King’s Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897-1947

624 pages

Dr James WE Smith, King’s College London

*An advance electronic copy of the publication was provided to the book reviewer prior to the publication of King’s Navy.

 Rejoice! Finally, an in-depth analysis of the professional head of the US Navy during the Second World War, Ernest J. King (1878-1956). This fact alone raises the question of why, in 2024, we are only now receiving a comprehensive analysis of one of the most important military figures of the Second World War. King’s Navy joins the exceptionally limited list of biographical publications about Admiral King. Why it has taken so long for a comprehensive history and analysis of King, considering his prominent role not just during wartime but also his active role in the development of American sea power and naval aviation, could be the only question the author answers. But, King has been shrouded in myth, accusations and misinterpretations for decades, which this book tackles head-on. The often negative view of King has been frequently rooted in naivety, the agenda of scholars and jealous US naval officers of the period in which King served, and more recently, an unhealthy obsession to pursue a singular narrative of the US Navy during wartime: the tactical, operational events of the Pacific Campaign.

In King’s Navy, David Kohnen, PhD (USNWC), addresses issues head-on. He breathes a sense of fresh air through what has become a rather sterile history field on the US Navy, which seems obsessed with aircraft carrier battles and the relevance of the battleship. Kohnen’s ‘damn’s the torpedo’s full speed ahead’ attitude in this text breaks that mould. He does this by lifting the lid on the politics of US defence in Washington DC and how the US Navy as part of the national fabric of the United States became far more, and later, arguably far less than any American or American sailor could have hoped, notably King himself. The fact that Kohnen does not dwell on the already heavily trodden tactical engagements at sea during the Second World War, for the reader should not buy this title seeking that, makes the point; often, literature covering the American venture into sea power and its use of naval force dwells on technocratic matters than other more important issues such as personalities, Presidents, Congress, and how those in the highest offices are shaped to think about how and why they use their navy.

Kohnen makes a potent argument as to why King has gone without reams of pages and books dedicated to him, something in stark contrast to that of his subordinates and, as he argues, King’s lessers,  Admirals Chester Nimitz (1885-1966) and William Halsey Jr. (1882-1959) for example. But addressing past deficiencies––for there are many in understanding King––is just a small part of this publication. Kohnen explores and analyses with great enthusiasm an exhaustive list of questions that have gone unanswered for too long, embedding them with details of King’s life as a sailor, leader, and man. This is only possible due to Kohnen’s rigorous dedication to using evidence through the proven methodology of historical fact.  He uses never-seen-before original documentary evidence from a range of sources to great effect and readability. To that end, the scholar on King rests with Kohnen unless another scholar can provide fresh evidence to the contrary.

It would have been tempting for a scholar to just focus on the years of King as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH 1941-1945) and Chief of Naval Operations (1942-1945), for there are few naval officers who would be faced with the challenge King did: the destruction of a fleet, remobilisation, a global war across multiple oceans, new technologies above and below the surface of the sea and a potentially unfathomable bloody end with how to defeat Japan. The end of the Second World War saw the future of American sea power, after reaching the zenith of its power, collapse as the narrative of land-based air power and atomic bombs placed the efforts and century of hard work of which King was part of into doubt. Instead, the book supports going beyond King’s wartime record and also explores his centrality in weaving and maturing concepts of sea power into American identity, defence, and foreign policy. This is as a crucial theme of Kohnen’s work. Few naval officers, perhaps only a select few around the world, could be compared to King for such a hill to climb, which made the task all the more complex in terms of both the research and writing of a biography to cover. Fortunately, Kohnen has found the right balance, providing a well-paced, enjoyable tour through a complex, intelligent naval leader who arguably faced maturing American sea power and its navy to the height of relevance to Americans and the American way of war and peace. It was a task only comparable to something the Royal Navy had achieved centuries prior, where the Royal Navy had the distinct political advantage to the fact Britain was an island. In contrast, King faced the distinct anti-naval continental minds of politicians in Washington DC and ruthless interservice rivalry with the US Army and those who sought a separate US Air Force who sought to destroy US naval aviation and the US marines. The reader should be aware, King is no Lord Nelson; instead, a very different man, one to whom Kohnen provides an excellent piece of scholarship that will likely stand the test of time and should rightfully sit in any collection of books and not just those focused on the Second World War or United States.

This title is of interest to those seeking new, exciting titles on naval and military history but also to those seeking a more intimate biography of a man, something necessary to grasp because an individual is more than their uniform and the actions they take while holding a lofty office: for there are influences, connections, private life, social networks and education that lead to the development of such individuals. However, you can tell that Kohnen had to make cuts to what could easily be a multi-volume treatment about King, something he may wish to address in the future. Nonetheless, the selection of sources and materials makes an excellent biography alone.

In conclusion, the author has not just sought to explore the life and career of King but to explain why King matters from a historical point of view to today and tomorrow. King’s life is explained usefully to the reader, emphasising making the material accessible to military personnel, the public, and policymakers. He does this by taking King beyond a mere matter in the annuals of US Navy leadership and history and into the broader debate of American defence and foreign policy in the period and how it resonated, or not, in the decades that have followed. In the annals of naval history scholarship, addressing the gap in understanding of CNO King––a gap that should never have occurred––goes a long way to understanding the personalities, decisions, policies and past character of American sea power, one that has become disconnected from Ernest J. King…which this title seeks to educate about and the man, one it subsequently heals.