Calvin Thornton Durgin (January 7, 1893 – March 25, 1965) was a vice admiral who served in the U.S. Navy from 1916 until 1951. He served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air in 1949.

Biography

Calvin T. Durgin was born in Palmyra, New Jersey on January 7, 1893. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

at Annapolis and was commissioned an ensign on June 3, 1916. As a young officer he served aboard destroyers and battleships in World War I. In 1920, he became a naval

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and did graduate work in aeronautical engineering at M.I.T. before receiving a master's degree there in 1924. Durgin, became known as a naval expert in air combat and served in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific during World War II. During the war, he commanded the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

, ''Ranger'' during an assault on Morocco and commanded a carrier group during the 1944 invasion of southern France. In the Pacific, he commanded a fleet of

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

groups. These groups provided support for landings in the Philippines,

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

, and Okinawa. In 1949, he became the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air and in 1950 became the commander of the United States' First Pacific Fleet. His last assignment, on active duty, was as president of the Board of Inspection and Survey. In 1951, Durgin retired from active service and upon retirement, was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. At this time, he took the position as president of SUNY Maritime College, where he served until 1959 when he retired to a farm at

Dogue, Virginia Dogue is an unincorporated community in King George County, Virginia, in the United States. Its name comes from the Doeg tribe The Doeg (also called Dogue, Taux, Tauxenent) were a Native American people who lived in Virginia. They spoke an Alg ...

. Durgin died on March 25, 1965, of a heart attack while attending the Metropolitan Opera. Durgin's papers are kept in the archives of the Washington Navy Yard, and the Stephen B. Luce Library of Maritime College.

Sources

"Calvin T. Durgin, Retired Admiral," New York Times, March 26, 1965.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durgin, Calvin T. 1893 births 1965 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy vice admirals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Palmyra, New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey