View source for Charles E. Rosendahl

{{Short description|United States Navy vice admiral}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Charles Emery Rosendahl
| image = Charles E. Rosendahl.jpg
| caption = Lt. Cmdr. Charles Rosendahl, USN, circa 1930
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|5|15}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|5|17|1892|5|15}}
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| placeofburial = 
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
| death_place = [[Naval Hospital Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname = ''Rosey''
|allegiance= United States
|branch={{Naval|United States|navy-1864}}
| serviceyears = 1910&ndash;1946
| rank = [[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice admiral]]
| unit = 
| commands = {{USS|Claxton|DD-140|6}}<br/>{{USS|Los Angeles|ZR-3|6}}<br/>Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron<br/>{{USS|Akron||6}}<br/>[[NAS Lakehurst]]<br/>{{USS|Minneapolis|CA-36|6}}<br/>Naval Airship Training Command
| battles = [[United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution|Mexican Revolution]]<br/>[[World War I]]<br/>[[World War II]]
| awards = [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]]<br/>[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]
| relations = 
| laterwork = 
}}

'''Charles Emery Rosendahl''' (May 15, 1892 &ndash; May 17, 1977) was a highly decorated [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]], and an advocate of [[Airship|lighter-than-air flight]].

==Biography==
===Early career===
Rosendahl was born in [[Chicago, Illinois]], although his family subsequently relocated to [[Kansas]] and [[Texas]] and, in 1910, he was appointed to the [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]] from the latter state and was later commissioned in the rank of [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in June 1914, upon graduation from the academy.<ref name="NavHist">{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/c-rosndl.htm
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030804140410/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/c-rosndl.htm
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=4 August 2003
 |title=Rosendahl, Charles E. (1892–1977)
 |work=history.navy.mil
 |accessdate=31 October 2010
 }}</ref> He was then ordered to join the [[armored cruiser]] {{USS|West Virginia|ACR-5|3}} off Mexico during the [[United States occupation of Veracruz|Veracruz crisis]]. After ''West Virginia'' was decommissioned he served briefly on the battleship {{USS|Oregon|BB-3|3}} and the [[protected cruiser]] {{USS|St. Louis|C-20|3}}, before reporting for duty aboard the protected cruiser {{USS|Cleveland|C-19|3}} on May 14, 1915. On September 15, 1916, he returned to the recommissioned ''West Virginia'', which was subsequently renamed the ''Huntington''. On June 19, 1917, he received promotion to [[lieutenant (junior grade)]], and to full [[lieutenant]] on August 31, 1918,<ref name="UTDallas">{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/speccoll/ltapdf/Rosendahl1.pdf
 |title= Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl Collection
 |work= utdallas.edu
 |accessdate= 31 October 2010
 |url-status= dead
 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100601160829/http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/speccoll/ltapdf/Rosendahl1.pdf
 |archivedate= 1 June 2010
 }}</ref> having served aboard the ''Huntington'' escorting convoys of troops and supplies to Europe during [[World War I]].

From June 6, 1918,<ref name="UTDallas"/> Rosendahl served as an engineering officer, putting the new [[destroyer]] {{USS|McKean|DD-90|3}} into commission.<ref name="NavHist"/> On July 30, 1919, he was ordered to the Pacific Coast for further duty, first serving on the cruiser {{USS|Brooklyn|CA-3|3}} as gunnery officer, and receiving promotion to [[lieutenant commander]] on January 27, 1920. In August he began fitting out new destroyers, commissioning, and delivering them to the fleet; they included the {{USS|William Jones|DD-308|3}}, {{USS|Yarborough|DD-314|3}}, {{USS|Marcus|DD-321|3}}, and {{USS|Melvin|DD-335|3}}. On July 11, 1921, Rosendahl assumed command of the destroyer {{USS|Claxton|DD-140|3}}, before being ordered to duty at the Naval Academy as an instructor in Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics in September.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

===Move to airships===
[[File:USS Shenandoah Wreck.jpg|thumb|left|The bow section of ''Shenandoah'' after the crash]]
When the Navy's [[Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy)|Bureau of Navigation]] circulated a letter asking for volunteers for rigid airship duty, Rosendahl volunteered.<ref name="UTDallas"/> He reported to [[Naval Air Station Lakehurst]], [[New Jersey]], to be trained in airship operation<ref name="NavHist"/> on April 7, 1923.<ref name="UTDallas"/> Designated a [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviator]] in November 1924, Rosendahl served on the [[dirigible]] {{USS|Shenandoah|ZR-1|3}}<ref name="NavHist"/> as mooring officer and navigator. Promoted to [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]] on January 5, 1925,<ref name="UTDallas"/> he distinguished himself by successfully bringing the bow section of the shattered airship safely to earth after she broke up in the air on September 3, 1925, over [[Noble County, Ohio|Noble County]], [[Ohio]].<ref name="NavHist"/> For this action he was later awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].

From March 9, 1926, he served as [[executive officer]], and then as [[commanding officer]] from May 10,<ref name="UTDallas"/> of the dirigible {{USS|Los Angeles|ZR-3|3}},<ref name="NavHist"/> making numerous flights for crew training, radio compass station calibration and flight tests for [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA). ''Los Angeles'' also took part in the searches for [[Charles Nungesser|Nungesser]] and [[François Coli|Coli]]'s aircraft ''[[The White Bird]]'', and [[Frances Wilson Grayson]]'s ''Dawn'', both of which went missing during attempts on [[Transatlantic flight|trans-Atlantic flights]].<ref name="UTDallas"/>
[[File:Uss Patoka AO9.jpg|thumb|250px|Airship moored to USS ''Patoka'']]
In January 1928 Rosendahl flew ''Los Angeles'' out to sea off [[Newport, Rhode Island]], to rendezvous with the aircraft carrier {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|3}} and moored to the ship's stern to take on fuel and stores. Further experimental flights were undertaken, mooring to the airship tender {{USS|Patoka|AO-9|3}} during long-range flights.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

In July 1928 Rosendahl traveled to Britain to observe their airship activities, and then to Germany for the trials of the airship {{Ship|LZ 127|Graf Zeppelin||2}}. In October he was an observer aboard the ''Graf'' as she made her first Atlantic crossing from [[Friedrichshafen]] to Lakehurst.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

On May 9, 1929, he was relieved as commanding officer of ''Los Angeles'' and assumed duty as the commander of the Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron at NAS Lakehurst. In August he was aboard the ''Graf Zeppelin''{{'}}s "Round the World" flight as observer and watch officer.<ref name="UTDallas"/> On June 27, 1930,<ref name="UTDallas"/> Rosendahl was assigned to the [[Bureau of Aeronautics]], in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref name="NavHist"/> and from October 21, 1931, to June 23, 1932,<ref name="UTDallas"/> commanded the new dirigible {{USS|Akron|ZRS-4|3}},<ref name="NavHist"/> during which time experiments in the role as an [[airborne aircraft carrier]] were tried. Between July 1932 and June 1934<ref name="UTDallas"/> Rosendahl served at sea on board the [[battleship]] {{USS|West Virginia|BB-48|3}} and heavy cruiser {{USS|Portland|CA-33|3}}.<ref name="NavHist"/>
[[File:Hindenburg burning.jpg|thumb|left|''Hindenburg'' in flames, 6 May 1937]]
On June 11, 1934, he assumed command at [[NAS Lakehurst]], and was promoted to [[Commander (United States)|commander]] on February 1, 1935. Rosendahl served as an official observer on the German airship {{Ship|LZ 129|Hindenburg||2}}, on transatlantic flights between [[Frankfurt]] and [[Rio de Janeiro]] in August and September 1936. He was in command at Lakehurst on the night of May 6, 1937, and witnessed the [[Hindenburg disaster|destruction of the ''Hindenburg'']], leading fire fighting and rescue efforts.<ref name="UTDallas"/> He later testified at the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]] inquiry into the accident<ref name="NavHist"/> and stated:

