Vice Admiral Sir John Maurice Mansfield KCB, DSO,

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

(22 December 1893 – 4 February 1949) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who became Flag Officer Submarines.

Naval career

Educated at the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, and the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, Mansfield joined the

in 1906. After serving in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he became commanding officer of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''Norfolk'' in October 1937 and of the cruiser HMS ''Devonshire'' in May 1939. He saw action during the early stages of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

participating in the Norwegian Campaign and evacuating the Norwegian Royal Family and Government officials from

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on 7 June 1940, two months after Germany had invaded. He went on to be Chief of Staff,

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

in February 1941 and commander of the 15th Cruiser Squadron in January 1944, in which role he provided support for the landings at

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...

.Bollinger, p. 108 Mansfield became Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff for Trade in 1945 and Flag Officer Submarines in November 1946. He retired due to ill health in August 1948.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, John 1893 births 1949 deaths Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College People from Bracknell Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy vice admirals Military personnel from Berkshire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne