Ralph Eugene Davison (12 September 1895 – 13 February 1972) was an early

United States Naval Aviator A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard ...

who later became one of Vice Admiral

Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of ...

's Fast Carrier Admirals in the Pacific theatre during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life and education

Ralph Davison was born and raised in North St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. His parents were George Whittier Davison and Laura Maude Wilson. He attended the

United States 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 ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, graduating in 1916.

Career

In September 1919, Davison entered flight school at Naval Aeronautical Station Pensacola along with his Naval Academy classmate Frank Wead. Davison completed his flight training on 17 March 1920. In May 1942, Davison was serving as the Assistant Chief of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. In October 1942, Rear Adm. John McCain replaced Rear Adm. John Towers as Chief of the Bureau. On 17 November 1942, Davison was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

, but continued to serve as Assistant Chief of the Bureau into 1943. Davison went on to command Task Group 38.4 during the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fo ...

in 1944 and Task Group 58.2 during the

Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army ( ...

in 1945. He was awarded two Distinguished Service Medals after completing these assignments. He was aboard his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

when it was hit by a ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

'' during the battle of Leyte Gulf and again when it was hit by a

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that Dive (aviation), dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the Aerial bomb, bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to ...

during an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The off ...

against

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ...

on 19 March 1945 in preparation for the

invasion of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. After leading TG 58.2, Davison was reassigned to

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jac ...

, where he led the Naval Air Advanced Training Command until July 1948. While there, Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in ...

asked Davison to select the first commanding officer for a new naval aviation demonstration squadron. Lieutenant Commander Butch Voris became the first leader of the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

in 1946. Davison was promoted to vice admiral at the time of his retirement from active duty in July 1948.

Personal

Davison was married to Elisabeth Dunham (14 April 1901 – 2 December 1971). They had a daughter, son and six grandchildren. Davison and his wife are buried in

Barrancas National Cemetery Barrancas National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in the city of Pensacola, Florida. It encompasses , and as of 2021 had over 50,000 interments. History The area has been used as a burial g ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. Their son David Dunham Davison (22 July 1928 – 13 May 2019) was a 1952 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Ralph Eugene 1895 births 1972 deaths People from St. Louis United States Naval Academy alumni Aviators from Missouri United States Naval Aviators United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy vice admirals People from Pensacola, Florida Burials at Barrancas National Cemetery