{{blockquote|When I saw the first blaze I knew the ship was doomed and I also thought that there would immediately be an explosion which would flatten every building at the field and kill everybody looking on. I thought it was curtains for all of us.<ref>{{Cite magazine
 |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848692,00.html
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120125025819/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848692,00.html
 |url-status= dead
 |archive-date= January 25, 2012
 |title=Transport: Waiting Room
 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 |date=May 24, 1937
 |accessdate=November 1, 2010
}}</ref>}}

On August 6, 1938, he was relieved of command of NAS Lakehurst, and on August 31, he reported to Pearl Harbor<ref name="UTDallas"/> to serve as executive officer of the light cruiser {{USS|Milwaukee|CL-5|3}}.<ref name="NavHist"/>

On May 23, 1940, he was assigned to the office of the [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] for duty in airship evaluations, and was promoted to the rank of [[Captain (naval)|captain]] on July 13. In September he became the senior member of the board created to investigate sites for new airship stations. On February 25, 1941, he was detached from that duty to serve in the office of the [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]], and then on April 23, 1942, to the office of [[Chief of Naval Operations]], under the Director of Fleet Training, for airship training and base selection.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

===World War II===
[[File:Damaged USS Minneapolis (CA-36) at Tulagi on 1 December 1942, after the Battle of Tassafaronga (80-G-211215).jpg|thumb|''Minneapolis'' after Tassafaronga with her bows missing]]
On September 6, 1942,<ref name="UTDallas"/> Rosendahl took command of the [[heavy cruiser]] {{USS|Minneapolis|CA-36|3}}. The ship was torpedoed during the [[Battle of Tassafaronga]], off [[Guadalcanal]], on November 30, 1942,<ref name="NavHist"/> losing {{Convert|80|ft|m}} of her bows and had three of four boilers knocked out. Rosendahl kept her afloat and reached the safety of [[Tulagi]].<ref name="UTDallas"/> For this action he was subsequently awarded the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]].<ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=21506
 |title=Military Times Hall of Valor: Awards for Charles Emery Rosendahl
 |work=[[Sightline Media Group|Military Times]]
 |accessdate=November 1, 2010
}}</ref> On May 15, he returned to NAS Lakehurst and assumed duty as the Chief of Naval Airship Training Command, receiving promotion to [[Rear admiral (United States)|rear admiral]] on May 26, 1943.<ref name="UTDallas"/> This service lasted through [[World War II]],<ref name="NavHist"/> until he retired on November 1, 1946. He was advanced to the rank of [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] on the same day.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

===Post-Navy activities===
Between 1947 and 1952 Rosendahl was an aeronautical consultant and a vice-president of the [[Anton Flettner|Flettner]] Aircraft Corporation, New York. In 1953 he was appointed [[executive director]] of the National Air Transport Coordinating Committee, a group set up to study air transport problems in the greater New York area after [[American Airlines Flight 6780|three crashes]] in [[Elizabeth, New Jersey]], during 1952.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

Rosendahl retired to [[Toms River]], [[New Jersey]], in 1960 to write and to organize the Lighter-Than-Air Museum Association at Lakehurst. The Navy conditionally deeded land to the LTA Museum Association, but because the group was unsuccessful in raising funds, the land reverted to NAS Lakehurst.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

The United States Navy ended airship operations in August 1962. Rosendahl was aboard the [[N class blimp]] ''ZPG-3W'' on the final flight.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

Rosendahl died on May 17, 1977, at the [[Naval Hospital Philadelphia]].<ref name="NavHist"/>

==Personal life==
On June 30, 1932, he met Jean Wilson on a train en route to Los Angeles, California. They were married on December 22, 1934.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

