British Royal Navy units helped support the landings. Japanese Admiral in command of the second division of the carrier strike force based on Aircraft Carrier IJN Hiryu. It was hit and shortly after destroyed by American dive bombers. He was then 55. During the last year of World War I he was assigned as Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Naval Shipyard, and carried out temporary duty in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. Overseeing the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943, he guided Allied forces as they advanced through the Gilbert Islands. Most common sailors were proud to serve under Halsey; most higher-ranking officers preferred to serve under Spruance. Midway Island sent a false message stating that its water distillation plant had been damaged and that the base needed fresh water. Maintaining a position offshore, the Fifth Fleet's ships were subjected to relentless kamikaze attacks by Japanese aircraft. Morison said: Keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces, yet boldly seizing every opening, Raymond A. Spruance emerged from this battle one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history.He was bold and aggressive when the occasion demanded offensive tactics; cautious when pushing his luck too far might have lost the fruits of victory. Having attained the rank of commander, Spruance attended the Senior Course at the Naval War College in July 1926. 7 reviews. Web. Admiral Halsey was given command of the Third Fleet, and later that year Task Force 58 was transferred to Halseys fleet. Biographies, 20th century collection, Navy Department Library, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Spruance, Raymond A. Calm, collected, decisive, yet receptive to advice; keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces, yet boldly seizing every opening. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. [30] He is shown to be at loggerheads with his staff on numerous occasions and corrected by them once. At Midway, dive bombers from the Enterprise crippled sank four larger carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. 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). "Well, pick it up and put it back," was Spruance's measured response.[8]. "Admiral Raymond Spruance". The Japanese managed to inflict only superficial damage on three ships. 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. 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. With World War I raging, he became Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Navy Yard. 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. The Americans lost 74 carrier planes; the Japanese 80. Despite this, some detractors argued that Spruances tactics at Philippine Sea were overly cautious. In August 1943 Spruance was placed in command of the Central Pacific Force, which, on April 29, 1944, was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. He is responsible for the Japanese battle plan to attack Midway and the Aleutian Islands. The American toll was 1,100 dead and almost 2,300 wounded. On 6 December 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese bombers and America was swept into World War Two. Lt Tomanaga leads Japanese Torpedo Bombers to attack the remaining carriers. 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. Flagship of Task Force 16 under the command of Raymond Spruance. erful leader. He suggested Spruance replace him as commander of the Fleet carrier force, despite the fact that Spruce had little experience with carriers. Japanese escort carrier that was mainly responsible for launching scouts attached to Combined Fleet main body. When she went to sea in 1916, he went with her. Having been promoted to rear admiral in December 1939, he was directed to assume command of the Tenth Naval District (San Juan, PR) in February 1940. Aboard the battleship Yamato, Admiral Yamamoto received word that the U.S. fleet was at Midwaynot Pearl Harbor as he had thought. Capturing and occupying Midway was the brainchild-plan of commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. 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. The Japanese planned to outwit the U.S. forces at Midway. After another three-year tour at the Naval War College, Spruance was again ordered to sea aboard Mississippi. Richmond Kelly Turner and Harry W. Hill and Marine Generals Holland M. Smith and Julian C. Smith. Navy.[4]. Yet the decision is hailed by the series's narrator as instrumental in sealing the American victory. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance displayed outstanding leadership and command capabilities during the battle that turned the tide in the Pacific. After these victories, Spruance went back to Pearl Harbour to assist with planning Japans invasion. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Spruance's rise to fame . 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. He did not discuss his private life, feelings, prejudices, hopes or fears, except perhaps with his family and his closest friends. Meanwhile, the Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands had been carried out as planned on June 3. It Didnt End Well. 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. President Harry S. Truman appointed him ambassador to the Philippines in January 1952, and he served until March 1955. He was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. With the battleship's completion, Spruance joined its crew and remained aboard until November 1917. During this period, Spruance served aboard USS Minnesota (BB-22) during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. 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. His air group is credited with the sinking of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers during Midway. Recently promoted to rear admiral, Spruance was assigned to command a division of cruisers in the Pacific under Admiral Nimitz in 1941. It's commanding officer, Captain Yanagimoto, volunteered to stay aboard and go down with his ship. About us| . Akagi was lashed by bombs, which exploded torpedoes that were being loaded onto her planes, and the crew abandoned ship. He graduated from Shortridge High School and went on to the U.S. Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II. Japanese propagandists pointed to their success in the Aleutians to offset the defeat at Midway, but actually the Aleutians were of little strategic value. Locating the Japanese carriers as they were rearming and refueling their aircraft, American bombers inflicted massive damage and sank three. There are submarines, there are mini-submarines, and then there are human torpedoes. She went down with Admiral Yamaguchi, an outstanding flag officer who, it was said, would have been Yamamotos successor had he lived. These raids were critical to moralesetting a new tone of aggressiveness by U.S. commanders while providing invaluable battle experience for the commanders and sailors of the U.S. Admiral Yamamoto commanded the combined invasion fleet from aboard his flagship Yamato. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. He loved to show them to visitors. This occurred at the same time that Admiral Turner's forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls, about 700 miles to the east. 2015. By that time, he was said to be an expert on the many engines, instruments and guns that go into a battleship. Five days after the Marshalls campaign, Spruance sent the Mitscher force to attack Tinian and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Admiral Raymond Spruance on the balcony of the U.S. Embassy, Manila, while serving as U.S. Admiral Spruance commanded with deadly precision, reported an observer. Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 3, 1886, to Alexander and Annie Hiss Spruance. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Spruance for promotion to full admiral on February 10, 1944, and he was approved. Historian Morison later described Spruances performance at Midway as superb. The first Japanese airstrike was followed by another. His division was an element of the task force built around the aircraft carrier USSEnterprise and commanded by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. Nagumo ordered his planes rearmed on their return. A bust of Spruance is in the lobby. In this position, he traveled to London and Edinburgh. (2021, July 31). A squadron of US Dive bombers which had arrived late after getting lost ambush the Japanese carriers bombing and resulting in the sinking of three out of four carriers. World War II: Admiral Raymond Spruance. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. On 13 May 1945, Admiral Raymond Spruance put pen to paper and described the second kamikaze attack he experienced at Okinawa. It was hit and sunk by American dive bombers and the submarine USS Nautilus. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison believed he was one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history. They met practically no opposition because most of the Zeros were still close to the water, not having had time to climb and counterattack. Adding to the surprise factor was the fact that Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo did not believe the U.S. Pacific Fleet was at sea. After further schooling at the Stevens Preparatory School in New Jersey, Spruance applied to and was accepted by the US Naval Academy in 1903. After his funeral, he was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery near the grave of his wartime commander, Nimitz. Always calm, always at peace with himself, Spruance had that ability which marks the great captain to make correct estimates and the right decisions in a fluid battle situation. U.S. losses were low: 25 airplanes and 18 lives. The Battle of Midway was the first major victory for the United States over Japan and is seen by many as . 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 was then ordered to the China station, with sea duty aboard the battleship Connecticut and the cruiser Cincinnati. Following a stint aboard USS Cincinnati, Spruance was made commander of the destroyer USS Bainbridge in March 1913 with the rank of lieutenant (junior grade). Historian Samuel Eliot Morison believed he was one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history. With the end of the war, Spruance aided in returning American troops home before moving through a succession of engineering postings and destroyer commands. 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. He also held several engineering, intelligence, staff and Naval War College positions up to the 1940s. The gallant carrier was crippled but nearly succeeded in reaching safety before torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-68 finally sank her three days later. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz called him a fine man, a sterling character, and a great leader, and said, nothing you can say about him would be praise enough. He was the grandfather of legendary theatre director Anne Bogart. Spruance was a dedicated sailorthorough in his absorption of all aspects of training and techniques. https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511 (accessed March 1, 2023). [13] But in summing up Spruance's performance in the battle, Morison wrote: "Fletcher did well, but Spruance's performance was superb. Raymond Spruance was born in Baltimore on July 3, 1886, the son of Alexander and Annie Spruance. Following the campaign, Spruance turned the fleet over to Halsey and began planning operations to capture Iwo Jima. Spruance also held several engineering . Yamato class battleship that served as the Japanese Combined Fleet's Flagship, housing Admiral Yamamoto. help him spread the Gospel?Here is your goal for this assignment:Write a report discussing how education can be a key ingredient of effective ministryIn a report of 250-500 words, i.e., one-half to one-page, provide at least three ways in which Paul's education helped him to be more effective in his ministry. 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. He was uniquely modest and candid about himself all his life. Launched the planes that were responsible for the sinking of nearly all 4 Japanese Carriers at Midway. But the American commander, who could be daring and resourceful when necessary, could also exhibit shrewd caution when his experienced mind sensed an ambush. No matter what other people tell you, your decision was correct". The airstrips in the Gilberts were put to good use two months later when they were used in the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Known for his calm in moments of crisis, Admiral Spruance became one of the U.S. Navy's largest assets in World War II. Lieutenant Commander Maxwell Leslies VB-3 from Yorktown attacked the carrier Soryu. Aircraft carrier that served as the flagship of Task Force 17 and Admiral Fletcher. He never did things the same way twice. At Midway, Spruance's force inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy its worst setback in 350 years. The attack fails to destroy any airfields or major targets. Bombs destroyed the bridge of Kaga and set her ablaze from stem to stern. The young, ambitious officer was then assigned to Bainbridge, U.S. destroyer No. It faced a Japanese invasion fleet organized into two groups: the air-attack task force of four carriers with support ships under command of Admiral Chichi Nagumo, and the surface and occupation forces under Admiral Nobutake Kond and others. Spruance is depicted as the controversial victor of Midway by G. D. Spradlin in the 1988 TV miniseries War and Remembrance. For that assault, Spruance led the most powerful naval strike force in history. The recipient of the letter below was his longtime friend and former chief-of-staff Captain Charles "Carl" J. Moore. In July 1941, his responsibilities were expanded to include oversight of the Caribbean Sea Frontier. My mind is blank. Clarence McClusky, swooped from 19,000 feet onto Nagumos ships. He commanded U.S. naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. >A few days later, Mitscher rejoined Spruance and the Fifth Fleet. For exceptionally meritorious service During the Midway engagement which resulted in the defeat of and heavy losses to the enemy fleet, his seamanship, endurance, and tenacity in handling his task force were of the highest quality., (Citation on Rear Admiral Spruances Navy Distinguished Service Medal, awarded for his conduct at the Battle of Midway). He was fond of symphonic music, and his tastes were generally simple. Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during World War Two. C. American Dream Most historians consider Midway the turning point of the Pacific War.[1]. Moving into position near Midway, Spruance's force was later joined by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher's TF 17 which included the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5). 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