Calvin Thornton Durgin (January 7, 1893 – March 25, 1965) was a

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

who served in the

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 ...

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 Palmyra is a borough in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,438, an increase of 40 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 7,398, which in turn reflected an in ...

, on January 7, 1893. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

at Annapolis and was commissioned an

ensign 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 ...

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 directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

and did graduate work in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

M.I.T. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sci ...

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 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 ...

. 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 hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

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 slower type of aircraf ...

groups. These groups provided support for landings in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

, and

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. 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 State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

, where he served until 1959 when he retired to a farm at

Dogue, Virginia Dogue is an unincorporated community in King George County, Virginia King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 26,723. Its county seat is the census designated ...

. 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 The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

, 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 Burlington County, New Jersey