Kimmel, Edward Hazbend Husband Edward Kimmel ( February 26, 1882 - May 14, 1968 ) - American Admiral (July 24, 1941). At the time of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor - Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was removed from his post on December 17, 1941 and demoted to his permanent rank of rear admiral . Some historians blame him for the fact that the Japanese attack allegedly (according to the official version) was unexpected for the American fleet.
| Hazbend Edward Kimmel | |
|---|---|
 Admiral Hazbend Kimmel | |
| Date of Birth | February 26, 1882 |
| Place of Birth | Henderson , Kentucky , USA |
| Date of death | May 14, 1968 (86 years old) |
| Place of death | Groton , Connecticut , USA |
| Affiliation | USA  |
| Type of army | Navy |
| Years of service | 1904-1942 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commanded | US Pacific Fleet |
| Battles / wars | Pearl Harbor Defense |
| Awards and prizes | |
Content
Early years
Hazbend Kimmel was born February 26, 1882 in Henderson, pc. Kentucky in the family of Marius Manning ( born Manning Marius ) and Sibby Lambert-Kimmel ( born Sibbie (Lambert) Kimmel ) [1] . His father, a graduate of West Point Academy during the Civil War, served in the Confederate Army, then worked as a civil engineer and entrepreneur.
Kimmel entered the Central University of Kentucky in 1899, and in 1900 was appointed to the United States Naval Academy. After graduating from the Academy in 1904, he served in the Navy, then studied in artillery postgraduate studies at the Naval College. In 1906 he was awarded the title of Ensign .
Pre-War Service
In 1906-1916, Kimmel served in a number of positions where he gained a reputation as an expert in the field of artillery and artillery [1] . After teaching artillery at the Bureau of Artillery in Washington, he served on the battleships Georgia, Wisconsin and Louisiana, twice served as assistant director of artillery firing at the Navy Department, commander of the artillery on the armored cruiser California, and artillery commander of the Pacific Fleet. He also participated in the intervention in Veracruz (Mexico) in 1914, and in 1915 served as assistant to the Minister of the Navy, Franklin Roosevelt, for a short time.
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Kimmel left for Britain as a consultant on the new artillery guidance technique, and then became the head of artillery at the headquarters of the squadron of American battleships assigned to the Grand Fleet .
After the war, Kimmel consistently held high positions and in 1937 rose to the rank of Rear Admiral , was noted for his professionalism and energy. He served at the Naval Artillery Factory in Washington, commanded a destroyer squadron, was a student at the Naval College, a liaison officer between the Ministry of the Navy and the State Department, the director of ship movement in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the commander of the battleship New York, and the chief of staff of the command fleet line forces, head of the Navy's budget department.
From 1939 to 1941, Kimmel commanded a division of cruisers, and then cruisers of the linear forces of the Pacific Fleet. Proving himself in the last position as an outstanding commander, Kimmel, by the decision of the Navy Minister Frank Knox, received on February 1, 1941 the temporary rank of admiral and took the post of commander of the Pacific Fleet and commander of the US fleet. July 24, 1941 received the permanent rank of admiral (bypassing the rank of vice admiral).
Over the next few months, Kimmel intensively trained the Pacific Fleet, based in Pearl Harbor, for a possible war with Japan, and prepared plans for offensive operations in the Marshall Islands in the early days of the war.
World War II
On December 7, 1941, Japanese carrier-based aircraft, taking by surprise the American fleet in Pearl Harbor Bay, disabled all the battleships of the Pacific Fleet [1] . Despite the heavy blow, Kimmel planned to use three aircraft carriers in combat operations that survived the attack, as they were outside the base.
However, before Kimmel could take any action, on December 17 he was removed from the post of commander of the Pacific Fleet. In early 1942, a special commission to investigate the events in Pearl Harbor , led by members of the US Supreme Court Owen J. Roberts, decided that Kimmel was guilty of negligence. The decision of the commission forced Kimmel to resign March 1, 1942 in the permanent rank of rear admiral. After that, Kimmel until 1947 worked in a technical advisory firm in New York.
During 1942-1946 he was under investigation several times over the events in Pearl Harbor . The naval court in 1944 ruled that Kimmel was not guilty of any crimes and was not responsible for the defeat. However, the chief of naval operations, Admiral Ernest J. King, amended the verdict and ruled that Kimmel made mistakes and failed to organize effective air patrols north and northwest of Pearl Harbor, where the attack was made, and also did not show the sufficient insight needed for this post. In support of this, Kimmel and his supporters stated that he was not provided with intelligence data, as well as a sufficient number of reconnaissance aircraft, and that Kimmel was made a scapegoat for mistakes made by a higher command. Some Kimmel supporters even suggested that President Roosevelt was aware of the impending Japanese attack, but hid intelligence information from Kimmel to enable the Japanese to deliver the first blow and set public opinion in favor of the war with Japan.
Kimmel's critics objected that he had enough information to understand: US-Japanese relations were on the verge of breaking in early December 1941, but did not take the necessary precautions. Like the authorities in Washington, Kimmel was warned that war was inevitable, but considered that it would break out in the Far East and that an attack on Pearl Harbor was possible, but unlikely. Instead of focusing his efforts on preventing a surprise attack, Kimmel focused on the actions of the fleet in a situation where the war had already begun. Thus, Kimmel had to bear a significant share of responsibility for what happened.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 All material in this section, except for the paragraphs where the source is specifically indicated, is taken from the book World War II in the Pacific. An Encyclopedia. Edited by Stanley Sandler . - Garland Publishing, Inc., New York & London. - 2001.