Samuel Murray Robinson
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Samuel Murray Robinson (August 13, 1882 - November 11, 1972) was a United States Navy
four-star admiral who directed Navy procurement during World War II
.
, Robinson attended primary school in Walnut Springs, Texas
, high school in Dublin, Texas
, and college at Fort Worth University before entering the U.S. Naval Academy
in 1899. Graduating in 1903, he saw service in the Asiatic Station before making a cruise from Honolulu, Hawaii
to Panama
aboard the Paul Jones
, the first long voyage undertaken by a destroyer.
From 1907 to 1909, he circumnavigated
the globe with the Great White Fleet
aboard the battleship Vermont
. During the round-the-world cruise, he met his future wife on a port call in San Francisco, California
, and they were married on March 9, 1909, two weeks after Vermont returned with the fleet to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Later that year, the Navy established a formal graduate program at the Academy, and Robinson was one of 10 students selected for the first class of the School of Marine Engineering
, alongside future four-star admiral James O. Richardson.
drive by the U.S. Navy, as part of a controlled experiment to evaluate the relative merits of competing propulsion mechanisms. Three new colliers of the same class were each equipped with a different propulsion type: Cyclops
with reciprocating engine
s, Neptune
with geared turbines, and Jupiter with a turboelectric drive supplied by the General Electric Company. The results of the collier trials would determine which mechanism would be selected to propel future battleships.
In August 1913, Jupiters trials almost ended before they began. While underway off the coaling station in Tiburon, California
in preparation for its shakedown cruise, Jupiter took evasive action to avoid an accidental collision with a passing submarine. During the sudden maneuver, a fuse on the main electrical panel blew, shutting down every piece of machinery on the ship, including its steering. With only four minutes before the ship would run aground, Robinson restored power; Jupiter got underway with 30 seconds to spare.
Robinson remained with Jupiter for its shakedown cruise, during which the collier traveled from the West Coast to the Atlantic and became the first naval vessel to transit the Panama Canal
. At the end of Jupiter 's trials, Robinson reported that turboelectric drive was lighter and more compact than the competing propulsion methods, and moreover was easily operated by relatively unskilled sailors, permitted accurate speed control, and exceeded General Electric's economy estimates by a remarkable 18 percent. Based on his report, turboelectric drive was selected for installation in the new battleship California
, and Robinson was assigned to superintend the construction of Californias electric equipment at the Mare Island Navy Yard.
He was assigned to the Bureau of Engineering from 1914 to 1919, where he helped design five battleships in rapid succession. In spring 1917, he sailed by convoy to Britain to study technical developments of the Royal Navy
and spent time as an observer with the British Grand Fleet. From 1919 to 1921 he had sea duty as fleet engineering officer to the commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet
. He returned to the Bureau of Engineering in 1921 to begin six years as officer in charge of the Design Division. He became manager of the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington in 1927.
. During this first of two nonconsecutive terms as the chief Navy engineer, Robinson helped stimulate the development of submarine
electric propulsion. At the time, lightweight, high-speed engines were still in the experimental phase and no existing engine was suitable for submarine electric drive. Procuring such an engine was a venture requiring a level of risk and capital investment that was considered prohibitive for a private company. Rather than wait for the private sector to catch up to the Navy's requirements, Robinson launched an innovative bureau-sponsored competition that successfully drew private diesel contractors into the submarine propulsion market.
He was relieved as chief of BuEng on May 29, 1935 by Rear Admiral
Harold G. Bowen and became inspector of naval materiel at the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York
. He was senior member of the Navy Compensation Board in 1938. In September 1939 he was appointed for a second term as chief of BuEng and put in charge of the shipbuilding program as coordinator of shipbuilding.
(BuShips), a new division formed by consolidating the Bureau of Engineering with the Bureau of Construction and Repair
. The merger was the brainchild of Secretary of the Navy
Charles Edison
, who wanted centralized control of shipbuilding but had failed in a previous effort to create a chief of shore operations, which the sea-going admirals had resisted as placing excessive responsibility and power in the hands of a mere technical officer.
In the Bureau of Ships, Robinson generated designs for the ship types ordered by the Chief of Naval Operations
. According to Robinson, picking a ship design was like buying a hat: for every new class of ship, the Bureau drafted up to ten different designs, unofficially nicknamed "spring styles". After six or eight months of drafting work, these tentative blueprints were submitted for consideration by the General Board of the Navy, which then informed the Bureau which choice it preferred.
