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An old salt picks his 4 favorite American admirals—and explains why (Part I) | Foreign Policy

First, each of them was steeped in technology, to the point that Raymond Spruance and Arleigh Burke had to fight the naval engineering community to get to the Pacific War. Their technological background and prowess were value adds in different ways because technology and tactics are two sides of a single coin. The second oddity is…

First, each of them was steeped in technology, to the point that Raymond Spruance and Arleigh Burke had to fight the naval engineering community to get to the Pacific War. Their technological background and prowess were value adds in different ways because technology and tactics are two sides of a single coin. The second oddity is that none came from a coast nor grew up in a seagoing family. You may take that for what it is worth, but in my own case, growing up in Illinois I was caught up in the romance of the sea and dreamed of winning battles. Perhaps fortunately, I was only shot at twice, once by friendly forces.

Only a whisker separates the rankings of my dream team, but I present them in order of my love for each. I start with Spruance.

via foreignpolicy.com

Spruance is an obvious choice. I'm curious to see who the other three will be.

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Responses to “An old salt picks his 4 favorite American admirals—and explains why (Part I) | Foreign Policy”

  1. Quartermaster

    The only problem with the article is that Spruance was subordinate to Fletcher at Midway, and the shots were called by Fletcher. Was Spruance better than Fletcher? I’d agree with the author on that.

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  2. KenH

    “Was Spruance better than Fletcher?”
    Yes
    See Guadalcanal invasion for further evidence there.

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