His work would bring him a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal. More to his liking was the study of foreign methods of naval fire control, which took him to London and Edinburgh. [11] Although Spruance was proven as a cruiser division commander, he had no experience handling carrier-air combat; Halsey reassured Nimitz, and he told Spruance and Fletcher to rely on their newly inherited staff, particularly Captain Miles Browning, a battle-proven expert in carrier warfare. [7], Spruance ran a quiet bridge, without chit-chat; he demanded that orders be given concisely and clearly. Most common sailors were proud to serve under Halsey; most higher-ranking officers preferred to serve under Spruance. Hickman, Kennedy. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. A. Desegregation of Society His entry in Whos Who in America was only three lines long (including his full name), and a footnote in Morisons monumental history of the U.S. Navy in World War II testifies to his modesty. When Midway began on June 4, 1942 the first few waves of U.S. aircraft were greatly outnumbered by Japanese forces. He organized the Japanese counterattack on the American carriers and is credited with the sinking of the USS Yorktown, the only American Carrier sunk at Midway. The Americans were gravely outnumbered by the lurking enemy armada. He was promoted to captain in 1932, and the following year he was assigned as chief of staff and aide to the commander of a destroyer scouting force. Besides his family, he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer, Peter. I was shanghaied ashore in November of the next year to take over as electrical superintendent at the New York Navy Yard, said Spruance. It is still the largest warship built to date and survived the battle undamaged as it never came near the battlefield despite Yamamoto's protests. Yorktowns planes hit Soryu as she was turning into the wind to launch aircraft. Following the war, Spruance served as US Ambassador to the Philippines from 1952 to 1955. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Raymond A. Spruance emerged from the battle one of the greatest admirals in American naval history". Aboard the battleship Yamato, Admiral Yamamoto received word that the U.S. fleet was at Midwaynot Pearl Harbor as he had thought. Admiral Yamaguchi and the Hiryu's captain decide to stay aboard the ship. 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. [31] The series, based on Herman Wouk's book of the same name, shows Spruance's decision to end the battle and retreat rather than confront the rest of the Japanese fleet as having been opposed by his subordinates, and he was mocked behind his back as "lacking the stomach." 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. He advanced quickly through the ranks, becoming an admiral in 1944. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. During this period, Spruance served aboard USS Minnesota (BB-22) during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. He did not discuss his private life, feelings, prejudices, hopes or fears, except with his family and his closest friends. Spruance received the Navy Cross for his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.[23]. His wife, Margaret Dean (18881985), is buried alongside him, as are Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, his longtime friend Admiral Richmond K. Turner, and Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, an arrangement made by all of them while living. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. The Japanese planned to outwit the U.S. forces at Midway. He was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thus the Americans knew the Japanese planned to move toward Midway. The Japanese navy could never accept this catastrophic loss. His air group is credited with the sinking of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers during Midway. Spruance was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and in May 1943 he was promoted to vice admiral. Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance was a key American naval commander who served in the Pacific Theater of World War II.A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Spruance commanded cruisers during the early months of the conflict and first came to prominence for helping lead American forces to victory at the pivotal Battle of Midway in June 1942. United States Rear Admiral in command of Task Force 17 on the USS Yorktown. Raymond Ames Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 3, 1886, to Alexander and Annie Spruance, but grew up in Indianapolis. Admiral Yamamoto had hoped to fight a classic-style sea battle with battleships, but Spruance had proved that the aircraft carrier was now emerging as the capital ship of naval combat forces. Critical for the defense of Hawaii, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, intended to dispatch Halsey to block the enemy thrust. With the battleship's completion, Spruance joined its crew and remained aboard until November 1917. During the joint operations leading to the assault and capture of the important enemy bases, complete integration of Army and Navy units was accomplished under his outstanding leadership, enabling all the forces to perform their closely co-ordinated missions with outstanding success.