Ernest J. King

Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, King was appointed as COMINCH, and in March 1942, he succeeded Admiral Harold R. Stark as CNO, holding these two positions under wartime Executive Order.

On the Combined Chiefs, King advocated means to attain speedy victory in Europe First in order to execute the final reconstruction strategy for global stabilization through the central Pacific War maritime offensive in Asia.

[5] King secured an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from his local Congressman, Winfield Scott Kerr, after passing physical and written examinations in Mansfield, Ohio, ahead of thirty other applicants.

In thinking about American maritime policy, King often recalled the influence of the graduation address as given by the Vice President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, who handed out the diplomas.

For this reason, King left the Asiatic Fleet for temporary duty in Washington, D.C., for ten days of physical examinations and eventually his appearance before the Retention Board, as chaired by the President of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Charles B. Stockton.

[34] He met Royal Navy officers of the Admiralty planning staff, including Rear Admiral Sir Roger Keyes and Captain Dudley Pound, sowing the seeds of future collaboration.

At that time, Pratt wished for King to assist experimentation and discussions of doctrine for submarines, aircraft carriers, and amphibious force development ongoing at the Naval War College.

[63][64] [61] [65] King appeared before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Congressman William A. Ayres, where he was questioned about the Bureau of Aeronautics's contractual arrangements with Pratt and Whitney.

Although warned by his staff that an forthright answer could strain the relationship with the sole supplier of certain engines the Navy needed, King confirmed to the committee that Pratt and Whitney was making profits of up to 45 percent.

[72][73] King hoped to be appointed CNO or Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (CINCUS), but on 1 July 1939, he reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral and was posted to the General Board, an elephants' graveyard where senior officers spent the time remaining before retirement.

However, his assumption of command was delayed for a month by a hernia operation, and then several more weeks while he accompanied Edison's successor, Frank Knox, on another inspection tour, this time of bases in the Atlantic.

[80] On 17 December 1940, King raised his flag as Commander, Patrol Force (as the Atlantic Squadron had been renamed on 1 November) on the battleship USS Texas in Norfolk, Virginia.

[82] In January 1941 King issued Atlantic Fleet directive CINCLANT Serial 053, encouraging officers to delegate and avoid micromanagement, which is still cited widely in today's armed forces.

[85] In April 1941, King was summoned to Hyde Park, New York, where Roosevelt informed him of an upcoming conference with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, at Argentia.

[102] When Turner went to the South Pacific for the Guadalcanal campaign, he was succeeded by Rear Admiral Charles M. Cooke Jr..[100][101] Although he was now based at the Navy Department in Washington, D.C., King wanted to be able to put to sea himself at any time.

[123][124] Roosevelt did assent to King's proposal to create the post of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Aviation (DCNO (Air)), but in a note to Knox in August 1943 he wrote: "Tell Ernie once more: No reorganizing of the Navy Dept.

[133] By March 1944, it was estimated that the Navy would reach its manpower ceiling by August, and would require 340,000 more sailors by the end of the year for ships under construction, which included nine Essex-class aircraft carriers.

It was noted that this would exacerbate the national labor shortage and adversely affect the munitions industry, and drastic measures might be required if the Army ran into more manpower difficulties, as indeed occurred.

Each U-boat carried fourteen torpedoes, including some of the new electric model, which left no air bubbles in its wake, and had a deck gun capable of sinking many merchant ships.

Roosevelt, who had been involved in the development of the submarine chaser, a much smaller vessel, during World War I, believed that small craft would be sufficient to deal with the U-boats, and that they could be acquired at the last minute, so there was no need to interfere with the capital-ship building program.

While acknowledging that small craft like submarine chasers had their uses, King pointed out that escort duty required vessels that could cope with rough weather and had sufficient crewmen to mount round-the-clock watches.

In May 1942, King established a day and night interlocking convoy system running from Newport, Rhode Island, to Key West, Florida, and by August 1942, the submarine threat to shipping in US coastal waters had been contained.

[162] As the situation in the South Pacific went from bad to worse, King attempted to get Marshall and Arnold to provide additional resources, but their priority was Operation Torch, the landing in North West Africa.

Tests that he had recently conducted had confirmed reports from the submarine skippers that neither exploder worked properly, and he secured King's permission to modify the torpedoes at Pearl Harbor rather than wait for the Bureau of Ordnance to provide fixes.

"[178] King's focus on China upset the deliberations concerning the sequence of priorities in the Pacific Campaign, which further frustrated Nimitz in relations with General Douglas MacArthur, among other Allied Commanders.

King empowered temporary Rear Admiral Milton E. Miles to act as his personal authority in China, which upset transatlantic relationships at the highest levels of Allied command [179] The deployment of a British fleet to the Pacific was a political matter.

At the Octagon Conference in Quebec in September 1944, King was adamant that naval operations against Japan remain focused upon the final war aims of stabilization in Europe and Asia.

Such a characterization failed to reflect the historical understanding and deeper commitment King demonstrated as a strategist seeking to win as quickly and efficiently as possible in the global war at sea.

When Admiral Sir James Somerville was placed in charge of the British naval delegation in Washington, D.C., in October 1944 he managed—to the surprise of almost everyone—to get on very well with the notoriously abrasive and anti-British King.

Largely through his untiring energy, efficient administration and judicious decisions this most difficult task, under extremely adverse conditions, was brought to a prompt and successful conclusion.

