William H. P. Blandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William H. P. Blandy
28 June 1890 – 12 January 1954
Admiral William Henry Purnell Blandy
Nickname	Spike
Place of birth	New York City
Place of death	St. Albans, New York
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1913-1950
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Atlantic Fleet
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

William Henry Purnell Blandy (28 June 1890 – 12 January 1954), known to friends as "Spike",^[1] was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II.

Born in New York City 28 June 1890, Blandy graduated first in his class from the United States Naval Academy in 1913. He participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico in 1914 and served on board the battleship Florida (BB-30) with the British Grand Fleet during World War I. During World War II he was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance from 1941 to 1943; then Commander, Group 1, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. After the war he commanded Joint Task Force 1 during the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. He commanded the 2nd Task Fleet and later served as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet from 1947 to 1950.

Admiral Blandy retired in 1950. He died on 12 January 1954 at the U.S. Navy Hospital in St. Albans, New York,^[2] and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Contents 1 Namesake 2 Notes 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Namesake

In 1956, the destroyer USS Blandy (DD-943) was named in his honor.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

[edit] External links

• USS Blandy DD 943 Association website
• William H. P. Blandy at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-01-29