Thomas Withers, Jr. (28 May 1886 – 25 Jun 1953), was a
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
Withers graduated from the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in 1906. He later became qualified in and commanded
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s. At the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in December 1941, he was
Commander, Submarine Force,
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...
. In this role he championed the reliability and efficacy of the
Mark 14 torpedo
The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II. This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war. It was supplemented by the Mark 18 el ...
, at a time when submarine
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...
s were widely reporting that the torpedo's
magnetic detonator proved ineffective in combat. Not long afterward, he was reassigned to
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...
in
Kittery,
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, in 1942, where he served for the remainder of the war.
Withers retired from the Navy in 1946 as a rear admiral with forty years of naval service. He died in
Coronado Coronado may refer to:
People
* Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia.
People with the name
* Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in 1953 and was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
in
Arlington Arlington most often refers to:
*Arlington, Virginia
**Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery
*Arlington, Texas
Arlington may also refer to:
Places Australia
*Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.
References
United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)
1886 births
1953 deaths
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Navy personnel of World War II
People from Nelson County, Virginia
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
United States submarine commanders
{{US-mil-bio-stub