Recent Reads: Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power by William F. Trimble

 

Admiral John S. McCain in the early 1940s (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Reviewed by Dr. Ira Hanna
HRNM Docent

Several books have been written about Admiral John S. McCain but none of them cover all aspects of this unusual naval officer. A Leader Born by Alton Keith Gilbert concentrated on the personality of the man and his accomplishments as a carrier commander. His grandson, Senator John S. McCain III, wrote a memoir that captured what it meant to follow in his footsteps. This book is different! Author William Trimble meticulously described McCain’s rise through the “black shoe” navy, his decision to become a naval aviator at the age of 52, and his leadership as a Fast Carrier Task Force Commander during some of the most important WWII naval battles leading to the Japanese surrender. Descriptions of McCain by his contemporaries, his staff members, squadron commanders and their pilots were particularly important to the total picture of the man. 

Admiral McCain on the bridge of his flagship, early 1945 (Naval History and Heritage Command)

If you are interested in the strategic as well as the technical side of planning and executing wartime fleet operations, this is the book for you. The almost minute by minute description of ship maneuvers during naval battles is enough to make you feel like you are right there. Unfortunately, this causes a problem. Sometimes, the details cloud the overall picture. 

There are even messages that show the pettiness between flag officers in the competition for fleet and task force command. Marc Mitscher still considered McCain a “Johnny Come Lately” to naval aviation. In comparison, Ernest King and William Halsey were friendly and supportive. Because of McCain’s experience with battleships and cruisers, he knew their capabilities and weaknesses. Once integrated into the naval air community, he recognized the usefulness of fast carriers and immediately understood the importance of his carriers to protect the fleet and provide current intelligence for Fleet commanders. He was noted for his aggressiveness and the use of bombers and fighters as deadly attack weapons when enemy ships were in range. His Task Force sometimes numbered thirteen carries that successfully protected the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He saw the strategic importance of carriers and correctly predicted that the super carriers built after WWII would become the expression of America’s power throughout the world.

McCain's Task Force 38 sailing in August 1945 right after the Japanese surrender (Naval History and Heritage Command)

McCain’s journey to become one of the most important task force commanders in WWII was not easy. In February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt was anxious to see some naval action to blunt the Japanese victories in the Pacific. He instructed Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox to identify the forty admirals he considered “most competent” (Trimble’s term) to prosecute the naval war. Knox formed a committee of nine “high ranking and experienced” officers as an unofficial “selection board.” King and Harold Stark were immediately selected to be on the board and also the top two on the list. McCain barely made the list with just six votes. So at the beginning of the war, he spent several years working in stateside commands that eventually helped him in his seagoing commands. Still, he longed to be where the action was.

Admirals John S. McCain and William "Bull" Halsey talking aboard USS New Jersey (BB 62) on the way to the Philippines in December 1944 (Wikipedia)

In March 1944, Ernest King (CNO) chose McCain to command Task Force 38, part of Halsey’s Third Fleet. In May, Chester Nimitz (CIC Pacific Ocean Areas) and King agreed to the rotation of fleet and task force commanders and staffs. Bill Halsey’s Third Fleet would trade with Raymond Spruance’s Fifth Fleet at appropriate intervals. This was known as the “two platoon” system and continued till the end of the war. In the rotation that usually occurred after each major mission, Task Force 58 under Marc Mitscher (Spruance’s Fleet) would become Task Force 38 under McCain (Halsey’s Fleet). During these relief times, McCain not only would get a chance to visit his family but often wrote articles that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. He was interviewed often by the press and regaled reporters about battle scenes in his most “colorful” boatswain-mate language. One of these landed him on the front page of Collier’s Magazine. In every speech, McCain guaranteed America’s victory over Japan and was a cheerleader for the Navy’s part in it. He even testified before Congress that the Navy’s air arm was crucial to wining the war.

