Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

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 ...

, whose service extended from the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

through

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 ...

. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Life and career

Hart was born in Davison, Michigan. He attended 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 ...

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

, graduating 13th in a class of 47 in 1897. Naval policy at the time required two years of sea duty following graduation from Annapolis before a naval cadet was commissioned an ensign. Hart spent the next two years aboard the battleship . During the Spanish–American War, '' Massachusetts'' became part of the American fleet blockading the Spanish squadron at Santiago de Cuba. Hart received a letter of commendation for his command of a steam cutter dispatched to reconnoiter Cabanas Bay for possible landing sites. Under a withering fusillade of fire from Spanish shore batteries, Hart completed the mission and returned his craft to the ship without any casualties although the skiff was struck several times. Because of his ship handling skills, Hart was sent to augment the crew of a converted yacht, .Thomas C. Hart biography at Naval History and Heritage Command
/ref> under Lt. Alexander Sharp Jr. and executive officer Ensign Arthur MacArthur III, older brother of Douglas MacArthur. The three quickly became lifelong friends. Following the Spanish–American War, Hart spent two years on the sloop-of-war , after which he was posted to the Naval Academy, where he taught ordnance and gunnery for two years. While at Annapolis, he courted Miss Caroline Brownson, daughter of Rear Admiral Willard H. Brownson, then superintendent of the Naval Academy and later commander of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

in 1906–07. Following his time at Annapolis, Hart served as a division officer on and then assumed his first command, the destroyer . Hart married Miss Brownson on March 30, 1910. At that time, LCDR Hart was assigned to inspect the building of the new at the Fore River Shipyard in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, to which he was assigned prior to its commissioning on Monday, April 11, 1910. The Harts spent their honeymoon at the newly rebuilt luxury resort " The Homestead", in Hot Springs, Bath County, Virginia. Following his assignment on , Hart became qualified to command submarines. In 1917 he was chief of staff to the Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet ( COMSUBLANT), commanding COMSUBLANT's flagship at New London,

. He also served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as Director of Submarine Operations for the Navy Department. Serving in this office as its head until 1922, Hart fought doggedly to improve the lot of the submarine arm of the navy. His tenacity was responsible for the U.S. Navy's acquisition of surrendered German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s after World War I to learn the details of the technical innovations incorporated in the erstwhile enemy craft. Examination and trials of these U-boats were very influential in subsequent US Navy submarine design. He also was involved in the development of the Mark 6

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

exploder In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates its function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuz ...

. After World War I, Hart commanded . From 1931–34, Hart was Superintendent of the

. An unsuccessful recommendation of Hart's while on the General Board, beginning in 1936, was the building of small submarines. Hart's plan was to replace the aging S-boats, R-boats, and O-boats to provide area defense of submarine bases. This plan resulted in only two experimental submarines, and . During this period, Hart successfully advocated the building of large destroyer leaders, later classified as anti-aircraft light cruisers (CLAAs), which became the ''Atlanta'' class and others.

World War II

Hart was appointed commander in chief, U.S.

on July 25, 1939, and was promoted to

the same day. He held that position at the commencement of hostilities in World War II between

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the United States in December 1941. The majority of forces under Hart's command were located 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 ...

, with a small force of destroyers and a light cruiser based in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. His command included the majority of the combat-ready US submarines in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. Hart initially commanded U.S. naval forces from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, but was forced to relocate to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

on January 15, 1942, in light of rapid Japanese advances through the Philippine archipelago. On his relocation to Java, Hart was named Commander, Naval Forces, ABDA Command, a joint British, Dutch, American and Australian military command, formed for purposes of holding the southern portions of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

against further Japanese advances. While in command of ABDA naval forces, ships under his command fought the Battle of Balikpapan, a tactical victory, but strategic defeat for the allied forces. Hart held the command of the U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet until February 5, 1942, at which point the command ceased to exist as part of a broader U.S. military command restructuring in the Southwest Pacific. Hart continued to hold the position of commander for ABDA naval forces until relieved of operational responsibilities on February 12, 1942.Morison, p. 312 Hart formally was relieved of this title on February 16, 1942, when he left Java, ostensibly for health reasons, (and for political reasons as he was undermined by his British and Dutch subordinate Commanders). Returning to the US via Batavia to Ceylon on a British passenger vessel and then onto the United States. Hart returned to the United States on March 8, 1942. President Roosevelt presented Hart with a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal in July 1942 (his first Distinguished Service Medal having been awarded for his service in World War I) for " s conduct of the operations of the Allied naval forces in the Southwest Pacific area during January and February 1942, was characterized by unfailing judgment and sound decision, coupled with marked moral courage, in the face of discouraging surroundings and complex associations." Hart was retired with the rank of

in July 1942, but recalled to duty in August 1942 as a member of the U.S. Navy's General Board. Hart retired from active duty a second time in February 1945, on his appointment to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat of Francis T. Maloney, on Maloney's death.

Family and legacy

Hart's daughter Harriet Taft Hart married Francis B. Sayre, Jr., who was the son of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's daughter Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre.Julia Wells
Born in the White House, Pastor to All, Very Rev. Francis B. Sayre Jr. Dies at 93
/ref> , commissioned in 1973, was named for Hart and was sponsored by Hart's granddaughter, Penny Hart Bragonier. Upon his death on July 4, 1971, Hart was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

.Burial Detail: Hart, Thomas C
– ANC Explorer

Decorations

Here is the ribbon bar of Admiral Hart:

References

* Friedman, Norman ''US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History'', Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995, . * Friedman, Norman ''US Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History'', Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995, . * Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). ''The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy'', Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979, . *

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Thomas Charles Hart

* ttp://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/invest.html Proceedings of Pearl Harbor investigations including the Hart Inquiry* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Thomas C. 1877 births 1971 deaths People from Davison, Michigan Politicians from Brookline, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Military personnel from Michigan American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals Connecticut Republicans United States submarine commanders Naval War College alumni Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy Republican Party United States senators from Connecticut Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Connecticut Military personnel from Massachusetts 20th-century United States senators