John Thach
| John Thach | |
|---|---|
Official Navy portrait of Admiral John S. Thach
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|
| Birth name | John Smith Thach |
| Nickname(s) | Jimmy |
| Born |
April 19, 1905 Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Died | April 15, 1981 (aged 75) Coronado, California |
| Place of burial | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1927–1967 |
| Rank |
 Admiral
|
| Commands held |
Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) Sicily (CVE-118) Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) Valley Forge (CVS-45) U.S. Naval Forces, Europe |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Korean War Cold War |
| Awards |
Navy Cross with gold star Navy Distinguished Service Medal with gold star Silver Star Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and gold star |
John Smith "Jimmy" Thach (April 19, 1905 – April 15, 1981) was a World War II naval aviator, air combat , and United States Navy admiral. Thach developed the Thach Weave, a combat flight formation that could counter enemy fighters of superior performance, and later the big blue blanket, an aerial defense against Kamikaze attacks.
John S. Thach was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927 and spent two years serving in battleships before training as a naval aviator in 1929. Thach spent the next decade serving as a test pilot and instructor and establishing a reputation as an expert in aerial gunnery.
In the early 1940s, he was placed in command of Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3). There he met a young Ensign just out of flight school, Edward O'Hare, later a Medal of Honor recipient. Thach made O'Hare his wingman and taught him everything he knew. At the U.S. Navy fleet gunnery competition at the end of 1940, eight of the 16 VF-3 pilots qualified for the gunnery "E" award ("excellence").
Later Thach developed a fighter combat tactic known as the Thach Weave. This tactic enabled American fighter aircraft to hold their own against the more maneuverable Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the primary Imperial Japanese Navy fighter.
Lieutenant Commander Thach and VF-3 flew from USS Lexington in the early part of World War II, and was assigned to USS Yorktown during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
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Wikipedia