[24]. Spruance was put in command of Task Force 16, which included two carriers: USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, and was instrumental in the decisive US victory in the Battle of Midway. In the seven-week campaign, 55 Japanese ships were sunk, five probably sunk and 74 damaged. The defenders fought fiercely but were unable to inflict any damage on the U.S. vessels. Ambassador to the Philippines in 1952-55. Admiral Spruance explained the U.S. victory at Midway in the following way. How did Paul's education During World War II, he was commander in the . He served as an instructor at the Naval War College from 1935 to 1938. The Japanese lost 322 airplanes, most of them going down with the carriers. With Okinawa's fall in June, Spruance rotated back to Pearl Harbor to begin planning the invasion of Japan. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance displayed outstanding leadership and command capabilities during the battle that turned the tide in the Pacific. The attack fails to destroy any airfields or major targets. While one was at sea, the other would be planning their next operation. They find and score 3 hits on the USS Yorktown, but also sustain heavy losses. Michio Kobayashi Nimitz had no battleships left after the Pearl Harbor attack, and after the Battle of the Coral Sea there were only two flattops ready for action, Enterprise and Hornet. For his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Spruance was awarded the Navy Cross. https://www.historynet.com/admiral-raymond-a-spruance-modest-victor-of-midway/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs. Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during World War Two. He took part in organising the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and led the 5th Fleet in these two final battles. Spruance directed Operation Hailstone against the Japanese naval base Truk in February 1944 in which twelve Japanese warships, thirty-two merchant ships and 249 aircraft were destroyed. The Japanese carriers were beginning to launch fighters as Torpedo 8 roared down to attack, without fighter cover. Mounting a tenacious defense, the Japanese held out for over a month. Mitschers force pursued the Japanese fleet and engaged it the following day in the Philippine Sea, sinking the light carrier Hiyo and two oilers (in addition to which submarines Albacore and Cavalla had sunk Taiho and Shokaku the previous day). Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II. On October 16, 1946, the former Secretary of War, Robert P. Patterson, presented the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Admiral Spruance, with citation as follows: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy, as Task Force Commander during the capture of the Marshall and Marianas Islands, rendered exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services from January to June 1944. Known for his calm in moments of crisis, Admiral Spruance became one of the U.S. Navy's largest assets in World War II. He readied himself at Stevens Preparatory School in Hoboken, N.J., and entered Annapolis in July 1903 at age 17. >A few days later, Mitscher rejoined Spruance and the Fifth Fleet. While in that capacity he assumed additional duty as a member of the board on doctrine of aircraft in connection with fleet fire control. Spruance was about to face the sternest test in his long, distinguished career. On August 1, 1941, he finished his tour in Puerto Rico. Admiral Spruance could have been right. On February 19, American forces landed and opened the Battle of Iwo Jima. He graduated from the U.S. This occurred at the same time that Admiral Turner's forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls, about 700 miles to the east. Weeks later . Admiral Yamamoto commanded the combined invasion fleet from aboard his flagship Yamato. At that time, Admiral Nimitz instituted a unique arrangement in which the command of the vessels which made up the "Big Blue Fleet" alternated between Admiral William Halsey Jr., at which time it was identified as the Third Fleet and Task Force 38, and Admiral Spruance, when it became the Fifth Fleet and Task Force 58. Answer: Admiral Yamamoto had hoped to fight a classic-style sea battle with battleships, but Spruance had proved that the aircraft carrier was now emerging as the capital ship of naval combat forces. [Admiral Spruance wrote this foreward for Mitsuo Fuchida's book, Midway, The Battle That Doomed Japan; The Japanese Navy's . Though Spruance had not led a carrier force in the past, Nimitz agreed as the rear admiral would be aided by Halsey's staff, including the gifted Captain Miles Browning. Terms of Use| (. Naval Academy in 1906,[5] and received further, hands-on education in electrical engineering a few years later. This time we were right because the enemy did what we expected him to do. Although he broke the back of the Japanese naval air force by sinking three carriers, two oilers and destroying about 600 enemy airplanes (so many that the remaining Japanese carriers were used solely as decoys in the Battle of Leyte Gulf a few months later due to the lack of aircraft and aircrews to fly them) Spruance has been criticized for not being aggressive enough in exploiting his success in the Philippine Sea. After six furious minutes, the three carriers were left burning. For that assault, Spruance led the most powerful naval strike force in history. Spruance's first duty assignment was aboard the battleship USSIowa, an 11,400 ton veteran of the SpanishAmerican War. Known as "island hopping," U.S. forces moved from island to island, using each as a base for capturing the next. Spruances performance at Midway so impressed Admiral Nimitz that he made him his chief of staff. It was interesting work, but I wouldnt want to do it for a living. