King, Ernest J.

King, Ernest J. (1878–1956), American admiral; chief of U.S. naval forces in World War II.Born in Lorain, Ohio, King graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1901. King's first command was with destroyers. But during World War I, he served as assistant chief of staff to Adm. Henry Mayo, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, joining him at conferences in England. After the war, Captain King studied and took leadership roles in two of the navy's new branches, submarines and aviation, in 1930 being given command of the aircraft carrier, Lexington. In 1933, when Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, died in a crash, King, his former assistant and now a rear admiral, succeeded him as the navy's aviation chief. In 1938, he commanded the navy's aircraft carrier force in the Pacific. King had hoped to become chief of naval operations (CNO), the navy's service chief, but in 1939 that position went to Adm. Harold Stark.

It was King not Stark, however, who would command the navy during World War II. In January 1941, as vice admiral and soon a full admiral, King with a reputation as knowledgeable, tough and dedicated officer, was appointed commander of the Atlantic Fleet with the mission of protecting vital supplies being sent to the Allies. In December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declaration of war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a new position and appointed King, commander in chief, U.S. Fleet, as head of all naval operating forces. Conflict between King and Stark led Roosevelt in March 1942 to appoint King also as chief of naval operations and send Stark to London as commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe. Holding these two positions as well as a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the rest of the war, King had unprecedented authority over all aspects of the navy and its operations as well as joint planning. As his personal adviser, however, Roosevelt appointed Adm. William Leahy, a trusted friend and former CNO, as chief of staff to the president.

During World War II, King accepted the decision that Germany should be defeated first, but with the U.S. Navy's major combat role against the Japanese navy, he insisted that as many resources as possible be sent to the Pacific. His continued insistence led to disagreements with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. military commander in Europe. King also clashed with Gen. Douglas MacArthur, senior army commander in the Pacific over priorities in the region, leading Roosevelt to divide the area between MacArthur and Adm. Chester Nimitz. In the summer of 1943, as MacArthur drove through the Southwest Pacific, King and Gen. H. H. ( “Hap”) Arnold, chief of the Army Air Forces, pressed for a major drive by Nimitz through the Central Pacific. Roosevelt controversially accepted both campaigns, but in 1944, the president sided with MacArthur in favor of liberating the Philippines rather than bypassing them and taking Taiwan as the navy recommended.

In December 1944, King was given the five‐star rank of fleet admiral. When Japan surrendered in September 1945, King recommended abolition of the position of commander in chief, U.S. fleet. He remained CNO until his retirement from the navy in December 1945.
[See also: Navy, U.S., 1899–1945.]

Bibliography

Ernest J. King and and W.M. Whitehill , Fleet Admiral King: A Naval Record, 1952;
Thomas B. Buell , Master of Seapower: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, 1980;
Robert William Lowe, Jr., ed., The Chiefs of Naval Operation, 1980;
Eric Larrabee , Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants and Their War, 1987.

John Whiteclay Chambers II