Black and white portrait from the torso up of a young man in a shirt
As a naval cadet circa 1901
Three rows of men, one seated on the floor and two standing, in a black and white photograph taken on a ship's deck with the American flag flying above
Group portrait taken aboard USS Cincinnati at Chefoo , China, circa 1905. King is at left.
Four uniformed soldiers in front of a car, a uniformed soldier and a building with chimneys in the background. Black and white photograph
Admiral Henry T. Mayo (center) during 31 October 1918 inspection of Naval Air Station Pauillac, France. At left is King; between them is the station's commanding officer, Captain Franck T. Evans.
Eight men in front of a building's door at the center of a black and white photograph
Admiral Henry T. Mayo and his staff. King is at left.
Four men in naval jackets, three of them in caps and one in a top hat, standing to the right of a car, with two buildings in the background. Black and white photograph
King (second from right) during the visit of Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur (second from left) while in charge of salvage work of submarine USS S-4 in March 1928. His assistant, Lieutenant Henry Hartley , is on the right while Rear Admiral Philip Andrews (left) looks on.
Two rows of uniformed naval officers, five seated and four standing, in a black and white photograph taken on a ship's deck
King (center) and his officers on the USS Lexington
Black and white photograph of three men in khaki uniforms standing in front of a plane's centre, one man in aviator's uniform is deboarding while another person also in uniform is seated in the plane
Rear Admiral King arrives on board the USS Lexington in a new SOC Seagull in 1936.
Black and white photograph of five men; two men each in white naval uniform with caps standing to the right and left of a man in a suit with a top hat; a car and an opened hangar are at their right and to the back, a group of men in white naval uniform is at the bottom extreme left
Navy Secretary Charles Edison 's inspection tour of Naval Station Pearl Harbor on 12 April 1940. Left to right: King, Rear Admiral Arthur L. Bristol , Charles Edison , Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch and Captain Elliott Buckmaster .
Black and white photograph of two men. One is in a suit with his hand placed on the ship's deck's inner railing, the other is in white naval uniform with a cap, two men in khaki are to their left while an oil tanker is to their right
King and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on the cruiser USS Augusta in Bermuda in September 1941
Black and white photograph of a group of officers in uniforms and white or black caps standing behind two men seated on chairs talking to each other; the one on the left is in suit and tie, the one on the right is in a naval jacket and a black cap
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill on the quarterdeck of HMS Prince of Wales during the Atlantic Conference , 10 August 1941. King and Admiral Harold R. Stark stand behind them.
Black and white photograph of five men in naval uniform seated, in front of a table which has on top of it, from left to right, a book and paper, a beeper, an ashtray, a large map and a rotary dial telephone
King and his senior staff. Left to Right: Rear Admiral John H. Newton , Vice Admiral Frederick J. Horne , King, Vice Admiral Russell Willson and Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards .
Color photograph of a ship docked at a yard
King's flagship, the USS Dauntless , docked at the Washington Navy Yard , D.C.
Color photograph of four uniformed men seated at a lunch table
Joint Chiefs of Staff lunches were held every Wednesday. Left to right: General Henry H. Arnold , Admiral William D. Leahy , King, and General George C. Marshall .
Color photograph of three men, two of them in naval uniforms are at the right, the one at the center has his right hand raised, the third is in suit and tie at the left, who also has his right hand raised
King looks on as James V. Forrestal takes the oath of office as 40th Secretary of the Navy .
Black and white photograph of numerous people standing on a concrete surface, in front of three ships under construction with cranes on top of them
The escort carrier USS Casablanca , at right, about to be launched at Henry J. Kaiser 's shipyard in Vancouver, Washington , on 5 April 1943. Two of her 49 sister ships are under construction at left.
Black and white photograph of a ship broken in half at the center and sinking with fumes emerging from it, while at sea
Dixie Arrow torpedoed off Cape Hatteras by U-71 , 26 March 1942
Black and white photograph of a ship at sea
The destroyer escort USS England off San Francisco on 9 February 1944
Black and white photograph of a men in a naval uniform jacket and white cap at the left, a women with a fur coat and hat at the centre
King looks on as Mrs. Frank Knox christens the destroyer USS Frank Knox at the Bath Iron Works , Maine, on 17 September 1944.
Color photograph of a plane painted white flying above scattered clouds and farmland
A U.S. Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator of Bombing Squadron 103 (VB-103) en route to the Bay of Biscay in the summer of 1943
Black and white photograph. Three men are seated on chairs in a garden, the one at the right in a white suit, bowtie and a hat placed on his right leg; the one at the centre is in a suit and tie; the one at the left is in army uniform with a cap placed on his left leg. Multiple men in varying military uniforms stand behind them
Cairo Conference in November 1943. King stands behind Roosevelt
Black and white photograph, five men in varying military uniforms are in the foreground in front of some other men and a forest
With (left to right) Henry H. Arnold , Dwight D. Eisenhower , George C. Marshall , and Omar N. Bradley at Pointe du Hoc , Normandy, on June 12, 1944
Black and white photograph of three men with caps standing on a ship's deck
King (center) with Admirals Chester W. Nimitz (left) and Raymond A. Spruance (right) on the latter's flagship, USS Indianapolis , on 18 July 1944
Black and white photograph of two rows of men. Six men each are seated and standing in varying attire
King stands behind Roosevelt at the Octagon Conference in Quebec in September 1944.
Black and white photograph of three men in front of a wall map. The one at the centre is in a striped suit and tie holding a pipe, both the men to his right and left are in a naval uniform jacket
King, Forrestal and Nimitz on 21 November 1945
Color photograph of a gravestone in a cemetery. The gravestone reads: Five stars. "ERNEST JOSEPH KING; U. S. N.; NOV. 23, 1878 - JUNE 25, 1956; MARTHA EGERTON KING; JAN. 9, 1880 - DEC. 6, 1969
Grave of Admiral King