Robert Henry English (16 January 1888 – 21 January 1943) was a

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 ...

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

who commanded the U.S. Navy's

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

force in the Pacific Theater of Operations early in

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. English was born in Warrenton,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and he was a member 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 ...

class of 1911. Early in his naval career he became a submariner. In 1917, while commanding the submarine , he received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for his great heroism in rescuing an officer trapped in the submarine after an explosion. After a series of important assignments, he became commanding officer of the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

, and during the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

on 7 December 1941 was one of the first to bring his ship into action. On 14 May 1942, he became Commander, Submarine Force, United States Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), and was so serving when killed in the crash of Pan American Flight 1104 into a mountain about southwest of Ukiah in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, on 21 January 1943. In the accident, English and other Navy officers were passengers on a four-engine

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

M-130

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

, being flown by a

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

civilian crew. The aircraftdubbed the ''

Philippine Clipper Pan Am Flight 1104, trip no. 62100, was a Martin M-130 flying boat nicknamed the ''Philippine Clipper'' that crashed on the morning of January 21, 1943, in Northern California. The aircraft was operated by Pan American Airways and was carrying ten ...

'' before the U.S Navy purchased it and pressed it into service during World War IIwas destroyed in the accident; all 19 aboard were killed. For his exceptionally meritorious service in his last assignment, English was posthumously awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

Namesake

, an ''Allen M. Sumner''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

in commission from 1944 to 1970, was named in English's honor.

References

External links

history.navy.mil: USS ''English''
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Robert Henry 1888 births 1943 deaths Accidental deaths in California United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Attack on Pearl Harbor Battle of Midway People from Warrenton, Georgia Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) United States Naval Academy alumni United States submarine commanders Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Navy personnel killed in World War II