==Publications==
Rosendahl published several books, as well as numerous scientific and popular articles about airships.
* ''Up Ship!'' (1931) [[Dodd, Mead and Company]], New York.
* ''What About the Airship: The Challenge to the United States'' (1938) [[Charles Scribner's Sons]], New York.
* ''A History of U.S. Navy Airships in World War II''
* ''SNAFU: The Strange Story of American Airships''
His collected papers are held by the [[University of Texas at Dallas]].<ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://libtreasures.utdallas.edu/xmlui/handle/10735.1/1516
 |title=The Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl Lighter-than-Air Collection
 |publisher=University of Texas at Dallas
 |accessdate=November 1, 2010
}}</ref> These include notes for an unpublished study of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] written with the assistance of Vice Admiral [[Ryūnosuke Kusaka]], who Rosendahl had first met and befriended on the ''Graf Zeppelin'' circumnavigation in 1929.<ref name="UTDallas"/>

==Memberships==
Rosendahl was a member of the following organizations:
* [[Fellow]] of the [[Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences]]
* Member of Advisory Committee and Trustee of the [[Harmon Trophy|Clifford B. Harmon Trust]]
* Past President and Life Honorary Member, [[Wings Club]] of New York
* Honorary Member and Past President, [[John Ericsson]] Society of New York
* Founder and Member of Army-Navy Country Club, Washington, D.C.
* Fifty-year "Gold Card" member of the [[American Legion]], Past Commander and member of its Air Service, Post 501
* Adventurers' Club
* Ye Ancient and Secret Order of [[Quiet Birdmen]]
* [[International Order of Characters]]
* [[Explorers' Club]]
* The Naval Order of the United States

==Honors and awards==
===Civilian===
Rosendahl was the recipient of numerous honors:
* Elder Statesman of Aviation, [[National Aeronautic Association]]
* Winner of four [[Harmon Trophy|Harmon Trophies]], Aeronaut-class (1927 & 1940-9), and National Award (1932 & 1933)
* [[Frank Hawks|Frank M. Hawks Award]]
* He was inducted into the [[Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey]] in 1980
He also received two honorary degrees:
* Doctor of Science in Aeronautics from the [[University of Tampa]]
* Doctor of Laws from [[Rider College]]

===Military decorations===

Here is the ribbon bar of Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl:
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Naval Aviator Badge.jpg|width=256|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Mexican Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="14"|[[United States Aviator Badge|Naval Aviator Badge]]
|-
!1st Row
|colspan="3"|[[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]]
|colspan="3"|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]
|-
!2nd Row
|colspan="3"|[[Mexican Service Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with Fleet Clasp
|colspan="3"|[[American Defense Service Medal]] with Atlantic Fleet Clasp
|-
!3rd Row
|colspan="3"|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[Service star]]
|colspan="3"|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|}

==In popular culture==
Rosendahl appears in the pilot episode of the NBC series ''[[Timeless (TV series)|Timeless]]'', where he is portrayed by [[Kurt Max Runte]].

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
* {{cite web
|title=Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl, USN, (1892–1977)
|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/c-rosndl.htm |website=Naval Historical Center (Naval History and Heritage Command)
|accessdate=23 February 2017
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104153736/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-r/c-rosndl.htm|archivedate=November 4, 2012}}

==Further reading==
* Althoff, William F., ''Sky Ships: A History of the Airship in the United States Navy'', (July 1998) Pacifica Press, California. {{ISBN|978-0-935553-32-1}}
* Shock, James R., ''U.S. Navy Airships 1915–1962: A History by Individual Airship''. (2001) Atlantis Productions. {{ISBN|0-9639743-8-6}}

{{AHOFONJ}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [http://www.airships.net/charles-rosendahl Charles Rosendahl biography, photograph, and documents.]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosendahl, Charles E.}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Toms River, New Jersey]]
[[Category:LZ 129 Hindenburg]]
[[Category:Airship aviators]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Chicago]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New Jersey]]