McCain in his quarters aboard USS Hancock (CV 19) (Naval History and Heritage Command)

The naval battles of WWII took a toll of ships and men and the admirals were no exception. Halsey had shingles so bad that he had to be sent back to the states to recover. McCain just wore himself out. After he was relieved of the command of Task Force 38 on September 1, 1945, he attended the Japanese Surrender Ceremony on the battleship Missouri (BB 63), and then left for Hawaii. When he arrived, the reporters besieged him and wanted firsthand descriptions of the ceremony. As Trimble put it, the “explosive little admiral did not disappoint them.” A few days later, he arrived in San Diego and on September 6, 1945 a homecoming party was organized at his home. About 4pm, he became ill and went to his bedroom. A neighbor who was a naval surgeon was summoned, but despite his efforts, VADM John S. McCain USN died a little after 5pm, just a month past his 61st birthday. Three years later, he was elevated posthumously to full admiral by Congress.

McCain and an operations officer working on an operations plan on USS Hancock (CV 19) (Naval History and Heritage Command)

In his prologue, Trimble described how McCain showed he cared as much for his pilots as their missions. “McCain wanted to hear more than statistics.” After each mission, he personally would ask pilots “What did you see and what did you do?” Then he would tell them “You have performed one of the most dangerous as well as necessary missions. Congratulations. Glad you are back.” McCain cared so much for these junior airmen and their futures that he ordered that they be given opportunities to qualify as officers of the deck underway, later known as Surface Warfare Officers. This is why he was known as “The Airman’s Admiral,” which just as well could have been the title of this book.

Trimble concluded that “few among his peers bore the burden of command in such broad dimensions of naval aviation – patrol aviation, carrier, task group, and task force command, administration, technological change, personnel, and logistics – as did Admiral John S. McCain.”

USS New Jersey (BB-16) in World War I

The picture here shows the Virginia-class battleship USS New Jersey (BB-16) in 1918. She is painted in one of the wartime camouflage paint schemes. Commissioned in 1906, she took part in the Jamestown Exposition in 1907 and sailed a few months later with the Great White Fleet for a 14 month cruise around the world. She also participated in the Vera Cruz expedition in 1914.

By the outbreak of World War I, New Jersey was too outdated to actively participate in fleet action. Like her sister ship USS Nebraska, the ship proved a valuable training tool for the wartime Navy, operating in the Chesapeake Bay. In 1923, the ship was sunk off of Cape Hatteras as part of Billy Mitchell's famous bombing tests.

New Jersey being bombed in 1923

USS Wisconsin Veteran's Photos, 1953-55, Part 1

We recently received copies of photographs taken by a veteran of the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64). He served on the ship from 1953 to 1955 and took these remarkable color photographs with a camera his father gave him right before he shipped out. In 1953, Wisconsin went to Japan before returning to Norfolk, then she headed out to sea again for training exercises and midshipmen cruises in 1954 and '55.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to identify many of the pictures and we would appreciate any help you can provide. Please comment if you can provide any further insight into these images!

Sixteen-inch shells being loaded on board Wisconsin, Sasebo, Japan, 1953

Setting up for divine services on Wisconsin's fantail, Sasebo, Japan, 1953

After being relieved by Wisconsin as flagship of the 7th Fleet,
USS New Jersey (BB-62) begins her long trek home to Norfolk. 

Here is one of our mystery photos- We think this is Wisconsin
at Pier 4, Naval Station Norfolk, 1954. What do you think?

Here is a rare shot of a submarine coming alongside a battleship!  Specifically,
this is USS Grenadier (SS-525). The story behind this encounter was that the
submarine needed cash to make payroll. So, she surfaced and came alongside
Wisconsin to ask for money. 

USS Furst (DD-882) coming alongside Wisconsin.  We think
this was taken in 1953.

Here is another mystery photo- All we know is that the sailor took<
the picture from Wisconsin in the 1950s.We got an answer! This ship is the
destroyer escort USS Tweedy (DE-532) in June 1953.

Photographing Local Ships in the Korean War

During the early 1950s, there was a saying around Atlantic Fleet headquarters that the Korean War was "Pacific Fleet's problem, not ours." The reluctance to send ships from Norfolk to Korea was based on a reasonable assumption that the fighting on the Korean Peninsula was just a small part of a coming global conflict with Communist forces, and the Atlantic Fleet wanted to be ready to fight the Soviets in European waters and the Atlantic Ocean. Despite this feeling, the Atlantic Fleet did contribute quite a number of ships to Task Forces 77 and 95 (the Navy's two battle squadrons off of Korea). It was fortunate that the Atlantic Fleet agreed to cooperate, because by 1953, the Navy as an institution was facing an issue with the American public regarding why the Navy was sending any ships to the Far East, not just Korea, in the first place.

As part of the plan to educate the American public, Admiral William Radford, then Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, and soon to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, penned an article explaining America's interests in the Far East and why the Navy sent ships there. Of interest, however, is where the Navy chose to publish the article: National Geographic. Possibly attempting to reach an audience with a more international perspective of the world, National Geographic not only agreed to publish the article, but also deployed nationally-renowned photojournalist J. Baylor Roberts to photograph the Navy in action.

Here are some of the images of locally-based ships and sailors taken by Roberts and Navy photojournalists that National Geographic published alongside Radford's article. The article and photos originally appeared in the March 1953 issue of National Geographic. 

Editor's Note: HRNM Educator Elijah Palmer contributed to this article.

Roberts took this photo of USS New Jersey (BB-62) off the North Korean coast
during the battleship's second war tour.  In the 1950s, the Navy homeported all
four Iowa-class battleships in Norfolk.

A Navy photojournalist took this photo of USS Missouri (BB-63) en route to
Korea during the battleship's second war tour.

Roberts took this photo of F9F Panther fighter-bombers from NAS Oceana-based squadron
VF-91 and NAS Alameda-based VF-94 being refueled and rearmed onboard USS Philippine Sea (CV-47).

An F9F flies across the carriers USS Essex (CV-9),  Norfolk-based Intrepid (CV-11), and
Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) en route to Korea.

Official Navy photo of USS Wisconsin (BB-64) with USS AFDB-1 in Guam, 1952.  This was taken
after Wisconsin's first war tour in Korea.  This dry docking was at the time the heaviest ship
  AFDB-1 had ever taken on.  

Pitchers and Catchers Report to the Fantail! Baseball During the Great White Fleet

This is a picture of sailors calling their home run shots on the fantail of the battleship USS New Jersey (BB-12) in 1908 during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. These sailors were not just hitting the ball around to alleviate boredom; bragging rights were on the line.

Fleet teams land at Magdalena Bay, Mexico

When the U.S. Battle Fleet set sail around the world, the voyage was as much about training and fleet readiness as it was a political statement. This training included several competitions between ships, namely marksmanship competitions with the ships' big guns. Equally fierce in competition were the sporting events. Each battleship had its own football, rowing, and baseball teams. To make it more interesting, the Navy set aside a cash prize of $1,200 and a gold trophy for the winning team in each event.

Teams from the armored cruisers USS Washington (ACR-11)

and Tennessee (ACR-10) play a game at Magdalena Bay.

(Image from greatwhitefleet.info)

According to one account, the sailors acted with the greatest sportsmanship during the baseball games. The account stated that one would never hear the words "kill the umpire," as was sometimes heard during a professional baseball game back home. This was no doubt due to the fact that the umpires happened to be the sailors' division officers.

The teams competed throughout the cruise, including exhibition matches in Australia. Some Australians had taken quite a liking to the American game and fielded a few teams against the Fleet's teams. They were actually quite good. In one game, the team from New South Wales defeated USS Missouri's (BB-11) team 8-0.

The Fleet baseball tournament ended with a "world series" taking place in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). New Jersey's team took on USS Nebraska (BB-14), with Nebraska winning 22-10. Given that the teams did not have a very deep bench (teams had only about three to four reserve players), it is evident that the pitchers' arms for each team must have been spent by the time the Fleet arrived in Colombo.

