King, Ernest J.
King, Ernest J. (1878–1956), American admiral; chief of U.S. naval forces in World War II.Born in Lorain, Ohio, King graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1901. King's first command was with destroyers. But during World War I, he served as assistant chief of staff to Adm. Henry Mayo, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, joining him at conferences in England. After the war, Captain King studied and took leadership roles in two of the navy's new branches, submarines and aviation, in 1930 being given command of the aircraft carrier, Lexington. In 1933, when Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, died in a crash, King, his former assistant and now a rear admiral, succeeded him as the navy's aviation chief. In 1938, he commanded the navy's aircraft carrier force in the Pacific. King had hoped to become chief of naval operations (CNO), the navy's service chief, but in 1939 that...
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