John Thach John Smith " Jimmy " Thach ( April 19 , 1905 – April 15 , 1981 ) was a World War II naval aviator , air combat tactician , 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 attack s . Early career . 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 battleship s 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 . World War II . In the early 1940s , he was placed in command of Fighting Squadron Three ( VF - 3 ) . There he met a young Naval Reserve 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 fighter of Japan . On the morning of June 4 , 1942 , Thach led a six - plane sortie from VF - 3 , escorting a strike from " Yorktown " , when they discovered the main Japanese carrier fleet . They were immediately attacked by 15 to 20 Japanese fighters . Thach decided to use his namesake maneuver , marking its first combat usage . Although outnumbered and outmaneuvered , Thach managed to shoot down three Zeros and a wingman accounted for another , at the cost of one Wildcat . After Midway , Thach was assigned to instruct other pilots in combat tactics . The U . S . Navy pulled its best combat pilots out of action to train newer pilots , while the Japanese kept their best pilots in combat . As the war progressed , the Japanese Navy lost their experienced pilots due to attrition and had no well trained replacements , while the U . S . was able to improve the general fighting ability of their own personnel . When the Japanese resorted to the feared Kamikaze suicide attack s , Thach developed the " big blue blanket " system to provide an adequate defense . Later in the war Commander Thach became Operations Officer to Vice Admiral John S . McCain , Sr . , commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force . Thach was also present at the formal Japanese Surrender aboard USS Missouri ( BB - 63 ) on September 2 , 1945 in Tokyo Bay . Thach is considered a flying ace , credited with shooting down six enemy aircraft during World War II . Post World - War II . Thach commanded during the Korean War and in 1953 – 54 . He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1955 . In 1958 and 1959 Thach was placed in command of an antisubmarine development unit , " Task Group Alpha " , with the aircraft carrier serving as his flagship . He subsequently appeared on the cover of Time magazine on September 1 , 1958 for his contributions to anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) , which was a primary focus at the time in the ongoing Cold War . An annual award was later established in his name for presentation to the top ASW squadron in the Navy . He was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1960 and served as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air in the Pentagon where he presided over development of the A - 7 Corsair II among other Naval Aviation programs . As Commander in Chief , U . S . Naval Forces , Europe , starting in 1965 he pinned on his fourth star as a full admiral , retiring from the Navy in May 1967 from that position . John Thach died on April 15 , 1981 , in Coronado , California , four days before his 76th birthday , and was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego . The frigate was named in his honor . Personal life . John Thach and his wife Madalynn had four children . Decorations .