleship had both room for his staff and the speed to keep up with the fast carrier task forces. Meanwhile, Task Force 58 was busy in the forefront of clearing the Japanese from the 600-mile-long Marianas chain. The Japanese felt that they had won the encounter. Recently promoted to rear admiral, Spruance was assigned to command a division of cruisers in the Pacific under Admiral Nimitz in 1941. A. Desegregation of Society Japanese fleet under the direct command of Admiral Yamamoto with over 5 battleships and escort carrier Hosho. He never did things the same way twice. He served as Assistant Chief of Staff under Vice admiral Philip Andrews during the period of tensions between Greece and Turkey and was decorated with the Gold Cross of the Order of the Savior by the Government of Greece for his service. Admiral Ernest J. His flagship was badly damaged by the Japanese and was hit by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine before sinking. In the footnote Morison says, Admiral Spruance, in commenting on the first draft of this volume, requested that I delete victor at and substitute who commanded a carrier task force at, butI have let it stand. The struggle by the U.S. Marine 2nd Division for Betio Islet on Tarawa Atoll was the bloodiest single action in the Corps long history. Akagi class Japanese aircraft carrier that was part of the first detachment of the Japanese carrier strike force. He was dragged out of his flagship Akagi before it sank against his will. No matter what other people tell you, your decision was correct". The heavily fortified islands, former British possessions, were of strategic value because of their good landing strips and naval base. Spruances fleet had prevented the Japanese from reinforcing the Saipan garrison. Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in the corresponding Aleutian Islands Invasion. On February 26, 1940, Spruance reported as commandant of the 10th Naval District with headquarters at Naval Station Isla Grande in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the fighting, the Japanese lost three carriers and around 600 aircraft. Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters, Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers and Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers thundered off the flight decks and rose to search for the enemy carriers. He was then 55. As his staff worked, Halsey used the fleet to win the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He later volunteered to fly a damaged plane and was killed leading the second of Hiryu's counterattacks against the USS Yorktown. Spruance succeeded Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas in November 1945, a few months after the end of the war. 1155 (August 1946): 144-157. The two admirals presented a contrast in styles as Spruance tended to be quiet and meticulous while Halsey was brash and more impetuous. On December 30, 1914, Spruance married Margaret Vance Dean, the daughter of an Indianapolis businessman. Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance was a key American naval commander who served in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. He advanced quickly through the ranks, becoming an admiral in 1944. Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during World War Two. They find and score 3 hits on the USS Yorktown, but also sustain heavy losses. He shifted his flag to the old battleship USSNew Mexico of the shore bombardment force after Indianapolis was struck by a Kamikaze off Okinawa. Besides his family, he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer, Peter. 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 Yamaguchi and the Hiryu's captain decide to stay aboard the ship. Five days after the Marshalls campaign, Spruance sent the Mitscher force to attack Tinian and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. The American toll was 1,100 dead and almost 2,300 wounded. McClusky led one squadron, VB-6, against the carrier Kaga, while the other Enterprise squadron pounced on Nagumos flagship, Akagi. [17], The Battle of Midway is considered by many to be a turning point of the war in the Pacific, along with the Guadalcanal campaign. 108 planes under Juichi Tomanaga bomb and strafe Midway. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in Aleutian islands campaign. His seagoing career was extensive, including command of five destroyers and the battleship Mississippi. B. As Allied forces battled on the island, Spruance's ships defeated Operation Ten-Go on April 7 which saw the Japanese battleship Yamato attempt to break through to the island. The US navy ended up winning the battle and historians consider this a major turning point in the Pacific Theater during World War II. You can specify conditions of storing and accessing cookies in your browser, How does Admiral Spruance explain the U.S. victory, The Brown case began what trend in American 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. Once theBattle of the Philippine Sea came to an end, Spruance returned to Pearl Harbour to help plan other landings in the future. 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. He was drafted on short notice for his date with destiny. At the end of the Second World War Congress created a limited number of five-star ranks for the Army and the Navy, designated General of the Army and Fleet Admiral. For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today! At Midway, Spruances force inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy its worst setback in 350 years. Then Nagumos force was spotted by torpedo bombers from Hornets squadron VT-8, led by Lt. Cmdr. The Saipan campaign began with air attacks on June 10, 1944. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,, Commander in Chief, Pacific, (right) and, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander, Central Pacific Force, (center) Tour Kwajalein Island, Marshalls, February 5,1944, following its capture. Landing troops on Saipan on June 15, he defeated Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa at the Battle of the Philippine Sea a few days later. US Naval Task force under Raymond Spruance with 2 carriers, Enterprise and Hornet. With it he intended to significantly expand the Imperial Japanese Navy's outer defense perimeter across the central Pacific; and, he believed, this very powerful stroke against Midway would so severely threaten Hawaii and Pearl Harbor that the U.S. government would be induced to sue for peace. During the operation, the Fifth Fleet burned up 630 million gallons of fuelmore than the entire Pacific Fleet used in 1943. [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. The battle commenced on the morning of June4; the first several waves of U.S. attack aircraft were badly beaten, both near Midway and at sea around the Japanese task force. From 1952 to 1955 Spruance served as the American ambassador to Philippines. Moving forward in mid-1944, Spruance embarked on a campaign in the Marianas Islands. Besides his family, he went with her he advanced quickly through the ranks, becoming an in. Dive bombers to strike, which fatally damaged the fourth Japanese carrier ; was... Led by Lt. Cmdr Japanese carrier strike force fuelmore than the entire Pacific fleet in... 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