Short biography of
Vice Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick “Ziggy” Sprague, U.S. Navy
Vice Admiral
Sprague was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on January 8, 1896. He
entered the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland as a midshipman in June
1914 where he was given the nickname “Ziggy”. Due to the American
involvement in World War 1 he received his commission as an Ensign on June
28, 1917, finishing forty-third out of 199.
His first
assignment was on the gunboat USS Wheeling (PG-14) in July 1917 where he
served as Gunnery Officer, Communications Officer, Navigator, and Executive
Officer. Wheeling served as a convoy escort in the Atlantic and
Mediterranean during the war. While assigned to Wheeling he was promoted to
Lieutenant (junior Grade) and Lieutenant.
After the war
in October 1919, Sprague was assigned as the reserve Commanding Officer of
USS Manley (DD-74) for two months. Thereafter he was assigned to the new
battleship Tennessee (BB-43) and served as 6th Broadside Battery
Officer for one year.
On December 3,
1920, Lieutenant Sprague joined 33 other classmates at Naval Air Station,
Pensacola, Florida as a student pilot. His first flight was on January 11,
1921 when he piloted a Curtiss N9 aircraft for twenty minutes. Sprague
earned the designation Naval Aviator No. 2934 on August 11, 1921. Due to
his great proficiency within two months he was designated as Commanding
Officer Aircraft Squadron 3 at Pensacola.
From March
1922 to November 1923, Sprague was assigned to Aircraft Squadron VS-1 with
the Atlantic Fleet based on the seaplane tender USS Wright (AV-1). He
reported to his next duty station Naval Air Station, Anacostia, near
Washington, DC, in November 1923 where he served as a Test Pilot, Operations
Officer, and Executive Officer. As a Test Pilot he conducted experimental
and research work at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in 1923, where he contributed to the development of aircraft
carrier catapult systems. From March 1926 to February 1928 he assisted
inventor Carl Norden in the laboratory and as a Test Pilot at Naval Air
Station Hampton Roads, Virginia with improvements to the Mark-1 aircraft
carrier arresting gear system for USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga
(CV-3).
Lieutenant
Sprague reported to USS Lexington (CV-2) in March 1928 where he assumed the
duties of Flight Deck Officer and Assistant Air Officer. In January 1929
Lexington along with USS Langley (CV-) and USS Saratoga (CV-3) participated
in Fleet Exercise IX, a simulated aerial attack on the Panama Canal.
Sprague’s tour on Lexington ended in April 1929.
Returning to
the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1929 Sprague served as Executive Officer of
VN-8-D5. On June 10, 1930 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. His
tour at the Naval Academy ended in November 1931.
Lieutenant
Commander Sprague served as Squadron Commander of VP-8 in Panama in December
1931 to April 1934. The squadron was based on the seaplane tender USS
Wright (AV-1) homeported at the Norfolk Navy Yard. In 1933 the squadron was
moved to Hawaii where Sprague became the first Navy Pilot to fly a
thirteen-hour round-trip from Hawaii to Midway Island in February 1934.
From May 1934
to July 1936, Sprague served as Air Operations Officer at Naval Air Station,
Norfolk, Virginia where his department serviced several aircraft carrier
squadrons.
In July 1936,
Lieutenant Commander Sprague was assigned to the newly constructed aircraft
carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) as Air Officer. After her commissioning, he
piloted the first two landings ever made on Yorktown. In addition, he was
the first pilot to test the catapult system on Yorktown. Sprague was
promoted to Commander in December 1937. He spent all of 1938 managing the
Air Department and aircraft squadrons on Yorktown. In February 1939
Yorktown participated in Fleet Problem XX in the Caribbean. Shortly
thereafter Sprague left the carrier in June 1939.
Commander
Sprague was ordered to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island in
June 1939 where he spent 3 months in study before reporting to his first sea
command, the 21-year old oil tanker USS Patoka (AO-9) at Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. Sprague commanded Patoka until June 1940
when he was sent back to the Naval War College for two more months of study.
At Oakland,
California Sprague took command of the cargo ship Tangier which was being
converted into a sea plane tender in July 1940. USS Tangier (AV-8) was
commissioned on August 25, 1941 and shortly thereafter transited to
Bremerton, Washington to load torpedoes. At her homeport in Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii Tangier was mated with Fleet Patrol Wing Two. Tangier was berthed at
F-10 on the Northwest side of Ford Island on the morning of December 7,
1941. She was one of the first ships in the harbor to open fire and engaged
several Japanese aircraft throughout the morning. Tangier was credited with
downing three aircraft. As a result of his leadership at Pearl Harbor,
Sprague was promoted to Captain on January 3, 1942. In early 1942 Tangier
saw service at New Caledonia.
