Raymond A. Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 3 July 1886. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1906 and received further education in electrical engineering a few years later. His seagoing career was extensive, including command of five destroyers and the battleship Mississippi. Spruance also held several engineering, intelligence, staff and Naval War College positions up to the 1940s. In 1940-41, he was in command of the Tenth Naval District and Caribbena Sea Frontier.

In the first months of World War II in the Pacific, Rear Admiral Spruance commanded a cruiser division. He led Task Force 16, with two aircraft carriers, during the Battle of Midway in early June. His decisions during that action were important to its outcome, which changed the course of the war with Japan. After the Midway battle, he became Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas and later was Deputy Commander in Chief. In mid-1943, he was given command of the Central Pacific Force, which became the Fifth Fleet in April 1944. While holding that command in 1943-45, with USS Indianapolis (CA-35) as his usual flagship, Spruance directed the campaigns that captured the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and defeated the Japanese fleet in the June 1944 Battle of Philippine Sea.

Admiral Spruance held command of the Pacific Fleet in late 1945 and early 1946. He then served as President of the Naval War College until retiring from the Navy in July 1948. In 1952-55, he was Ambassador to the Philippines. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance died at Pebble Beach, California, on 13 December 1969.

USS Spruance (DD-963) was named in his honor.

This page features a selection of photographs of Raymond A. Spruance.

Click the photograph for a larger image.

Photo #: 80-G-225341 Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander, Central Pacific Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Informal portrait photograph, taken 23 April 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 69KB; 585 x 765 Reproductions may be available through the National Archives
Photo #: 80-G-K-13797 (Color) Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN and Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC (wearing helmet) look over the edge of a 20mm gun tub, while inspecting shipping at Pearl Harbor just prior to the Gilberts Operation, circa October 1943. Army Brigadier General H.B. Holmes is immediately behind them, wearing a garrison cap. Note gun training limit bar and gun crew in flashproof clothing. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 114KB; 740 x 575 Reproductions may be available through the National Archives
Photo #: 80-G-203817 Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander, Central Pacific Force Presents the Purple Heart to Corporal John K. Galuszka, USMC, on board a hospital ship at Pearl Harbor, 17 December 1943. Corporal Galuszka had been wounded during the Gilberts Operation. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 87KB; 740 x 605 Reproductions may be available through the National Archives
Photo #: NH 62233 Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,, Commander in Chief, Pacific, (right) and Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander, Central Pacific Force, (center) Tour Kwajalein Island, Marshalls, on 5 February 1944, following its capture. They are accompanied by a Brigadier General. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. NHHC Collecton Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 620
Photo #: NH 62679 Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific With other flag and general officers, at CinCPac Headquarters, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, circa 1944. Those present are (left to right): Admiral Nimitz; Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, U.S. Army; Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, USN; Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN and Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, U.S. Army. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. NHHC Collection Online Image: 120KB; 740 x 615
Photo #: 80-G-287225 Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander, Fifth Fleet (left), and Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith, USMC, Commander, Fifth Amphibious Corps Attend flag raising ceremonies at Smith's headquarters, Charan Kanoa, Saipan, marking the end of organized Japanese resistance on the island, 10 July 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 620 Reproductions may be available through the National Archives
Photo #: NH 62778 USS Indianapolis (CA-35) Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, (center), with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (left) and Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander, Fifth Fleet, (right), on board the Fifth Fleet Flagship, 18 July 1944. Admiral King was then visiting U.S. forces in the newly-captured Marianas. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. NHHC Collection Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 625
Photo #: NH 44860 Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN (Retired) On the balcony of the U.S. Embassy, Manila, while serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines in 1952-55. Several Japanese ships, sunk in Manila Bay during World War II, are visible in the background. NHHC Collection Online Image: 117KB; 585 x 765

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