48 Dahlgren 



I was wondering if they wanted to, perhaps, subordinate the air function. 



We had to play second fiddle, that's true; but we usually got what we wanted. 



Do you remember any men you served with here at Dahlgren that you later were associated 

 with in the war or in your future career? 



I was later with Admiral Leary during the war. The others I saw after the war. 



It took quite a philosophical battle, as well as political, to convince the Navy back before 

 World War I of the necessity of having proving grounds for testing naval guns. The idea 

 at that time was that the naval ship was the platform from which to conduct tests. Was there 

 a feeling on the part of Commanding Officers that being assigned to Dahlgren may have 

 been the end of a career? It wasn't shipboard duty, in other ivords. 



No. Dahlgren was really considered a stepping stone for anybody interested 

 in gunnery. They all went higher up. No, I don't think there was any feeling 

 like that at all in the Navy. They considered this an ideal Station. If you were 

 interested in gunnery, you were interested in what was going on at Dahlgren, 

 the Proving Ground. 



So that means Dahlgren was recognized for its value. 



It still is. I'm sure the work at Dahlgren still stands high in everybody's mind 

 in the active Navy. 



Following your Dahlgren experience, where ivere you assigned? 



When I left Dahlgren, I went to a Patrol Plane Squadron on the West Coast. 

 We were scouts. We could fly for over 24 hours. 



Were you on the West Coast when the war began? 



No, I happened to be in Washington in the Bureau of Ordnance when we 

 actually got into war. 



/ noticed a picture of Admiral King* here. Were you very familiar with him? 

 We are both from the same hometown. 



*Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King commanded several aeronautics facilities within the Navy Depart- 

 ment and was Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations from 

 1941 to 1945. In 1945, the title was changed toChief of Naval Operations. He directed allactivides 

 of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in conjuncdon with the U.S. Army and our allies. He 

 was relieved of this prestigious position by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. He died in 1956 while 

 serving in an advisory capacity in the office of the Secretary of the Navy. 