USS Nebraska's baseball team--winners of the Great White Fleet around-the-world baseball tournament.

1913 Live Fire Exercises in the Chesapeake Bay: Chicken Farmers Not Pleased...Again

Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming from Hampton Roads towards the
"Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay, 1913

We have previously posted about Maryland poultry farmers accusing the Navy of killing over 70,000 chickens during live fire exercise off Tangier Island in 1911. The farmers claimed that the big battleship guns caused such a concussion shock on shore that the poor chickens keeled over and died. The Navy denied having anything to do with the alleged chicken massacre. Two years later, the Navy was back with more ships and bigger guns.

The Atlantic Fleet at the Southern Drill Grounds as seen
from the cage mast of USS Kansas (BB-21)

The operation was one of the largest Naval exercises to date.  Navy planners plotted out a series of static target gun shoots and war games between ships in an area they designated as the "Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay.  Planners preferred the Chesapeake Bay due to the fact that it provided favorable weather conditions. They wanted the water to be somewhat rough to give gunners the chance to practice in choppy water, but not so rough as to cancel the exercise.   


USS Kansas unloads her 12-inch guns at a stationary target

In late March 1913, the Atlantic Fleet arrived near Tangier Island in full force. Rear Admiral Charles Johnson Badger led a force that consisted of the new dreadnought-type battleships USS Wyoming (BB-32), Utah (BB-31), Delaware (BB-28), and South Carolina (BB-26), along with the pre-dreadnought-type battleships USS Kansas (BB-21), Minnesota(BB-22), Georgia (BB-15), New Jersey (BB-16), and Nebraska (BB-12). In addition to the battleships, two divisions of torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyers joined the battle force, along with several support ships such as coal tenders and store ships. 

12-inch shell explosions during live fire drills

The fleet conducted several rounds of live fire shoots with their main guns in late March and early April. The torpedo boat divisions practiced torpedo attack runs on the battleships during the middle of the night. Several senior naval officers served as observers and kept score of hits and misses of the stationary targets and determined the success of the torpedo boats against the battleships. Witnessed by several U.S. Senators and Secretary of the Josephus Daniels, the exercises were by all accounts a success.

With their round of shooting done, officers on board Kansas
observe other battleships' firings. 

That is not how local Marylanders saw it. Like the 1911 operation, Maryland civilians who lived near Tangier Island claimed the battleship gun shoots were having a devastating affect on their town and their agribusiness. One newspaper reported that buildings in Chrisfield, Maryland had their shattered windows and cracked foundations. The newspaper even claimed some of their chimneys were knocked off. In addition, Chrisfield watermen claimed the concussion waves killed thousands of fish.  They were also afraid of getting hit by stray shells. Local poultry farmers claimed that eggs cracked and were hatching prematurely. The Navy had no comment on these allegations.

USS New Jersey in Vera Cruz Expedition-Evacuating American Civilians, 1914

A museum visitor showed us these images of American civilians on board the Hampton Roads-based battleship USS New Jersey (BB-16) during the early stages of the Vera Cruz expedition. The first American ships arrived in Vera Cruz in early April, 1914.  Fighting between American forces and Mexican Federal troops broke out on April 21.

There are two items of note in these pictures: A) There is a high proportion of women on board and B) many of them are wearing Navy enlisted uniforms. To the first issue, Rear Admiral Charles Badger ordered all Americans to leave Vera Cruz for their own safety on April 26, as more fighting was possible and the American embassy had closed down. Unfortunately, many of the wives' husbands were stuck in the interior of Mexico.  The Canadian consulate promised to look after any American stragglers. To the second note, we do not have a proper explanation.  For now, we believe that the Navy donated clothing to the women who had to leave Vera Cruz in haste.




New Jersey's commanding officer, Captain Joseph Lee Jayne, is at right making pleasant talk
(and cracking a funny joke apparently) with some of the female evacuatees.