As coordinator of shipbuilding, Robinson laid the groundwork for the dramatic expansion of the fleet under the two-ocean Navy program. Under Robinson, the time between contract plans and working plans was cut from between 15 and 18 months to less than a year, an efficiency achieved in part by Robinson's decision to freeze the designs of combat ships in each category in order to stop the endless engineering delays incurred by frequent design changes. He mustered legislative support by testifying some 50 times before Congressional committees to explain the Navy's materiel requirements, and mobilized industry resources by exhaustively surveying and reserving the nation's shipbuilding facilities. Thanks in large part to Robinson's careful preparation, when Congress appropriated the funds to expand the fleet by 70% in September 1940, the Navy awarded almost every contract within an hour after President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed the bill.
By March 1942, the completion date for the two-ocean Navy program, originally projected for 1947, had already been pushed forward to 1945-46. Every major shipyard in the United States was either building or repairing some kind of Navy vessel. Many vessels would be completed more than a year ahead of the schedules specified by their original contracts, including aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and other light warships. By the end of Robinson's tenure, the Bureau of Ships was churning out ships faster than the other bureaus could outfit them with instrumentation and other essentials.
, Robinson was elevated to production chief for the entire Navy. As director of the newly created Office of Procurement and Material
in the Navy Department, Robinson was in charge of all naval material procurement activities, including the construction of ships, aircraft, and shore bases; the manufacture of guns and ordnance; and the purchase of oil, food, clothing, and other supplies. He was promoted to vice admiral on January 31, 1942, the highest rank ever attained by an American staff officer up to that point.
In his new role, Robinson exercised unprecedented control over the Navy Department bureau system
. For over eighty years, the various bureaus - Ordnance, Supplies and Accounts, Medicine and Surgery, etc. - had functioned more or less autonomously, and the decentralized bureau system had acquired a reputation for parochialism and inefficiency. Bureau chiefs reigned supreme within their own domains, reporting only to the secretary or undersecretary of the Navy, and jealously guarded their statutory prerogatives against repeated attempts to consolidate uniformed authority in the person of the chief of naval operations. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
, the two-ocean Navy, by now scheduled to arrive in 1944, suddenly was needed immediately. To maximize construction speed, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
created a new Office of Procurement and Material and placed Robinson at its head. The new office worked through the existing bureaus to coordinate all Navy procurement, giving Robinson supervisory authority over all the bureau chiefs, a change in Navy Department governance as sudden and sweeping as the simultaneous consolidation of line authority in the hands of the commander in chief of the United States Fleet
, Admiral Ernest J. King.
As Navy production chief, Robinson formed one leg of a Navy high command triumvirate whose other members were King, as chief of naval operations and commander in chief of the United States Fleet; and Vice Admiral Frederick J. Horne
, as vice chief of naval operations
. Robinson delivered naval hardware and supplies to Horne, who combined Robinson's materiel with the manpower trained by the Bureau of Personnel and passed the battle-ready products to King, who deployed them. Robinson and his Army counterpart, Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell
, reported directly to the chairman of the War Production Board
, Donald M. Nelson
, who delegated them responsibility for all military procurement in the United States.
Robinson was promoted to full admiral on August 27, 1945, twelve days after the victory over Japan
, the first staff officer to achieve that rank in the history of the U.S. Navy. He retired from the Navy in 1946 to serve as administrator of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture
in Glen Cove, New York
until 1952.
who was captured at Wake Island
in December 1941 and interned as a prisoner of war
in Shanghai
; and Murray Robinson, a patent attorney in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He died of pneumonia in Houston, Texas
in 1972.
His written work includes several technical articles on turboelectric drive; the 1922 textbook Electric Ship Propulsion; and A Brief History of the Texas Navy, an appraisal of the strategic value of the Texas Navy
that was published by the Sons of the Republic of Texas in 1961 and mailed to every senior and junior high school in Texas, and to all universities and colleges, as a supplemental chapter in the teaching of Texas history. He recorded an oral history that is archived at the Columbia University
Oral History Research Office.
He was presented the John Scott Award in 1942 for outstanding work in warship design and construction. The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
awarded him the 1942 David W. Taylor Medal
for notable achievement in naval architecture. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 1948 for his work in outfitting American-built ships for the Royal Navy
, and for cooperating in other procurement matters.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Samuel Murray Robinson (August 13, 1882 - November 11, 1972) was a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
four-star admiral who directed Navy procurement during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early career
Born in Eulogy, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Robinson attended primary school in Walnut Springs, Texas
Walnut Springs, Texas
Walnut Springs is a city located in Bosque County in Central Texas. The population was 755 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Walnut Springs is located at ....
, high school in Dublin, Texas
Dublin, Texas
Dublin is a city located in southwestern Erath County in Central Texas. The population was 3,754 at the time of the 2000 census.The town is the home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant...
, and college at Fort Worth University before entering the U.S. Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in 1899. Graduating in 1903, he saw service in the Asiatic Station before making a cruise from Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
aboard the Paul Jones
USS Paul Jones (DD-10)
The second USS Paul Jones was a in the United States Navy. She was named for John Paul Jones.Paul Jones was laid down on 20 April 1899 by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California; launched on 14 June 1902; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Goldsborough Adams; and commissioned on 19 July 1902,...
, the first long voyage undertaken by a destroyer.
From 1907 to 1909, he circumnavigated
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
the globe with the Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
aboard the battleship Vermont
USS Vermont (BB-20)
USS Vermont , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy named for the 14th state.Vermont was laid down on 21 May 1904 at Quincy, Massachusetts, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company. She was launched on 31 August 1905 sponsored by Miss Jennie Bell, the daughter of Governor Charles J...
. During the round-the-world cruise, he met his future wife on a port call in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and they were married on March 9, 1909, two weeks after Vermont returned with the fleet to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Later that year, the Navy established a formal graduate program at the Academy, and Robinson was one of 10 students selected for the first class of the School of Marine Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
, alongside future four-star admiral James O. Richardson.
Electric drive pioneer
Robinson was credited with pioneering electric drive propulsion in the U.S. Navy, beginning with his tour as executive officer and chief engineer of the newly built collier Jupiter. Jupiter was the first major ship equipped with turboelectricTurbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
drive by the U.S. Navy, as part of a controlled experiment to evaluate the relative merits of competing propulsion mechanisms. Three new colliers of the same class were each equipped with a different propulsion type: Cyclops
USS Cyclops (AC-4)
USS Cyclops was one of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy several years before World War I. Named for the Cyclops, a primordial race of giants from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name...
with reciprocating engine
Reciprocating engine
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types...
s, Neptune
USS Neptune (AC-8)
The third USS Neptune , a collier of the U.S. Navy, was laid down by the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md. 23 March 1910; launched 21 January 1911; and placed in service with a merchant crew at Norfolk Navy Yard 20 September 1911, Master F. E...
with geared turbines, and Jupiter with a turboelectric drive supplied by the General Electric Company. The results of the collier trials would determine which mechanism would be selected to propel future battleships.
In August 1913, Jupiters trials almost ended before they began. While underway off the coaling station in Tiburon, California
Tiburon, California
Tiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon...
in preparation for its shakedown cruise, Jupiter took evasive action to avoid an accidental collision with a passing submarine. During the sudden maneuver, a fuse on the main electrical panel blew, shutting down every piece of machinery on the ship, including its steering. With only four minutes before the ship would run aground, Robinson restored power; Jupiter got underway with 30 seconds to spare.
Robinson remained with Jupiter for its shakedown cruise, during which the collier traveled from the West Coast to the Atlantic and became the first naval vessel to transit the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. At the end of Jupiter 's trials, Robinson reported that turboelectric drive was lighter and more compact than the competing propulsion methods, and moreover was easily operated by relatively unskilled sailors, permitted accurate speed control, and exceeded General Electric's economy estimates by a remarkable 18 percent. Based on his report, turboelectric drive was selected for installation in the new battleship California
USS California (BB-44)
USS California , a Tennessee-class battleship, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 31st state. Beginning as the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, she served in the Pacific her entire career. She was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor at her moorings in Battleship Row,...
, and Robinson was assigned to superintend the construction of Californias electric equipment at the Mare Island Navy Yard.
He was assigned to the Bureau of Engineering from 1914 to 1919, where he helped design five battleships in rapid succession. In spring 1917, he sailed by convoy to Britain to study technical developments of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and spent time as an observer with the British Grand Fleet. From 1919 to 1921 he had sea duty as fleet engineering officer to the commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
. He returned to the Bureau of Engineering in 1921 to begin six years as officer in charge of the Design Division. He became manager of the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington in 1927.
