Paul Hubert Ramsey was a World War II

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

of 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 ...

(USN).

Early career

Ramsey graduated from 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 ...

in 1927 and earned his wings in 1930. During the 1930s, he served on the carriers Lexington and Saratoga. He was promoted to

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

on 1 July 1941 and 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 Fighting Squadron 2 (VF-2) aboard ''Lexington''. During the early stages of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, his

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 ...

was

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

James Flatley. They both participated in the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

in May 1942, although Flatley had been transferred to Fighter Squadron 42 (VF-42) just prior to the battle, and so was serving aboard the Yorktown.

Coral Sea

On 7 May, Lieutenant Commander Ramsey led a division of Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters escorting Douglas TBD Devastators from Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) in the attack that sank the light carrier ''Shōhō''. In response to the sinking of ''Shōhō'', the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

(IJN) main carrier force launched a night strike on the US carriers composed of 15 Nakajima B5N and 12 Aichi D3A bombers. Ramsey led a group of F4F Wildcats to intercept. He set up an ambush in heavily overcast weather, which resulted in numerous losses of IJN aircraft and some of their most experienced pilots. He personally destroyed two B5N torpedo bombers, although he claimed them as Zeros. The following day, on 8 May, Lieutenant Commander Ramsey was involved in Combat Air Patrol over the US carriers. His division of F4F Wildcats spotted an approaching formation of D3A

dive bombers A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughou ...

at a higher altitude. However, they were unable to climb in time to intercept, due to the poor climb rate of F4F Wildcat and relatively high altitude difference. After the enemy dive bombers made their attack on the US carriers, he and his wingman spotted a

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...

(which he thought was an

Me 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and ...

) at a lower altitude and dived on it. They hit the Zero, but it managed to escape into a cloud. Moments later, Ramsey spotted another lone Zero, which he claimed shot down (though no Zeros were actually lost).

Later career

After the Coral Sea, he returned to Washington, DC, where in, April 1943, he was appointed director of the flight test division at the Anacostia Naval Air Station. He later commanded the carrier

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He retired from the Navy in 1966.

References

; Sources * * ; External links *https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46954226/paul-hubert-ramsey {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, Paul H. United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators