Marc Mitscher

Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of World War II.

Early life and career

Mitscher was born in Hillsboro, Wisconsin on January 26, 1887, the son of Oscar and Myrta (Shear) Mitscher. Mitscher's grandfather, Andreas Mitscher (1821–1905), was a German immigrant from Traben-Trarbach. His other grandfather, Thomas J. Shear, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. During the western land boom of 1889, when Marc was two years old, his family resettled in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his father, a federal Indian agent, later became that city's second mayor. His uncle, Byron D. Shear, would also become mayor.

Mitscher attended elementary and secondary schools in Washington, D.C. He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1904 through Bird Segle McGuire, then U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.

An indifferent student with a lackluster sense of military deportment, Mitscher's career at the naval academy did not portend the accomplishments he would achieve later in life. Nicknamed after Annapolis's first midshipman from Oklahoma, Peter Cassius Marcellus Cade, who had "bilged-out" in 1903, upperclassmen compelled young Mitscher to recite the entire name as a hazing. Soon he was referred to as "Oklahoma Pete", with the nickname shortened to just "Pete" by the winter of his youngster (sophomore) year.

Having amassed 159 demerits and showing poorly in his class work, Mitscher was saddled with a forced resignation at the end of his sophomore year. At the insistence of his father, Mitscher re-applied and was granted reappointment, though he had to re-enter the academy as a first year plebe.

This time the stoic Mitscher worked straight through, and on June 3, 1910, he graduated 113th out of a class of 131. Following graduation he served two years at sea aboard , and was commissioned ensign on March 7, 1912. In August 1913, he served aboard on the West Coast. During that time Mexico was experiencing a political disturbance, and ''California'' was sent to protect U.S. interests and citizens.

Naval aviation

Mitscher took an early interest in aviation, requesting a transfer to aeronautics while aboard ''Colorado'' in his last year as a midshipman, but his request was not granted. After graduating he continued to make requests for transfer to aviation while serving on the destroyers and . Mitscher was in charge of the engine room on USS ''Stewart'' when orders to transfer to the Naval Aeronautic Station in Pensacola, Florida came in.

Mitscher was assigned to the armored cruiser , which was being used to experiment as a launching platform for aircraft. The ship had been fitted with a catapult over her fantail. Mitscher trained as a pilot, earning his wings and the designation Naval Aviator. Mitscher was one of the first naval aviators, receiving No. 33 on June 2, 1916. Almost a year later, on April 6, 1917, he reported to the renamed armored cruiser for duty in connection with aircraft catapult experiments. During World War I, the Navy established Naval Air Station Montauk in August, 1917, commanded by LT Marc Mitscher. Reconnaissance dirigibles, an airplane, troops and Coast Guard personnel were stationed at Montauk L.I. New York.

At this early date the Navy was interested in using aircraft for scouting purposes and as spotters for direction of their gunnery. Lieutenant Mitscher was placed in command of NAS Dinner Key in Coconut Grove, Florida. Dinner Key was the second largest naval air facility in the U.S. and was used to train seaplane pilots for the Naval Reserve Flying Corps. On July 18, 1918, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. In February 1919, he transferred from NAS Dinner Key to the Aviation Section in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, before reporting to Seaplane Division 1.

Interwar assignments (1919–1939)

Transatlantic crossing

On May 10, 1919, Mitscher was among a group of naval aviators attempting the first transatlantic crossing by air. Among the men involved were future admirals Jack Towers and Patrick N. L. Bellinger. Mitscher piloted NC-1 under the command of Bellinger, one of three Curtiss NC flying boats that attempted the flight. Taking off from Newfoundland, he nearly reached the Azores before heavy fog caused loss of the horizon, making flying in the early aircraft extremely dangerous. What appeared to be fairly calm seas at altitude turned out to be a heavy chop, and a control cable snapped while setting the aircraft down. Mitscher and his five crewmen were left to sit atop the upper wing of their "Nancy" while they waited to be rescued. Of the three aircraft making the attempt, only NC-4 successfully completed the crossing. For his part in the effort Mitscher received the Navy Cross, the citation reading:

''"For distinguished service in the line of his profession as a member of the crew of the Seaplane NC-1, which made a long overseas flight from New Foundland to the vicinity of the Azores, in May 1919".''

Mitscher was also made an officer of the Order of the Tower and Sword by the Portuguese government on June 3, 1919.

On October 14, 1919, Mitscher reported for duty aboard , a minelayer refitted as an "aircraft tender" that had been used as a support ship for the "Nancys'" transatlantic flight. He served under Captain Henry C. Mustin, another pioneering naval aviator. ''Aroostook'' was assigned temporary duties as flagship for the Air Detachment, Pacific Fleet. Mitscher was promoted to commander on July 1, 1921. In May 1922, he was detached from Air Squadrons, Pacific Fleet (San Diego, California) to command Naval Air Station Anacostia, D.C.

