James Francis Calvert (September 8, 1920 – June 3, 2009) served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, where he commanded , the third

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

commissioned and the second submarine to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

, which became the first to surface at the pole. ''Skate'' surfaced at the

on 17 March 1959 to commit the ashes of the famed explorer Sir

Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross afte ...

to the Arctic waste. He later served as the 46th superintendent of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Biography

Early life and education

Calvert was born on September 8, 1920, in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and grew up as an only child.Hevesi, Dennis
"James F. Calvert, 88, Sub Captain Who Surfaced at North Pole, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 16, 2009. Accessed June 16, 2009. He attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

for two years before receiving an appointment to the

. He graduated on June 19, 1942, completing his coursework at the Naval Academy in three years under an accelerated wartime curriculum.Staff
"Skipper of the Skate; James Francis Calvert"
''

'', August 14, 1958. Accessed June 16, 2009.

Military service

He was assigned to attend the Naval Submarine School at the

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...

and was given a post on the , where he served for three years. On ''Jack'', Calvert was responsible for operating the

Torpedo Data Computer The Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) was an early electromechanical In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of ele ...

, an electromechanical analog computer used for torpedo fire-control, and the ships on which he served sank 100,000 tons of enemy ships and damaged an additional 18,000 tons. He was awarded two

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

s and two

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s, along with a Letter of Commendation. He was assigned in 1945 to serve as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of , on which he served one war patrol. He was on ''Haddo'' in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

during ceremonies for the Japanese surrender. After the end of World War II, Calvert spent three years at the Submarine School as an instructor in the Torpedo Data Computer. He was assigned to serve as executive officer on , winning a battle efficiency pennant in both of his years of service on the ship. He was assigned as executive officer of the when it was commissioned in 1952 and later became

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of , another ''Tang''-class boat. After training by the Atomic Energy Commission, Calvert was assigned to , the Navy's third nuclear-powered submarine and the first to be designed for assembly line construction rather than as a one-off prototype. Although ''Skate'' first surfaced at the pole on March 17, 1959, ''Skate'' first went under the

on August 11, 1958. In 1958 ''Skate'' was able to surface in the Arctic, but was unable to surface at the pole itself due to the thickness of the ice. The ability to travel under and break through the ice was a major achievement during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

as it allows the Navy's submarines to avoid detection under the ice while being able to launch their Polaris missiles from points far closer to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The following year, after traveling to the pole in 12 days, ''Skate'' became the first submarine to surface through the ice when it reached the North Pole on March 17, 1959. There they released the ashes of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n polar explorer Sir

George Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross afte ...

who died in November 1958 and who had been the first to try to reach the pole by submarine; Wilkins had flown over the pole but was never able to set foot there despite numerous attempts.Raymond, Jack
"Skate Again at North Pole; Stays Under Ice 12 Days; Skate Again Sails to North Pole In Winter Cruise Under Ice Pack"
''

'', March 28, 1959. Accessed June 16, 2009. With the support of Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...

, Calvert rose to vice admiral. He was named as superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in 1968, where he introduced 20 different majors to midshipmen to replace a standardized curriculum of military courses that had previously been taken there. He was a former commander of the

United States First Fleet The First Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy, in operation from January 1947 to 1 February 1973 in the western Pacific Ocean as part of the Pacific Fleet. In 1973, it was disestablished and its duties assumed by the United Sta ...

. Among the four books he wrote were '' Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine'' and the 1960 book ''Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the U.S.S. Skate'' in which he described his experiences at the pole, reminiscing about a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

that went into the water, ignoring the submarine nearby.

Personal

His first marriage, to the Nancy Ridgeway King, ended with her death in 1965. Their daughter, Margaret, died in 1994. Calvert died at age 88 on June 3, 2009, at his home in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. He was survived by his second wife, Margaretta Harrison Battle, whom he married in 1968. He was also survived by two sons from his first marriage, four stepsons and 15 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, James Francis 1920 births 2009 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Oberlin College alumni Military personnel from Cleveland Recipients of the Silver Star American Polar Society honorary members Submariners Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy vice admirals 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American academics