Captain
Sprague was assigned as Air Officer of Gulf Sea Frontier, Miami, Florida in
June 1942. His duties involved improving defenses, keeping the sea lanes
open, and countering the German U-boats on the Southeast coast of the United
States. Upon achieving his goals he was transferred in March 1943.
In April 1943,
Sprague was transferred to Naval Air Center, Seattle, Washington where he
served as Commander of the base and nearby Naval Air Station, Sand Point.
This duty ended abruptly when he was assigned as the Commanding Officer of
the newly constructed fast fleet carrier USS Wasp (CV-18) in October 1943.
Arriving at
Bethlehem Steel Company Fore River Yard near Boston, Massachusetts, Sprague
took command of Wasp (CV-18) where she was commissioned on November 24,
1943. The carrier was quickly sent to the Pacific where she joined the war
against the Japanese. Her first combat missions were to destroy enemy
aircraft, installations, and surface craft on Marcus and Wake Islands in May
1944. In June 1944 Wasp participated in the invasion of Saipan and the
Battle of the Philippine Sea. On July 9, 1944, shortly before leaving Wasp,
Sprague was promoted to Rear Admiral at age 48.
Rear Admiral
Sprague was designated as Commander Carrier Division 25 on July 23, 1944
with his flag in USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70). In September 1944 his Task Unit
supported the Morotia landing.
Rear Admiral
Sprague’s greatest achievement came on October 25, 1944 when his
Task Unit
77.4.3 (Taffy III) consisting of 6 escort carriers, 3 destroyers, and 4
destroyer escorts fought off the vastly superior Japanese Centre Force. The
Japanese force consisted of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light
cruisers, and 11 destroyers off the Island of Samar in the Philippines.
On February
19, 1945, Sprague assumed command of Carrier Division 26 embarked on USS
Natoma Bay (CVE-62) for the invasion of Iwo Jima where his unit provided
close air support for the Marines ashore. The next month he moved his flag
back to USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) for the invasion of Okinawa.
In April 1945,
Sprague was given command of Carrier Division 2, a fast carrier Task Group
and moved his flag to USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) on June 1, 1945. His Task
Group operated against the Japanese home islands of Kyushu, Honshu, and
Hokkaido. Sprague received the notification of the end of hostilities while
steaming 151 miles off the eastern coast of Honshu on August 15, 1945. Four
days after the Japanese surrender, Sprague and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
entered Tokyo Bay.
Rear Admiral
Sprague returned to the West Coast onboard USS Bennington (CV-20) in
November 1945. He spent the next month in Washington, DC briefing Naval
leaders at the White House.
In February
1946, Sprague was given command of Navy Air Group 1.6 of Joint Task Force 1
with his flag in USS Shangri-La (CV-38) at San Diego, California. During
the next six months he supported the naval aviation forces in Operation
Crossroads nuclear tests on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
At Corpus
Christi, Texas Sprague was assigned as Chief of Naval Air Basic Training in
August 1946. In January 1948 he was redesignated as Commander, Naval Air
Advanced Training. His tour ended in April 1948.
Rear Admiral
Sprague’s last seagoing command was as Commander, Carrier Division 6 with
his flag in USS Kearsarge (CV-33) from May to October 1948. During this
tour Kearsarge operated in the Mediterranean.
On January 1,
1949 to February 1950, Sprague was Commander of Naval Air Bases, Eleventh
and Twelfth Naval District at Naval Air Station Coronado in San Diego,
California.
Reassigned in
March 1950, Sprague was moved to Alaska where he served as Commandant,
Seventeenth Naval District and Commander, Alaskan Sea Frontier on Kodiak
Island. It was from here that he embarked on a B-29 and became the first
U.S. Navy admiral to fly over the North Pole on November 12, 1950.
On August 9,
1951, Sprague requested voluntary retirement from the Navy and was
officially retired on November 1, 1951. As was custom at the time, he was
advanced to Vice Admiral at retirement in recognition of his Navy Cross. He
had spent 34 years, 4 months, and 4 days on active duty.
In March 1955,
Sprague fell ill of a weak heart and was moved to Naval Hospital, San Diego,
California. On April 11, 1955, at 59 years of age he died from a massive heart
attack. Two days later he was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at
Point Loma, San Diego, California.
Source: Devotion to Duty, A biography of Admiral Clifton
A. F. Sprague by John F. Wukovits (1995)
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