Edward Clifford Kalbfus
Admiral Edward Clifford Kalbfus (November 24, 1877 – September 6, 1954) served in the United States Navy.
Life & Career
Kalbfus was born in Pennsylvania and received an At-Large appointment to the Naval Academy, graduating with the Class of 1899.[1]
Kalbfus was promoted to the rank of Ensign on 28 January, 1901.[2]
Kalbfus was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 19 January, 1905 with seniority to 18 December, 1904.[3]
Kalbfus was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander on 4 March, 1911. In 1913 into 1914, he served as Fleet Engineer on the staff of the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet.[4]
Kalbfus was promoted to the rank of Commander on 29 August, 1916.[5]
During World War I, he commanded the transport Pocahontas, a former German liner, and received the Navy Cross for successfully defending his ship from a submarine attack.[6] Following the war, he commanded battleship Iowa into 1919.[7]
Kalbfus was promoted to the rank of Captain on 3 June, 1921, having received a temporary, wartime promotion on 1 July, 1918.[8][9]
From 1924 to 1926 he was the first commanding officer of light cruiser Trenton.[10]
Kalbfus was appointed to the staff of the Naval War College on 27 May, 1927.[11] He earned a reputation as a "celebrated teacher of strategy" although his great bulk meant that, in the words of Edward S. Miller, "chairs where known to collapse under him".[12]
He was then appointed commanding officer of battleship California from 1929 to 1930.
He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral on 1 July, 1931 and was appointed to command the destroyers in the Battle Force in 1932.[13]
Subsequent flag assignments included two separate tours as President of the Naval War College, service as Commander Battleships, Battle Force, with temporary rank of Vice Admiral from 2 January, 1937 to 29 January, 1938, and Commander, Battle Force with temporary rank of Admiral from 29 January, 1938 to 24 June, 1939.[14]
During World War II, Kalbfus, who had been placed on the retired list for age on 1 December, 1941,[15] remained on active duty and completed his second tour at the War College. He then became the first Director of Naval History and served on one of the many investigations into the attack on Pearl Harbor, being released to inactive duty following the war.
See Also
Bibliography
- Miller, Edward S. (1991). War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897-1945. 2007 Paperback ed. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
Service Records
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by William W. Phelps |
Captain of U.S.S. Iowa 1918[16] – before 31 Mar, 1919 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of U.S.S. Trenton 19 Apr, 1924[17] – Jun, 1926[18][Inference] |
Succeeded by Stafford H. R. Doyle |
| Preceded by Claude C. Bloch |
Captain of U.S.S. California 8 Jun, 1929 – 22 May, 1930 |
Succeeded by Henry E. Lackey |
Footnotes
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1912. pp. 26-27.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1902. pp. 38-39.
- ↑ "The Navy Gazette". Army and Navy Register. 21 January, 1905. Vol. XXXVII, No. 1,310, p. 23.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1914. pp. 22-23, 243.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1917. pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Navy Directory 1 March, 1918 p. 89.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1919. pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1922. p. 14.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1918. p. 18.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1925. pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1928. p. 12.
- ↑ Miller. War Plan Orange. p. 137.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1928. p. 14.
- ↑ Wikipedia
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1942. p. 724.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1919. pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1925. pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1927. p. 14.
