Yuku free message boards

Don't know if I'd use the word "frequently"; more like "on occasion in the first year of the war".

Frank Jack Fletcher in TF-17 (USS Yorktown) from January to June 1942 and as TF-61 (also wearing his other hat as commander TF-11, USS Saratoga) to August 1942; exercising, as well, command over aviator Aubrey Fitch [TF-11 USS Lexington at Coral Sea], non-aviator Raymond Spruance [TF-16 USS Enterprise and USS Hornet at Midway], and non-aviator Thomas Kinkaid and aviator Leigh Noyes [TF-16 USS Enterprise and TF-18 USS Wasp, respectively, in the early days of the Guadalcanal Campaign], was a black shoe.

Spruance in TF-16 (USS Enterprise (F) and USS Hornet) at Midway, as noted was a black shoe, as was Kinkaid, TF-18 (USS Wasp).

Black shoe Kincaid succeeded Fletcher as CTF-61 and also wore the TF-16 hat, flying his flag from Enterprise. At Santa Cruz, as CTF-61 he also commanded aviator George Murray (TF-17, USS Hornet).

Although not sea-going and, certainly not carrier based, during the early days of the Guadalcanal Campaign ComAirSoPac was also designated as TF-63 and made up of aviation assets at New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, and, once Henderson Field became operational, Guadalcanal. TF-63 was commanded successively by naval aviators John S. McCain and Aubrey Fitch. Under Fitch, Guadalcanal based units of TF-63 were chopped to TF-61 for operations support, such as at Santa Cruz.

All the remaining carrier task force commanders and carrier task group commanders in the war, as I quickly eyeball the list, I believe, were all 131's. True, some of them were old timers and some of them were JCLs, but it appears all were 131's.

And, of course, the guru of amphibious operations was aviator R Kelly Turner, so it works the other way, too.

Of course there were non-aviators commanding fleets, Chester Nimitz come to mind, as do Raymond Spruance and Royal Ingersoll for WWII.

Nowadays, it is not unusual for a blackshoe to command a battlegroup that includes a carrier. And in general, there has been, since WWII, an obvious effort to try to rotate fleet commanders among the three major types, surface line, submariners, and aviators.

Rich