The United States Navy Reserve Midshipmen's School was an expedited auxiliary naval officer training program instituted in June 1940. Its goal was to train a planned 36,000 Naval Reserve officers for commands in the vastly-expanding

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

fleet being built up in preparation for the United States' entry into

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 ...

. To achieve this, several new Naval Reserve Midshipmen's Schools were established mainly on college campuses around the country. Between 1940 and 1945 their junior officer candidates, many alumni of the Navy's V-12 training, completed a 30-day indoctrination course before entering the midshipman school's 90-day V-7 Navy College Training Program. After successful completion, graduates were commissioned as

ensigns Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the U.S. Naval Reserve. The majority entered into active duty with the U.S. fleet in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during the war.

History

The first United States Naval Reserve Midshipman's school conducting V-7 training was established on board the converted battleship USS ''Illinois'' (BB-7) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during the spring of 1940. Others followed at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

, and

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

. Enrollment closed in August 1945.

V-7 program

The V-7 program of voluntary training for officer candidates was announced on June 26, 1940, by President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. Its goal was to rapidly train 36,000 young officers needed to meet the demands of a vastly expanding naval fleet being built up in preparation for U.S. entry into

. By March 1941, eighteen months into the global conflict and nine months before

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 Reci ...

, the Navy had only 18,000 officers. Most were stationed in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, where the lack of a U.S. Army presence left the Navy to bear the full burden in the event of war. The Navy closed enrollment in the V-7 program on August 25, 1945. The 5,000 midshipmen still in training were permitted to complete their courses at

, Fort Schuyler in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, and 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 ...

Schools

During the spring of 1940, U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipman School, ''Prairie State'', was opened on board the converted battleship USS ''Illinois'' (BB-7) in

with Captain John J. London in command. The first class in the midshipmen program produced 264 new officers during the early days of

before the U.S. was involved, 232 of whom reported for active duty. The second V-7 class at ''Prairie State'' began November 22 after its officer candidates had finished their initial training cruise on the USS ''New York'' (BB-34) during the summer of 1940. A total of 480 junior officers from it graduated in February 1941. The V-7 course at Columbia provided the fictional setting for the early chapters of the World War II novel ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mo ...

''.

University of Notre Dame

Starting in April 1942, the

hosted six classes of the 30-day indoctrination school, with each class composed of 1200. In October 1942, the indoctrination school became a full-fledged Naval Reserve Midshipman School, with a complete 4-month course. The program was hosted in Morrissey Hall, Lyons Hall, Howard Hall, and Badin Hall. The Navy also built a drill hall on the campus. Captain H. P. Burnett was the commanding officer of the school. The school terminated in November 1945, after ten 4-month courses and over 10,000 officers trained. Starting in July 1943, Notre Dame would go on to also host a

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

Cornell University

The Naval Indoctrination School at Camp MacDonough in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

, opened on March 6, 1944, with a capacity of 2,500 and Commander Chauncey M. Loutrit in command. It conducted the one-month class required prior to attending a midshipman's school.

References

External links

Second World War USN V-7 uniform insignia.

U.S. Navy V-7 program insignia at Columbia and Ft. Schuyler.

{{Authority control History of the United States Navy United States Navy schools and training United States Navy Reserve 1940 establishments in New York City 1945 disestablishments in the United States