James Francis Calvert (September 8, 1920 – June 3, 2009) served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, where he commanded , the third

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...

commissioned and the second submarine to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, which became the first to surface at the pole. ''Skate'' surfaced at the

on March 17, 1959 to commit the ashes of the famed explorer Sir

Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross aft ...

to the Arctic waste. He later served as the 46th superintendent of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) 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 United States Secre ...

Biography

Early life and education

Calvert was born on September 8, 1920, in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and grew up as an only child.Hevesi, Dennis
"James F. Calvert, 88, Sub Captain Who Surfaced at North Pole, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 16, 2009. Accessed June 16, 2009. He attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

for two years before receiving an appointment to the

. He graduated on June 19, 1942, completing his coursework at the Naval Academy in three years under an accelerated wartime curriculum.Staff
"Skipper of the Skate; James Francis Calvert"
''

'', August 14, 1958. Accessed June 16, 2009.

Military service

He was assigned to attend the Naval Submarine School at the

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

and was given a post on the , where he served for three years. On ''Jack'', Calvert was responsible for operating the

Torpedo Data Computer The Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) was an early electromechanical analog computer used for torpedo fire-control on American submarines during World War II. Britain, Germany, and Japan also developed automated torpedo fire control equipment, but ...

, an electromechanical analog computer used for torpedo fire-control, and the ships on which he served sank 100,000 tons of enemy ships and damaged an additional 18,000 tons. He was awarded two

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

s and two

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

s, along with a

Letter of Commendation Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

. He was assigned in 1945 to serve as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of , on which he served one war patrol. He was on ''Haddo'' in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

during ceremonies for the Japanese surrender. After the end of World War II, Calvert spent three years at the Submarine School as an instructor in the Torpedo Data Computer. He was assigned to serve as executive officer on , winning a battle efficiency pennant in both of his years of service on the ship. He was assigned as executive officer of the when it was commissioned in 1952 and later became

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of , another ''Tang''-class boat. After training by the

Atomic Energy Commission Many countries have or have had an Atomic Energy Commission. These include: * National Atomic Energy Commission, Argentina (1950–present) * Australian Atomic Energy Commission (1952–1987) * Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (1973–present) * ...

, Calvert was assigned to , the Navy's third nuclear-powered submarine and the first to be designed for assembly line construction rather than as a one-off prototype. Although ''Skate'' first surfaced at the pole on March 17, 1959, ''Skate'' first went under the

on August 11, 1958. In 1958 ''Skate'' was able to surface in the Arctic, but was unable to surface at the pole itself due to the thickness of the ice. The ability to travel under and break through the ice was a major achievement during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

as it allows the Navy's submarines to avoid detection under the ice while being able to launch their

Polaris missiles The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile ...

from points far closer to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The following year, after traveling to the pole in 12 days, ''Skate'' became the first submarine to surface through the ice when it reached the North Pole on March 17, 1959. There they released the ashes of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n polar explorer Sir

George Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross afte ...

who died in November 1958 and who had been the first to try to reach the pole by submarine; Wilkins had flown over the pole but was never able to set foot there despite numerous attempts. With the support of Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reacto ...

, Calvert rose to

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 ...

. He was named as superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in 1968, where he introduced 20 different majors to midshipmen to replace a standardized curriculum of military courses that had previously been taken there. His final posting before retirement was as the last commander of the United States First Fleet, before its disestablishment in 1973. Among the four books he wrote were '' Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine'' and the 1960 book ''Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the U.S.S. Skate'' in which he described his experiences at the pole, reminiscing about a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

that went into the water, ignoring the submarine nearby. He appeared as himself on the June 11, 1957 episode of the CBS television panel show ''To Tell The Truth''.

Personal

His first marriage, to the Nancy Ridgeway King, ended with her death in 1965. Their daughter, Margaret, died in 1994. Calvert died at age 88 on June 3, 2009, at his home in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr (, from Welsh language, Welsh for 'big hill') is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue, also known as U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania, U.S. ...

due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. He was survived by his second wife, Margaretta Harrison Battle, whom he married in 1968. He was also survived by two sons from his first marriage, four stepsons and 15 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, James Francis 1920 births 2009 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Oberlin College alumni Military personnel from Cleveland Recipients of the Silver Star American Polar Society honorary members United States submarine commanders Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy vice admirals 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American academics