Ralph Eugene Davison (12 September 1895 – 13 February 1972) was an early

United States Naval Aviator A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard ...

who later became one of

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

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 World War II. E ...

's Fast Carrier Admirals in the Pacific theatre during

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 ...

Early life and education

Ralph Davison was born and raised in North St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. His parents were George Whittier Davison and Laura Maude Wilson. He attended 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 ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, graduating in 1916.

Career

In September 1919, Davison entered flight school at Naval Aeronautical Station Pensacola along with his Naval Academy classmate

Frank Wead Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October 1895 – 15 November 1947) was a United States Navy, U.S. Navy aviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on earl ...

. Davison completed his flight training on 17 March 1920. In May 1942, Davison was serving as the Assistant Chief of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. In October 1942, Rear Adm.

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

replaced Rear Adm. John Towers as Chief of the Bureau. On 17 November 1942, Davison was promoted to

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 ...

, but continued to serve as Assistant Chief of the Bureau into 1943. Davison went on to command Task Group 38.4 during the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

in 1944 and Task Group 58.2 during the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

in 1945. He was awarded two Distinguished Service Medals after completing these assignments. He was aboard his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

when it was hit by a ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' during the battle of Leyte Gulf and again when it was hit by a

dive bomber 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 througho ...

during an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

against

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

on 19 March 1945 in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. After leading TG 58.2, Davison was reassigned to

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jacksonville is located i ...

, where he led the Naval Air Advanced Training Command until July 1948. While there, Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a Fleet admiral (United States), fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Co ...

asked Davison to select the first commanding officer for a new naval aviation demonstration squadron. Lieutenant Commander Butch Voris became the first leader of the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...

in 1946. Davison was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

at the time of his retirement from active duty in July 1948.

Personal

Davison was married to Elisabeth Dunham (14 April 1901 – 2 December 1971). They had a daughter, son and six grandchildren. Davison and his wife are buried in

Barrancas National Cemetery Barrancas National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in the city of Pensacola, Florida. It encompasses , and as of 2021 had over 50,000 interments. History The area has been used as a burial ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Their son David Dunham Davison (22 July 1928 – 13 May 2019) was a 1952 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Ralph Eugene 1895 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from St. Louis United States Naval Academy alumni Aviators from Missouri United States Naval Aviators United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy vice admirals People from Pensacola, Florida Burials at Barrancas National Cemetery