The Japanese expected no American ships in the Midway area until after the landing there, and they hoped that the Pacific Fleet would dash northward as soon as it received word of the opening strikes in the Aleutians. Commanding the battleship for nearly two years, Spruance was aboard when World War II began in Europe. Fletcher quickly ordered his dive bombers to strike, which fatally damaged the fourth Japanese carrier; it was scuttled the next day. In the first months of World War II in the Pacific, Spruance commanded the four heavy cruisers and support ships of Cruiser Division Five from his flagship, the heavy cruiser USSNorthampton. Japanese supporting aircraft carrier in the corresponding Aleutian Islands Invasion. 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 Japanese had been battered for weeks by aerial bombardment, and knew the invasion was imminent. Before the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7-8 May 1942, the Imperial Navy of Japan had swept aside all of its enemies from the Pacific and Indian oceans. >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. The Coral Sea fight was virtually a warm-up for the Battle of Midway, regarded later as the turning point of the war in the Pacific. Raymond Ames Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 3, 1886, to Alexander and Annie Spruance, but grew up in Indianapolis. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D. Both commanders hoped for a classic battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy, but only Mitschers carrier planes were able to reach the enemy. After serving aboard the battleship Iowa, Spruance went on a world cruise aboard the battleship Minnesota. Privacy Policy, Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during. [Admiral Spruance wrote this foreward for Mitsuo Fuchida's book, Midway, The Battle That Doomed Japan; The Japanese Navy's . 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. For his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Spruance was awarded the Navy Cross. He studied hard, and when he graduated in September 1906, he stood 26th in his class. Spruance rewarded his trust by playing a decisive role in the US victory at the Battle Of Midway. Landing troops on Saipan on June 15, he defeated Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa at the Battle of the Philippine Sea a few days later. This was said to be the first time that a four-star admiral took part in a sea action aboard one of the ships engaged. He presided over US Forces in the Pacific during two decisive Allied victories: the Battle of Midway in 1942 and the 1944 Battle of the Philippines Sea. Two years later, he aided in the fitting out of USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) then under construction in the yard. No detail was too small to bring these American prisoners home. The young, ambitious officer was then assigned to Bainbridge, U.S. destroyer No. 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 was then ordered to the China station, with sea duty aboard the battleship Connecticut and the cruiser Cincinnati. He served as an instructor at the Naval War College from 1935 to 1938. Japanese escort carrier that was mainly responsible for launching scouts attached to Combined Fleet main body. 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. In one incident a distraught officer rushed to report, "Captain, we've just dropped a depth charge over the stern!" "When I look at myself objectively," he wrote in retirement, "I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. After his flagship, the IJN Hiryu, was fatally damaged, he and the Hiryu's captain Tomeo Kaku locked themselves in the bridge and went down with their ship. The Japanese intercepted this and soon started sending messages that "AF was short on water. On December 30, 1914, Spruance married Margaret Vance Dean, the daughter of an Indianapolis businessman. Then U.S. dive bombers from Spruance's Enterprise flew to Nagumo's fleet of four carriers which, fatefully, were without air cover. This was followed by an assault on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944. This saw him win a victory at Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 as part of the Allied "island-hopping" campaign across the Pacific. That December he was elevated to rear admiral, and in February 1940 he was placed in command of the 10th Naval District (Caribbean), with his headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They were hurled back decisively, and the losses353 enemy planes downed, 21 U.S. aircraft lostamazed the Americans. World War II: Admiral Raymond Spruance. Akagi was lashed by bombs, which exploded torpedoes that were being loaded onto her planes, and the crew abandoned ship. During WWII Italian Commandos Were Tasked to Ride Torpedoes. This gave rise to the description of Spruance as "an Admiral's admiral". 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. For his actions, Spruance received the Distinguished Service Medal and, later that month, Nimitz named him as his Chief of Staff and Aide. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance displayed outstanding leadership and command capabilities during the battle that turned the tide in the Pacific. Enterprise dive bombers critically damaged two Japanese carriers including Nagumo's flagship Akagi; while the Yorktown air group, launched after Fletcher was confident that all Japanese carriers were accounted for, crippled the Soryu. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511. When Midway began on June 4, 1942 the first few waves of U.S. aircraft were greatly outnumbered by Japanese forces. Japanese submarine I-168 torpedoes and torpedoes a damaged US aircraft carrier and its escorting destroyer. Japanese aircraft carrier squadron under the command of Chuichi Nagumo in command of aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. This time we were right because the enemy did what we expected him to do. Yet the decision is hailed by the series's narrator as instrumental in sealing the American victory. 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. Admiral Spruance died on 13 December 1969, at his home in Pebble Beach , California. Five days after the Marshalls campaign, Spruance sent the Mitscher force to attack Tinian and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Flagship of Task Force 16 under the command of Raymond Spruance. Japanese Admiral and a pioneer in aircraft carrier warfare. He never smoked, and drank little. World War II: Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, World War II: Battle of the Philippine Sea. A total of 1,132 enemy planes were put out of action. D. The Pope lived in Constantinople. 