Ralph Waldo Christie Ralph Waldo Christie ( 30 August 1893 – 19 December 1987 ) was an admiral in the United States Navy who played a pivotal role in the development of torpedo technologies . During World War II , he commanded submarine operations out of the Australian ports of Brisbane and Fremantle . A 1915 graduate of the United States Naval Academy , Christie served on a variety of warships beginning with the battleship in 1915 . He was trained in torpedo design and implementation and became one of the first members of the Submarine School at New London . In 1923 Christie graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master ' s Degree in Mechanical Engineering , specializing in torpedoes . During the 1920s , he was involved with project G - 53 , a highly secret program to develop a magnetic influence exploder for torpedoes . The result of this was the development of the Mark VI magnetic exploder and the Mark 14 torpedo . Christie also developed a design for an oxygen torpedo , designated project G - 49 or " Navol " . After the United States entered World War II , Christie was posted to Brisbane and commanded submarine operations during the Solomon Islands campaign . He then returned to the U . S . as Inspector of Ordnance at the Newport Torpedo Station . In January 1943 , Christie returned to Australia as commander of submarine operations in Fremantle . Despite growing evidence of problems with the Mark VI exploder and the Mark 14 torpedo , he remained convinced of their effectiveness . During 1944 , he accompanied war patrols on the submarines and . In November 1944 , Christie was relieved of command of submarine operations at Fremantle by Vice Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid and returned to the United States , where he commanded the Puget Sound Navy Yard . He retired from the Navy in August 1949 with the rank of vice admiral . Early career . Ralph W . Christie was born in Somerville , Massachusetts on 30 August 1893 . He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1915 and served on a variety of warships beginning with the battleship . Aboard the cruiser in 1916 , he was trained in torpedo design and implementation . Christie was one of the first students of the Submarine School at New London . He went on to command the submarines in 1918 , in 1920 , in 1923 and in 1924 . Christie served as Commander , Submarines at Cavite from 1925 to 1926 . In 1923 , he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master ' s Degree in Mechanical Engineering , specializing in torpedoes . Development of the Mark VI magnetic exploder . In 1922 , as Christie was completing his graduate studies , the Bureau of Ordnance initiated project G - 53 , a highly secret program to develop a magnetic influence exploder for torpedoes . Christie became intimately involved in the project , and was substantially involved in the technical development of the weapon system . By 1926 , the exploder was far enough advanced to permit its first test . On 8 May 1926 , the obsolete submarine was used as a target , and destroyed with an influence torpedo . Despite this early success , the influence exploder , which would become the Mark VI , needed significant refinement . Christie , who now directed torpedo development at the Newport Torpedo Station , oversaw the development of the Mark 14 torpedo . This wet - heater , compressed - air , steam - turbine torpedo , which would become the primary American submarine weapon in World War II , was created specifically for the Mark VI . Christie urged the Navy Department to allocate a target ship for extensive field tests of the torpedo and exploder . The Chief of Naval Operations authorized the use of the obsolete destroyer , but placed so many restrictions on its use Newport was forced to decline the offer . As a result , the Mark VI exploder never underwent a live test , and its shortcomings would not become apparent until the outbreak of hostilities . It would be twenty months before the problems were corrected , over Christie ' s objections . Development of the oxygen torpedo . During the 1920s and 1930s , Christie carried out experimental work on an oxygen torpedo with the Ordnance Laboratory , in Alexandria , Virginia . Designated project G - 49 or “ Navol ” , this torpedo used hydrogen peroxide instead of compressed air . Christie ’ s design had the experimental torpedo propel a warhead at to a maximum range of . The Navol design was subsequently designated Mark 16 for submarines and Mark 17 for surface ships . The hydrogen peroxide system was test fitted to a Mark 14 torpedo in the mid - 1930s , where Christie ’ s design propelled a warhead to a range of at . Despite the promise of the design , many operational officers were opposed to the use of volatile hydrogen peroxide aboard ship . Ultimately , the Mark 16 went into limited production while work on the Mark 17 was suspended in 1941 , but resumed in 1944 . Admiral Ernest King favored focusing research efforts on electric torpedoes so work on the oxygen system was downgraded . As such , the U . S . Navy made no combat use of the oxygen torpedo design during the Second World War . Other pre - war assignments . In 1939 , Christie was given command of Submarine Division 15 , consisting of all six " Salmon " - class submarines . By 1941 , Germany and the United Kingdom were engaged in the Battle of the Atlantic . Although the United States was neutral , President Franklin D . Roosevelt ordered the U . S . Atlantic Fleet to enforce the Neutrality Patrol to assist UK - bound convoys . As part of secret agreements with Britain , the United States agreed to provide the former with submarines under Royal