Gerald Bogan
Gerald Bogan (1894-1973) was a pioneer in United States Navy aviation, commanding carrier task groups in World War Two in the Pacific, rising to command the United States First Fleet after the war, and retiring as a vice admiral after the Revolt of the Admirals.
Graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1916, he qualified as a pilot in 1924, and was a fighter squadron commander by 1926. He took command of the carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), and then carrier task groups in wartime. Operations in which he commanded units included the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and air operations in the Philippines in November 1944, for which he received the Navy Cross.
WWII relations
During the war, he was considered outspoken and ambitious. He criticized Admiral William Halsey for not avoiding a typhoon, formally at the board of inquiry and more scathingly at later interviews. [1]
Postwar
During the Revolt of the Admirals, an internal memorandum in which Bogan had complained about cuts in naval aviation, the direction of national security and the overemphasis on Air Force heavy bombers. As it went through channels, it was endorsed by strategic planner Arthur Radford and Chief of Naval Operations Louis Denfield. Secretary of the Navy Francis Matthews, however, charged Bogan with with “faithlessness” and “insubordination” for their opposition to unification.[2] It led to his forced retirement as commander of the First Fleet.[3]
References
- ↑ William Tuohy (2007), America's Fighting Admirals: Winning the War at Sea in World War II, Zenith, p. 326
- ↑ Andrew L. Lewis, Revolt of the Admirals, Air Command and Staff College, U.S. Air Force, p. 29
- ↑ Eisenberg, Michael T. (1993), Shield of the Republic, Volume I (1945-1962), St. Martin's Press p. 156, 160