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. He was modest and candid about himself. Spruance was portrayed by Glenn Ford (a US Naval Reserve officer himself) in the 1976 film Midway, and by Jake Weber in the 2019 film Midway. The three-day operation was the most extensive ever undertaken by carriers. When Yorktown was struck at Midway, however, Fletcher transferred his flag to the cruiser Astoria and placed Spruance tactically in charge. For the main Midway assault, the Japanese force consisted of the main battle fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, composed of three battleships, a light carrier and a destroyer screen; Admiral Chuichi Nagumos combined fleet of two battleships, two heavy cruisers, destroyers and four fleet carriers carrying more than 250 aircraft; and an invasion task force led by Admiral Nobutake Kondo, consisting of a dozen transport ships carrying 5,000 troops, closely supported by four heavy cruisers, two battleships and a light carrier; and a three-cordon submarine force intended to neutralize U.S. countermoves. His new duties involved planning rather than operations, and Spruance chafed for more action. From the remaining enemy carrier, Hiryu, Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi launched bombers and torpedo planes against Yorktown. The slow-moving Devastators were easy targets for the Japanese gunners and Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, and all 15 were shot down. He attended grade and high schools in East Orange, N.J., and in Indianapolis. An academic building at the Naval War College was also named for him. Because of gaps in the search patterns flown by the Japanese, the American carriers were able to approach unseen. Spruance's achievements were acknowledged by the unique distinction of a special act of Congress awarding him Admiral's full pay for life. 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. On November 24, Spruance relieved Nimitz as Commander, US Pacific Fleet. At Midway, Spruances force inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy its worst setback in 350 years. He was in this post on June 4, 1942, when the Japanese navy attacked Midway Island in force. United States Admiral in command of naval units on the Pacific Theatre in 1942. The following year, they made me executive officer of the transport Agamemnon, bringing troops home from France. A number of torpedo squadrons from the airfields and carriers launch attacks on the Japanese carriers but score no hits and almost all planes involved were shot down. It Didnt End Well. United States bombers sank three Japanese ships. Japanese fleet under the direct command of Admiral Yamamoto with over 5 battleships and escort carrier Hosho. The Battle of Midway was fought June 4-7, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945) and was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. He was then ordered to the China station, with sea duty aboard the battleship Connecticut and the cruiser Cincinnati. That same year he received a new assignment: assistant machinery inspector at the Newport News, Va., dry dock, where the battleship Pennsylvania was being outfitted. This was followed by a promotion to Deputy Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet in September. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. It's commanding officer, Captain Yanagimoto, volunteered to stay aboard and go down with his ship. He was dragged out of his flagship Akagi before it sank against his will. The U.S. Navy intercept force centered on the three carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown, and their air-attack squadrons. Yet because of his modest, retiring nature, Spruance was never a popular hero in the manner of Admirals Nimitz, William F. Halsey and Marc A. Mitscher. Fit and spare in his 70s, Spruance spent most of his retirement days wearing old khakis and work shoes and working in his garden and greenhouse. In August 1943, Spruance, now a vice admiral, returned to sea as Commander Central Pacific Force. US Naval Task force under Raymond Spruance with 2 carriers, Enterprise and Hornet. Notwithstanding their different personalities, Spruance and Halsey were close friends. He did not discuss his private life, feelings, prejudices, hopes or fears, except perhaps with his family and his closest friends. Five days after the Marshalls campaign, Spruance sent the Mitscher force to attack Tinian and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Locating the Japanese carriers as they were rearming and refueling their aircraft, American bombers inflicted massive damage and sank three. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. Fletcher quickly ordered his dive bombers to strike, which fatally damaged the fourth Japanese carrier; it was scuttled the next day. Shortly after the Midway battle, Spruance became chief of staff to Admiral Nimitz, and in September 1942 was appointed as Deputy Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet. The combined American force consisted of three carriers, eight cruisers, 15 destroyers, 12 submarines and 353 aircraft, ranged against a grand total of 200 Japanese vessels and 700 planes. 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 son of Alexander and Annie Spruance, Raymond Ames Spruance was born at Baltimore, MD on July 3, 1886. His flagship was badly damaged by the Japanese and was hit by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine before sinking. [7], He commanded the Percival during the sea trials off the California coast and during the patrol cruises with the Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet until May 1922, when he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Bureau of Engineering under Rear Admiral John K. Robison. >On March 29, 1944, Admiral Spruance took tactical command of a three-pronged assault against the Palau Islands, 550 miles east of the Philippines, and against Yap Island and Ulithi Atoll in the western Carolines. After these victories, Spruance went back to Pearl Harbour to assist with planning Japans invasion. On June 4, Spruance and Fletcher engaged four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway. After Midway, although the Japanese still held a temporary advantage in vessels and planes, the U.S. Navy and the nation gained confidence and, most critically, time. He suggested Spruance replace him as commander of the Fleet carrier force, despite the fact that Spruce had little experience with carriers. On April 22, Task Force 58s guns and planes supported the U.S. invasion of Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea and Aitape in Australian New Guinea. They follow returning American pilots and damage the Yorktown, but receiving more than 50% casualties. 7 reviews. 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. Although some historians and many newsmen have written many words about Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy and his brilliant career in the Pacific in World War II, the complete story of this reserved and self-effacing man is now being told for the first time by one of his close friends and wartime associates. [14][15] For his actions at the battle of Midway Rear Admiral Spruance was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and cited as follows: "For exceptionally meritorious service as Task Force Commander, United States Pacific Fleet. [citation needed]. She went down with Admiral Yamaguchi, an outstanding flag officer who, it was said, would have been Yamamotos successor had he lived. Naval Academy at Annapolis. The small Marine Corps garrison scrambled its handful of Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat and Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters, but they were too weak and slow to deter the Japanese. Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in Aleutian islands campaign. The Gilberts attack was planned and directed by Spruance, with the assistance of Rear Adms. Meanwhile, Task Force 58 was busy in the forefront of clearing the Japanese from the 600-mile-long Marianas chain. ), honoris causa degree from Central Philippine University in 1955, an institution of higher learning founded by the American Baptist missionary, William Orison Valentine in 1905. He was commissioned an ensign in 1908, and during a tour of shore duty he took a postgraduate course in electrical engineering in Schenectady, N.Y. Three bombs hammered her. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. This site is using cookies under cookie policy . 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. The Battle of Midway was the first major victory for the United States over Japan and is seen by many as . "[16] Both Fletcher and Nimitz recommended Spruance for the Distinguished Service Medal for his role in the battle. [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. Early on, Halsey had led his task force on hit-and-run raids against the Japanese in the western Pacific: striking the Gilbert and Marshall islands in February 1942, Wake Island in March, and projecting the air power of the Doolittle Raid against the Japanese homeland in April. It was a cool, clear day. [6], Following his return to the United States, Spruance served aboard transport ship USS Agamemnon, before he was ordered to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, for duty in connection with fitting out of destroyer USS Aaron Ward in March 1919. His seagoing career was extensive, including command of five destroyers and the battleship Mississippi. The other U.S. flattop, Yorktown, escaped with one bomb hit. 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