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Aubrey Wray Fitch | |
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 VADM Aubrey W. Fitch, USN (March 18, 1946) | |
| Born | (1883-06-11)June 11, 1883 Saint Ignace,Michigan |
| Died | May 22, 1978(1978-05-22) (aged 94) Newcastle, Maine |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1906–1947 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | USS Terry USS Yankton USS Luce USS Mahan USS Arctic USS Wright USS Langley NAS Hampton Roads USS Lexington NAS Pensacola Patrol Wing 2 Carrier Division 1 Aircraft, South Pacific Force |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Flying Cross Legion of Merit |
| Other work | United States Naval Academy, Superintendent |
Aubrey Wray Fitch (June 11, 1883 – May 22, 1978) was anadmiral of theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. A navalaviator, he held important aviation-related commands both at sea and on shore from the 1920s onward. He also served as superintendent of theUnited States Naval Academy.
Fitch was born inSaint Ignace, Michigan, on June 11, 1883. He entered theU.S. Naval Academy in the summer of 1902 and graduated on February 12, 1906. His Naval Academy classmates includedArthur L. Bristol,William L. Calhoun,William A. Glassford,Charles C. Hartigan,Frank J. Fletcher,Robert L. Ghormley,Isaac C. Kidd,John S. McCain Sr.,Leigh Noyes,Ferdinand L. Reichmuth,John H. Towers,Russell Willson, andThomas Withers. After serving the two years of sea duty then required by law before being commissioned (serving on thearmored cruiserPennsylvania and thetorpedo boatChauncey), Fitch became anensign on February 13, 1908. He then served afloat onRainbow andConcord before receiving instruction intorpedoes at theNaval Torpedo Station,Newport, Rhode Island, in the school conducted on board the old cruiserMontgomery.
Upon completion of the torpedo course, Fitch helped to fit out thebattleshipDelaware, which commissioned on April 4, 1910, before returning to Annapolis for consecutive tours of duty at the Naval Academy, first as assistant discipline officer between 1911 and 1912 and later as an instructor of physical training from 1912 to 1913. Service in the destroyersBalch andDuncan followed before he received his first sea command, the destroyerTerry, with the 2nd Division, Reserve Torpedo Flotilla,Atlantic Fleet.
After serving on the staff of the commander in chief, Atlantic Fleet, Fitch assumed command of the yachtYankton in January 1915, with additional duty as aide to the commander in chief.
Relieved of command ofYankton shortly after the United States enteredWorld War I in the spring of 1917, Fitch continued his staff duties for another five months before joiningWyoming to serve as her gunnery officer for the remainder of hostilities, as thatdreadnought operated with the6th Battle Squadron,Grand Fleet.
After the armistice, Fitch again served at the Naval Academy once more before becoming, concurrently, inspector of ordnance in charge of theHingham Naval Ammunition Depot inHingham, MA, and naval inspector of ordnance in charge at the Naval Coaling Station,Frenchman Bay,Maine. From August 1920, Fitch commanded a division of fastminelayers, while also commanding in turnLuce andMahan.
Detached fromMahan in December 1922, Fitch served atRio de Janeiro until March 1927 as a member of the United States mission toBrazil before reporting back to the Navy Department for a brief tour of duty inWashington, D.C. Going to sea as executive officer ofNevada in May 1927, Fitch assumed command ofArctic (a type of ship sometimes known uncomplimentarily as a "beef boat") in November of that year.
He reported for aviation instruction at theNaval Air Station Pensacola,Florida, in June 1929 and there won his wings as a naval aviator on February 4, 1930. Following brief duty atNAS San Diego,California, Fitch assumed command of theUSS Wright in the spring of 1930. Relieved from that billet a little over a year later (July 1931), he then began a year as commanding officer of the Navy's firstaircraft carrier,Langley.
After commandingNAS Hampton Roads,Virginia, until June 1935 Fitch reported as chief of staff to commander, Aircraft, Battle Force, and remained in that billet until assuming command ofLexington (CV-2) in April 1936. Subsequently, attending theNaval War College,Newport, Rhode Island, from June 1937 to May 1938, Fitch completed the senior course there before assuming command of NAS Pensacola, in June 1938. In the spring of 1940, he took over the reins of Patrol Wing 2, based atPearl Harbor, and seven months later, broke his flag inSaratoga as commander, Carrier Division 1. The outbreak of hostilities in thePacific in December 1941 thus found Fitch one of the most experienced carrier commanders afloat.