Chief of BuEng
In 1931, Robinson was commissioned chief of the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng) with the rank of rear admiral, succeeding Rear Admiral Harry E. YarnellHarry E. Yarnell
Admiral Harry Ervin Yarnell was an American naval officer whose career spanned 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish-American War through World War II.-Early life and Naval career:...
. During this first of two nonconsecutive terms as the chief Navy engineer, Robinson helped stimulate the development of submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
electric propulsion. At the time, lightweight, high-speed engines were still in the experimental phase and no existing engine was suitable for submarine electric drive. Procuring such an engine was a venture requiring a level of risk and capital investment that was considered prohibitive for a private company. Rather than wait for the private sector to catch up to the Navy's requirements, Robinson launched an innovative bureau-sponsored competition that successfully drew private diesel contractors into the submarine propulsion market.
He was relieved as chief of BuEng on May 29, 1935 by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Harold G. Bowen and became inspector of naval materiel at the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
. He was senior member of the Navy Compensation Board in 1938. In September 1939 he was appointed for a second term as chief of BuEng and put in charge of the shipbuilding program as coordinator of shipbuilding.
Chief of BuShips
In 1940, Robinson became the first chief of the Bureau of ShipsBureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
(BuShips), a new division formed by consolidating the Bureau of Engineering with the Bureau of Construction and Repair
Bureau of Construction and Repair
The Bureau of Construction and Repair was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Navy...
. The merger was the brainchild of Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Charles Edison
Charles Edison
Charles Edison was son of Thomas Edison to Mina, businessman, Assistant and then United States Secretary of the Navy, and served as the 42nd Governor of New Jersey.-Biography:...
, who wanted centralized control of shipbuilding but had failed in a previous effort to create a chief of shore operations, which the sea-going admirals had resisted as placing excessive responsibility and power in the hands of a mere technical officer.
In the Bureau of Ships, Robinson generated designs for the ship types ordered by the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
. According to Robinson, picking a ship design was like buying a hat: for every new class of ship, the Bureau drafted up to ten different designs, unofficially nicknamed "spring styles". After six or eight months of drafting work, these tentative blueprints were submitted for consideration by the General Board of the Navy, which then informed the Bureau which choice it preferred.
As coordinator of shipbuilding, Robinson laid the groundwork for the dramatic expansion of the fleet under the two-ocean Navy program. Under Robinson, the time between contract plans and working plans was cut from between 15 and 18 months to less than a year, an efficiency achieved in part by Robinson's decision to freeze the designs of combat ships in each category in order to stop the endless engineering delays incurred by frequent design changes. He mustered legislative support by testifying some 50 times before Congressional committees to explain the Navy's materiel requirements, and mobilized industry resources by exhaustively surveying and reserving the nation's shipbuilding facilities. Thanks in large part to Robinson's careful preparation, when Congress appropriated the funds to expand the fleet by 70% in September 1940, the Navy awarded almost every contract within an hour after President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
signed the bill.
By March 1942, the completion date for the two-ocean Navy program, originally projected for 1947, had already been pushed forward to 1945-46. Every major shipyard in the United States was either building or repairing some kind of Navy vessel. Many vessels would be completed more than a year ahead of the schedules specified by their original contracts, including aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and other light warships. By the end of Robinson's tenure, the Bureau of Ships was churning out ships faster than the other bureaus could outfit them with instrumentation and other essentials.
World War II
Upon America's entry into World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Robinson was elevated to production chief for the entire Navy. As director of the newly created Office of Procurement and Material
Office of Naval Material
In January 1942 the Director of Material and Procurement was appointed to coordinate all material procurement activities of the US Navy. In 1948 the office title was changed to Chief of Division of Material, and in 1984 to Chief of the Office of Naval Material. In 1983 title was changed to Naval...
in the Navy Department, Robinson was in charge of all naval material procurement activities, including the construction of ships, aircraft, and shore bases; the manufacture of guns and ordnance; and the purchase of oil, food, clothing, and other supplies. He was promoted to vice admiral on January 31, 1942, the highest rank ever attained by an American staff officer up to that point.