Service debates in Washington

After six months in command at Anacostia he was assigned to a newly formed department, the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. Here as a young aviator he assisted Rear Admiral William Moffett in defending the Navy's interest in air assets. General Billy Mitchell was advancing the idea that the nation was best defended by an independent service which would control all military aircraft. Though Mitscher was not a vocal member of the Navy's representatives, his knowledge of aircraft capabilities and limitations was instrumental in the Navy being able to answer Mitchell's challenge and retain their own airgroups. The debate culminated in the hearings before the Morrow Board, convened to study the best means of applying aviation to national defense. Mitscher testified before the board on October 6, 1925. General Mitchell sought public support for his position by taking his case directly to the people through the national press. For this action Mitchell was summoned for a court-martial. One of the witnesses called by the prosecution was Mitscher. In the end the Navy was left with its own air resources, and was allowed to continue to develop its own independent aviation branch.

Development of the carrier air arm

Over the next two decades Mitscher worked to develop naval aviation, taking assignments serving on the aircraft carriers and , the seaplane tender , and taking command of Patrol Wing 1, in addition to a number of assignments ashore. ''Langley'' was the navy's first aircraft carrier. A converted collier, she could only make , thus limiting her ability to generate wind over her flight deck and lift under the wings of her aircraft for launching and recovery. Aboard ''Langley'' Mitscher and other naval aviation pioneers developed many of the methods by which aircraft would be handled aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Many of these techniques continue to be used in the current-day U.S. Navy.

During this period Mitscher was assigned command of the air group for the newly commissioned aircraft carrier ''Saratoga''. Mitscher was the first person to land an airplane onto the flight deck of ''Saratoga'' as he brought his air group aboard. The vessel conducted mock attacks against the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor in a series of Fleet Problem exercises. The key lesson learned by the naval aviation officers during these exercises was the importance to locate and destroy the other side's flight decks as early as possible, while still preserving your own. In 1938, Mitscher was promoted to captain.

World War II

Between June 1939 and July 1941, Mitscher served as assistant chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.

Carrier commander

Mitscher's next assignment was as captain of the , being fitted out at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. Upon her commissioning in October 1941, he assumed command, taking ''Hornet'' to the Naval Station Norfolk for her training out period. She was there in Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Newest of the Navy's fleet carriers, Mitscher worked hard to get ship and crew ready for combat. Following her shake-down cruise in the Caribbean, Mitscher was consulted on the possibility of launching long-range bombers off the deck of a carrier. After affirming it could be done, the sixteen B-25 bombers of the Doolittle Raid were loaded on deck aboard ''Hornet'' for a transpacific voyage while ''Hornet''s own flight group was stored below deck in her hangar. ''Hornet'' rendezvoused with and Task Force 16 in the mid-Pacific just north of Hawaii. Under the command of Admiral Halsey, the task force proceeded in radio silence to a launch point from Japan. ''Enterprise'' provided the air cover for both aircraft carriers while ''Hornet''s flight deck was taken up ferrying the B-25s. ''Hornet'', then, was the real life "Shangri-la" that President Roosevelt referred to as the source of the B-25s in his announcement of the bombing attack on Tokyo.

Battle of Midway

During the Battle of Midway, 4–7 June 1942, ''Hornet'' and ''Enterprise'' carried the air groups that made up the strike force of Task Force 16, while carried the aircraft of Task Force 17. Mitscher had command of the newest carrier in the battle and had the least experienced air group. As the battle unfolded, the Japanese carrier force was sighted early on June 4 at 234 degrees and about from Task Force 16, sailing on a northwest heading. In plotting their attack there was strong disagreement among the air group commanders aboard ''Hornet'' as to the best intercept course. Lieutenant Commander Stanhope C. Ring, in overall command of ''Hornet''s air groups, chose a course of 263 degrees, nearly true west, as the most likely solution to bring them to the Japanese carrier group. He had not anticipated the Japanese turning east into the wind while they recovered their aircraft. Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron, in command of the torpedo bombers of Torpedo Eight, strongly disagreed with Ring's flight plan. An aggressive aviator, he assured Mitscher he would get his group into combat and deliver their ordnance, no matter the cost.

Thirty minutes after the ''Hornet'' airgroups set out, Waldron broke away from the higher flying fighters and dive bombers, coming to a course of 240 degrees. This proved to be an excellent heading, as his Torpedo Eight squadron flew directly to the enemy carrier group's location "as though on a plumb line". They did so with no supporting fighters. On their way Waldron's Torpedo Eight happened to get picked up by ''Enterprise''s VF-6 fighter squadron flying several thousand feet above them. This group had launched last off ''Enterprise'' and had not been able to catch up with or locate the ''Enterprise'' dive bombers, but when Waldron dropped his group down to the deck to prepare for their attack the ''Enterprise'' fighters lost sight of them. Torpedo Eight was on its own.