Fitch's flagship,Saratoga, figured prominently in the abortive attempt to reinforceWake Island in December 1941 and was later torpedoed offOahu in late January 1942, seriously cutting American carrier strength in the Pacific at a critical period.
Rear Admiral Fitch relievedVice AdmiralWilson Brown on April 3, 1942, breaking his flag inLexington, his former command. During theBattle of the Coral Sea, Fitch served as the Commander Task Group 17.5, consisting of "Lady Lex" and theYorktown (CV-5), and was named Officer in Tactical Command (O.T.C.) by Task Force commander AdmiralFrank J. Fletcher. That engagement, the first in history where neither side came within surface gun range of the other, effectively stopped theJapanese thrust at the strategicPort Moresby, but resulted in the first loss of an American aircraft carrier in the war— the USSLexington, sunk on May 8, 1942.
The admiral then shifted his flag toMinneapolis, which was also flagship ofTask Force 17 (TF 17). Fitch together with CaptainFrederick C. Sherman and theLexington's executive officer, CommanderMorton T. Seligman, visited "Lady Lex"'s wounded inMinneapolis' sickbay—an action that "contributed in no small measure to the patients' well-being." For the leadership he exhibited during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Fitch was awarded his firstDistinguished Service Medal.
He again broke his flag in his former flagship,Saratoga, but the task group formed around that ship arrived too late to take part in the pivotalBattle of Midway.
On September 20, 1942, six weeks after the first American amphibious operation of the war got underway atGuadalcanal, Fitch assumed command of Aircraft,South Pacific Force. Not a desk-bound admiral, he carried out numerous, hazardous flights into the combat zones, inspecting air activities incident to the selection of bases for projected operations. For these, he received aDistinguished Flying Cross.
Under Fitch's command, AirSoPac—ultimately encompassing not only Navy butArmy,Marine Corps, andRoyal New Zealand air units—achieved great success in aiding the Allied campaign in theSouth Pacific. Fitch's planes protected Allied shipping, providing vital air cover that strongly assisted the Allies in challenging, and ultimately defeating, the Japanese in theSolomons. In addition, his aircraft performed essential reconnaissance missions, spotting enemy warships prior to theBattle of Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 and during theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.
Later, Fitch oversaw the early experiments in conducting night bombing utilizingradar (a concept which paid great dividends in interdicting Japanese shipping) and encouraged the use of specially modified aircraft to obtain photographic intelligence. In addition, for his skillful coordination of the Allied air effort in that area of the world Fitch received a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal.
Fitch returned to Washington in the summer of 1944 and became the DeputyChief of Naval Operations (Air). He skillfully and efficiently directed the aeronautical organization of the Navy, oversaw efforts to assure the readiness and deployment of air units, and planned all of the related logistics measures. For these efforts he received theLegion of Merit.
AfterV-J Day, Vice Admiral Fitch assumed duty as the superintendent of the Naval Academy on August 16, 1945, and held that post until January 15, 1947, with collateral duty as commandant, Severn River Command. The first aviator to head the Naval Academy, Fitch was instrumental in establishing the Department of Aeronautics, authorized by the Navy on November 28, 1945.
Subsequent to heading the academy, Fitch served briefly in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Navy before becoming the senior member of the Naval Clemency and Prison Inspection Board in March 1947. He was so serving when he retired from the Navy and was relieved of all active duty on July 1, 1947.
Admiral Fitch died due to a heart ailment combined with a bout with pneumonia in Newcastle, Maine, his adopted state, on May 22, 1978, shortly before his 95th birthday.
In 1981, the U.S. Navyguided-missile frigateUSS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34) was named in Admiral Fitch's honor.
The main road to the formerNAS Brunswick, is named Admiral Fitch Avenue in his honor.
Fitch was portrayed byMitchell Ryan in the television version of the 1976 filmMidway.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Superintendent of United States Naval Academy 1945-1947 | Succeeded by |
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