In his new role, Robinson exercised unprecedented control over the Navy Department bureau system
United States Navy bureau system
The "bureau system" of the United States Navy was the Department of the Navy's material-support organization from 1842 through 1966. The bureau chiefs were largely autonomous, reporting directly to the Secretary of the Navy and managing their respective organizations without the influence of other...
. For over eighty years, the various bureaus - Ordnance, Supplies and Accounts, Medicine and Surgery, etc. - had functioned more or less autonomously, and the decentralized bureau system had acquired a reputation for parochialism and inefficiency. Bureau chiefs reigned supreme within their own domains, reporting only to the secretary or undersecretary of the Navy, and jealously guarded their statutory prerogatives against repeated attempts to consolidate uniformed authority in the person of the chief of naval operations. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, the two-ocean Navy, by now scheduled to arrive in 1944, suddenly was needed immediately. To maximize construction speed, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
Frank Knox
-External links:...
created a new Office of Procurement and Material and placed Robinson at its head. The new office worked through the existing bureaus to coordinate all Navy procurement, giving Robinson supervisory authority over all the bureau chiefs, a change in Navy Department governance as sudden and sweeping as the simultaneous consolidation of line authority in the hands of the commander in chief of the United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...
, Admiral Ernest J. King.
As Navy production chief, Robinson formed one leg of a Navy high command triumvirate whose other members were King, as chief of naval operations and commander in chief of the United States Fleet; and Vice Admiral Frederick J. Horne
Frederick J. Horne
Admiral Frederick Joseph Horne was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy. As the first Vice Chief of Naval Operations, he directed all Navy logistics during World War II.-Early career:...
, as vice chief of naval operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
. Robinson delivered naval hardware and supplies to Horne, who combined Robinson's materiel with the manpower trained by the Bureau of Personnel and passed the battle-ready products to King, who deployed them. Robinson and his Army counterpart, Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell
Brehon B. Somervell
Brehon Burke Somervell was a General in the United States Army and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces in World War II. As such he was responsible for the U.S. Army's logistics...
, reported directly to the chairman of the War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
, Donald M. Nelson
Donald M. Nelson
Donald Marr Nelson was an American business executive and public servant, serving as the executive vice president of Sears Roebuck before accepting the position of director of priorities of the United States Office of Production Management . In 1942 Nelson became chairman of the War Production...
, who delegated them responsibility for all military procurement in the United States.
Robinson was promoted to full admiral on August 27, 1945, twelve days after the victory over Japan
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
, the first staff officer to achieve that rank in the history of the U.S. Navy. He retired from the Navy in 1946 to serve as administrator of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture
Webb Institute
The Webb Institute is a specialized private college in Glen Cove, New York that has only one program, which is undergraduate. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.- History :...
in Glen Cove, New York
Glen Cove, New York
Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 26,964....
until 1952.
Personal life
He married the former Emma Mary Burnham on March 2, 1909, and they had two sons: James Burnham Robinson, a naval reservist in the Civil Engineer CorpsCivil Engineer Corps
The Civil Engineer Corps is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers. They are responsible for executing and managing the planning, design, acquisition, construction, operation, and...
who was captured at Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
in December 1941 and interned as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
; and Murray Robinson, a patent attorney in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He died of pneumonia in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
in 1972.
His written work includes several technical articles on turboelectric drive; the 1922 textbook Electric Ship Propulsion; and A Brief History of the Texas Navy, an appraisal of the strategic value of the Texas Navy
Texas Navy
The Texas Navy was the official navy of the Republic of Texas. Two Texas Navies were naval fighting forces. There is a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy, in which officers are commissioned by the Governor of Texas as Admirals, Commanders and Lieutenants....
that was published by the Sons of the Republic of Texas in 1961 and mailed to every senior and junior high school in Texas, and to all universities and colleges, as a supplemental chapter in the teaching of Texas history. He recorded an oral history that is archived at the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Oral History Research Office.
He was presented the John Scott Award in 1942 for outstanding work in warship design and construction. The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers is a professional society that provides a forum for the advancement of the engineering profession as applied to the marine field...
awarded him the 1942 David W. Taylor Medal
David W. Taylor Medal
The David W. Taylor Medal is a medal presented by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers for "notable achievement in naval architecture and/or marine engineering."...
for notable achievement in naval architecture. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1948 for his work in outfitting American-built ships for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and for cooperating in other procurement matters.