Fewer than two days before launch from Pearl Harbor, Nimitz's commander of the fleet carrier force, Admiral Halsey, was hospitalized with severe shingles;[10] Halsey immediately recommended Admiral Spruance to Nimitz as his replacement with Admiral Fletcher receiving overall command. He began attendance at the Naval War College in 1926, and graduated in 1927. Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II.He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle of the Philippine Sea.He also commanded Task Force 16 at the Battle of Midway, comprising the carriers Enterprise and Hornet. Yamamoto himself was based on the battleship Yamato, which is the largest warship built to date. Spruance rewarded his trust by playing a decisive role in the US victory at the Battle Of Midway. Nagumo ordered his planes rearmed on their return. This time we were right because the enemy did what we expected him to do. At Midway, dive bombers from the Enterprise crippled sank four larger carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. In the fighting, the Japanese lost three carriers and around 600 aircraft. This occurred at the same time that Admiral Turner's forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls, about 700 miles to the east. Web. No matter what other people tell you, your decision was correct". 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. Spruance himself directed a task group of battleships, cruisers and destroyers that left the main body to go after Japanese ships that were fleeing Truk, sinking the light cruiser Katori and destroyer Maikaze. Returning to Newport, Spruance remained at the college until retiring from the US Navy on July 1, 1948. On April 28, the last day of the invasion, Spruances command was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy, April 1955 . Adding to the surprise factor was the fact that Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo did not believe the U.S. Pacific Fleet was at sea. Admiral Halsey was given command of the Third Fleet, and later that year Task Force 58 was transferred to Halseys fleet. 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. 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. His seagoing career was extensive, including command of five destroyers and the battleship Mississippi. They find and score 3 hits on the USS Yorktown, but also sustain heavy losses. Aboard the Japanese flattops, many torpedo-carrying planes were waiting for fighters to take off as the American planes dived. 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 had been overconfident, and the Americans taught them a bitter lesson. By that time, he was said to be an expert on the many engines, instruments and guns that go into a battleship. King said to him "Spruance, you did a damn fine job there. Halsey was aggressive and a risk taker. Naval Academy, graduating in 1906. Two minutes later, 37 dive bombers from Enterprise, led by Lt. Cmdr. 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. Spruance graduated from the U.S. Spruance, Raymond A. 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. As part of this reorganization, the force became known as the Fifth Fleet when Spruance was in charge and the Third Fleet when Halsey was in command. Four fleet carriers and the heavy cruiser Mikuma were sunk; a cruiser, three destroyers, an oiler and a battleship were damaged. Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 3, 1886, to Alexander and Annie Hiss Spruance. Historian Morison later described Spruances performance at Midway as superb. President Harry S. Truman appointed him ambassador to the Philippines in January 1952, and he served until March 1955. All three were eventually scuttled. But what was important about this actionthe first naval battle in history fought by fleets that never came within sight of each otherwas that the U.S. Navy had thwarted the enemys planned capture of Port Moresby in strategic New Guinea. Admiral William L. Calhoun saw him as a cold-blooded fighting fool. One exception was Admiral John Towers, a constant critic of Spruance, whom Spruance came to despise for his naked ambition.[18]. It was bombed by dive bombers from the Enterprise and as scuttled shortly after Nagumo was forced by his staff to evacuate. Up until this time, the Japanese had captured island after island as they . In the opening weeks of the conflict, Spruance's cruisers served under Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey and took part in raids against the Gilbert and Marshall Islands before striking Wake Island. 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. But they expected it to come at the obvious and exposed outer fringe, and when we struck at the heart of the archipelago with a huge fleet that had approached undetected, we enjoyed complete tactical surprise. Admiral Nimitz praised Spruance for a remarkable job. In this state the Japanese carriers would be extremely vulnerable. 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 was a diligent, neat and gentle boy. Capturing and occupying Midway was the brainchild-plan of commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. During this period, Spruance served aboard USS Minnesota (BB-22) during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. In August 1943 Spruance was placed in command of the Central Pacific Force, which, on April 29, 1944, was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. [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." 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. Summing up his appraisal of this outstanding sailor, Morison noted: Spruance in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, overriding Mitscher the carrier expert in letting the enemy planes come at him instead of going in search of them, won the second most decisive battle of the Pacific war. After Rome fell, the bishop of Constantinople became the most pow HistoryLearning.com. Spruance expressed his personal feelings on this matter as follows: So far as my getting five star rank is concerned, if I could have got it along with Bill Halsey, that would have been fine; but, if I had received it instead of Bill Halsey, I would have been very unhappy over it. Known for his calm in moments of crisis, Admiral Spruance became one of the U.S. Navy's largest assets in World War II. Spruance began World War II as a gunship admiral, commanding a division of . He's one of the finest officers I know of. [7], Spruance served in Washington until early 1924, when he was ordered to the headquarters, Commander Naval Force in Europe. D. Suburban America, 100 POINTS! He envied no one, rivaled no man, won the respect of almost everyone with whom he came in contact, and went ahead in his quiet way, winning victories for his country.When we come to the admirals who commanded at sea, and who directed a great battle, there was no one to equal Spruance. 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 enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. Then, reflect on the education opportunities that God has provided us today. It was the only aircraft carrier in the presence of Midway Island to survive the dive bomber attack and launched two and a half waves of planes against the United States Navy. He was then 55. 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. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. He never smoked, and drank little. 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 U.S. Navy intercept force centered on the three carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown, and their air-attack squadrons. They met practically no opposition because most of the Zeros were still close to the water, not having had time to climb and counterattack. By 1939, at the age of 53, Spruance had spent 18 years at sea. 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