6 (June 1955): 658-659. A number of strategic and tactical errors contributed to the Japanese defeat: Yamamotos virtual isolation on the bridge of Yamato and his failure to maintain an overall grip on the strategic situation; a loss of nerve on the part of Nagumo; tradition that led Yamaguchi and other enemy commanders to go down with their ships instead of trying to recover the initiative; insufficient reconnaissance against the U.S. carriers; a lack of high-altitude fighter cover; inadequate fire precautions aboard the ships; and the launching of airstrikes from all four fleet carriers at the same time, so that there was a critical period when the Japanese carrier force had little defensive capability. The Eastern Orthodox Church developed from the church in Constantinople. For most of the war, Spruance preferred to use the heavy cruiser USSIndianapolis, named for his hometown, as his flagship. transmitted as a message) to Rear Admirals Frank Jack Fletcher and Raymond Spruance on the eve of the battle of Midway To quote a U S Navy website, "Nimitz clearly . US Naval Task Force under Frank Fletcher with aircraft carrier Yorktown. 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. In May 1914, Spruance received a posting as Assistant to the Inspector of Machinery at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. With the battleship's completion, Spruance joined its crew and remained aboard until November 1917. By 1939, at the age of 53, Spruance had spent 18 years at sea. Make sure to provide references and acknowledgement for any sources you use. Having attained the rank of commander, Spruance attended the Senior Course at the Naval War College in July 1926. However, Spruances fleet was also charged with guarding the amphibious landings at Saipan and Tinian. Admiral Spruance explained the U.S. victory at Midway in the following way. After air assaults, two rocky islands, Kiska and Attu, were occupied by Japanese ground forces. It would become on of the last aircraft carriers to be sunk in a war in all of history during the battle of Leyte Gulf 2-3 years later. It was bombed by dive bombers from the Enterprise and as scuttled shortly after Nagumo was forced by his staff to evacuate. 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. He began attendance at the Naval War College in 1926, and graduated in 1927. He presided over US Forces in the Pacific during two decisive Allied victories: the Battle of Midway in 1942 and the 1944 Battle of the Philippines Sea. 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. edward dean spruancegarberiel battery charger manual 26th February 2023 / in what's happening in silsbee, tx today / by / in what's happening in silsbee, tx today / by Retribution was not long in coming. Locating the Japanese carriers as they were rearming and refueling their aircraft, American bombers inflicted massive damage and sank three. Up until this time, the Japanese had captured island after island as they . So he changed course northeastward, avoiding the first wave of dive bombers launched against him from Spruances carriers. Following the campaign, Spruance turned the fleet over to Halsey and began planning operations to capture Iwo Jima. Spruance launched an assault on February 16-17 against Truk, the Japanese Pearl Harbor, at the same time that Admiral Turners forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls, about 700 miles to the west. About us| Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II. 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. 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. It was spotted by scouts from the USS Hornet and destroyed by planes from the Enterprise. Spruance, Raymond A. His classmates included Arthur L. Bristol, William L. Calhoun, William A. Glassford, Charles C. Hartigan, Aubrey W. Fitch, Frank J. Fletcher, Robert L. Ghormley, Isaac C. Kidd, John S. McCain Sr., Leigh Noyes, Ferdinand L. Reichmuth, John H. Towers, Russell Willson, and Thomas Withers. Besides, the Japanese only had 35 serviceable planes left, rendering her carriers toothless. Was the site of a naval battle between the United States and Japan in 1942. [9] On the other hand, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz knew he must intercept the Japanese invasion fleet, and that he must give battle to the enemy aircraft carriers before they could project their overwhelming power against the naval air station at Midway. Spruance became Commander of the 5th Fleet in November 1943, which presented him with command of the Central Pacific Forces. He graduated from the U.S. "[28], The destroyers Spruance(DD-963), lead ship of the Spruance class of destroyers, and Spruance(DDG-111), 61st ship of the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, were named in his honor.[29]. Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511 (accessed March 1, 2023). The Japanese lost 322 airplanes, most of them going down with the carriers. An academic building at the Naval War College was also named for him. United States Admiral in command of naval units on the Pacific Theatre in 1942. . He was survived by his wife and a daughter, Mrs. Gerald S. Bogart of Newport, R.I. His only son, Navy Captain Edward D. Spruance, who served for 30 years, was killed in a car accident in Marin County, Calif., in May 1969. northwestward of Midway. During this period, Spruance served aboard USS Minnesota (BB-22) during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. 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. 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. In the course of a two-hour interview, he stood or walked about all the timenot restlessly, but slowly and deliberately. Things did not look hopeful for Spruance and his force on the eve of Midway. Mounting a tenacious defense, the Japanese held out for over a month. B. 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. Armed with this information, Fletcher ordered Spruance to launch a strike at the Japanese with Enterprise and Hornet while holding Yorktown in reserve in case the other Japanese carriers were discovered. Admiral Ernest J. Japanese naval force tasked with the invasion of the Aleutian Islands under Vice Admiral Kakuta with aircraft carriers Junyo and Ryuho. The Americans lost 74 carrier planes; the Japanese 80. But his service was not yet finished. Three bombs hammered her. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. Serving in Manila, Spruance remained abroad until resigning his post in 1955. 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. Retiring to Pebble Beach, CA, he died there on December 13, 1969. 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