The first of the carrier squadrons to locate the Japanese carriers, Waldron bore down upon the enemy. He brought his group in low, slowing for their torpedo drops. With no fighter escort and no other attackers on hand to split the defenders, his group was devastated by defending Japanese Zeros flying combat air patrol (CAP). All fifteen TBD Devastators of VT-8 were shot down. Though not known at the time, the efforts of Torpedo Eight failed to deliver a hit on the Japanese carriers. Of the Torpedo Eight aircrews, only Ensign George H. Gay, Jr. survived. About twenty minutes later ''Enterprise''s Torpedo Six made their own attack, and was met with a similar hot reception. Again, no torpedo hits were made, but five of the aircraft managed to survive the engagement. Though failing to inflict any damage, the torpedo attacks did pull the Japanese CAP down and northeast of the carrier force, leaving the approach from other angles unhindered.

SBD dive bombers from ''Enterprise'' arriving from the south flew over the Japanese carrier force to reach their tipping points almost unopposed. They delivered a devastating blow to and managed to put a bomb into as well, while SBDs coming from the east from ''Yorktown'' dove down upon and shattered her flight deck. All three ships were set ablaze, knocked out of the battle to sink later that day. While these attacks were in progress, Ring continued his search on a course of 260 degrees, flying to the north of the battle. Unable to find the enemy and running low on fuel, ''Hornet''s strike groups eventually turned back, either toward ''Hornet'' or to Midway Island itself. All ten fighters in the formation ran out of fuel and had to ditch at sea. Several of her SBDs heading to Midway also ran out of fuel and had to ditch on their approach to the Midway base. Other SBDs attempting to return to ''Hornet'' were unable to locate her, and disappeared into the vast Pacific. All these aircraft were lost, though a number of the pilots were later rescued. Of ''Hornet''s air groups, only Torpedo Eight ended up reaching the enemy that morning. ''Hornet''s air groups suffered a 50 percent loss rate without achieving any combat results.

The battle was a great victory and Mitscher congratulated his crew for their efforts, but ''Hornet''s performance had not lived up to his expectations and he felt he had failed to deliver the results he should have done. In addition, he felt great regret for the loss of John Waldron and Torpedo Eight. For the next three years he would try to secure the award of the Medal of Honor to the entire unit, but without success. The pilots of Torpedo Eight were eventually awarded the Navy Cross.

Mitscher's decisions in the battle have come under scrutiny largely due to the questionable actions of his subordinates and discrepancies in his After Action report. According to author Robert J. Mrazek, Mitscher backed up Ring's decision to take the heading of 263 degrees, as well as the decision to keep the fighters at high altitude, too high to effectively cover the torpedo bombers. Mrazek states that Waldron vehemently protested both decisions in front of Ring and Mitscher, but was overruled by the latter. At the time, American intelligence reports indicated that the Japanese might be operating their carriers in two groups, and the search plane contact report stated that only two carriers had been found. Mitscher and Ring had agreed on the westerly heading in order to search behind the enemy task force for a possible trailing group. A further controversy exists in that the only official report from ''Hornet'' states that the strike took a course heading of 239 degrees and missed the Japanese task force because it had turned north. This statement does not agree with some testimonies of Air Group Eight pilots and other evidence, most noticeably that none of the downed VF 10 pilots who were later rescued were found along the 238 course heading. Finally, the fact that no After Action reports were filed other than the one signed by Mitscher containing the 239 course heading is unusual. Mrazek believes that the lack of reports indicates a cover-up, possibly in an effort to protect Mitscher's reputation.

Commander Air Solomon Islands

Prior to the Midway operation Mitscher had been promoted to Rear Admiral in preparation for his next assignment, the command of Patrol Wing 2. Though Mitscher preferred to be at sea, he held this command until December when he was sent to the South Pacific as Commander Fleet Air, Nouméa. Four months later in April 1943, Halsey moved Mitscher up to Guadalcanal, assigning him to the thick of the fight as Commander Air, Solomon Islands (COMAIRSOLS). Here Mitscher directed an assortment of Army, Navy, Marine and New Zealand aircraft in the air war over Guadalcanal and up the Solomon chain. Said Halsey: "I knew we'd probably catch hell from the Japs in the air. That's why I sent Pete Mitscher up there. Pete was a fighting fool and I knew it." Short on aircraft, fuel and ammunition, the atmosphere on Guadalcanal was one of dogged defense. Mitscher brought a fresh outlook, and instilled an offensive mindset to his assorted air commands. Mitscher later said this assignment managing the constant air combat over Guadalcanal was his toughest duty of the war.

Battles for the Central Pacific

Returning to the Central Pacific as Commander, Carrier Division 3, Mitscher was given primary responsibility for the development and operations of a newly formed Fast Carrier Task Force, at that time operating as Task Force 58 as part of Admiral Raymond Spruance's Fifth Fleet. To that point in the conflict carriers had been able to bring enough airpower to bear to inflict significant damage on opposing naval forces, but they always acted as a raiding group against land bases. They would approach their objective, inflict damage, and then escape into the vast reaches of the Pacific. Even the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, devastating though it was, was a carrier raid. Naval airpower was not thought to have the capacity to challenge land-based airpower over any length of time. Mitscher was about to change that, leading U.S. naval airpower into a new realm of operations.

The fleet had recently completed operations in the Gilbert Islands, taking Tarawa

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