Navy control , should America enter the conflict . Admiral Richard S . Edwards , Commander , Submarines , Atlantic Fleet ( ComSubLant ) , selected the now Captain Christie as tactical commander for the proposed submarine force in British waters . Christie wanted the new " Tambor " - class submarines to be assigned to the Atlantic Fleet , but was overruled by Admiral Harold R . Stark , who selected the older S and " Barracuda " classes instead . As war seemed increasingly likely toward the end of 1941 , Christie placed his boats on full war footing . World War Two service . Brisbane . At the outbreak of the Pacific War , remnants of the United States Asiatic Fleet fled to Australia , on orders from Washington . The S - boats from the Philippines were organized into a fighting force at Brisbane , and Admiral Ernest King ordered S - boats from the Atlantic Fleet to supplement the force in Australia . Christie went along , arriving in April 1942 , just in time for the Battle of the Coral Sea . During the Solomon Islands campaign , he ordered his boats to patrol around harbors which , while being key points for shipping , also tended to be heavily patrolled by aircraft and anti - submarine craft . In step with then - current U . S . Navy submarine doctrine , he made capital ships the prime targets , rather than have his boats focus on merchant shipping . Almost as soon as the war began , submarine captains indicated there were problems with the Mark 14 torpedo and the influence feature of the Mark VI exploder . Torpedoes would fail to explode , or explode prematurely . Despite these reports , Christie was not fully aware of the impact of the situation , because his S - boats used the older Mark 10 torpedo , with a contact - only pistol . Christie acknowledged the Mark 14s were running deeper than set , but attributed the failures to poor maintenance and errors on the part of the captain and crew . He was convinced the Mark VI was satisfactory , and ordered all fleet boats to continue to use it . In November 1942 , Christie was ordered to return to Newport as Inspector of Ordnance at the Torpedo Station . Newport had become a bottleneck for torpedo manufacture , and the Bureau of Ordnance wanted to advance development of the Mark 18 electric torpedo . Christie resisted leaving his command at Brisbane , but was considered of more use to resolve the torpedo issue . He was replaced by Captain James Fife . For his service at Brisbane , Christie was awarded the Legion of Merit . Christie was promoted to rear admiral as part of his move back to Newport . In January 1943 , however , Rear Admiral Robert English , Commander , Submarines , U . S . Pacific Fleet , was killed in a plane crash . Christie hoped to get the position but the job went to Rear Admiral Charles A . Lockwood , commander of submarine operations in Fremantle , and the Bureau of Personnel selected Christie to take over Lockwood ' s old command . Christie lobbied Vice Admiral Arthur ' Chips ' Carpender , Douglas MacArthur ' s Commander Allied Naval Forces , to allow him to replace Fife as commander of the larger submarine force at Brisbane . Carpender refused , and Christie went on to Fremantle . Nevertheless , Christie continued to try for some time to take the Brisbane force under his control . By the middle of 1943 , Lockwood had received enough reports from skippers to convince him the Mark VI was significantly flawed . On 24 June 1943 , he formally ordered all submarines operating out of Pearl Harbor to deactivate the magnetic exploder . However , Christie was still committed to the exploder , and ordered Fremantle boats to continue using the Mark VI . Submarines operating between the two commands were required to either enable or disable the Mark VI , depending on which command area they were in . This difference of opinion strained relations between the two admirals . In November 1943 , Carpender was replaced by Vice Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid , who ordered the final deactivation of the Mark VI in all combat commands . Christie abided by the order , commencing on 20 January 1944 , but was still convinced the Mark VI had potential . He had Commanders Chester Nimitz , Jr . and James McCallum continue technical studies of the Mark VI and to develop improvements , but these revised exploders were just as unreliable as the earlier versions . Fremantle . It was common for Christie to greet a returning submarine at the pier , and to award decorations to the crew on the spot . This bypassed naval award boards , and annoyed Kinkaid and Lockwood , possibly because confirmation of sinkings was accomplished by Ultra , the reading of coded Japanese radio traffic , and news of awards given so quickly could constitute a security breach . Complicating the matter was the fact MacArthur awarded army decorations to naval personnel ; like Christie , he took it upon himself to authorize the decorations rather than to go through the standard review procedures . These events compelled Kinkaid to forbid Christie to give pier side awards , and to keep Christie from recommending the award of army medals to navy personnel . These events would ultimately contribute to Christie ' s dismissal as Commander of Submarines in Fremantle . In early 1944 , Christie decided he wanted to make a war patrol and selected to ride with Walt Griffith in . The admiral joined the boat on 29 January 1944 and , during the patrol , conducted standard duties such as standing watch . He departed " Bowfin " after an active 29 - day patrol . In June 1944 , Christie decided he wanted to make a second patrol , and selected . However , that boat was having engine troubles , so Christie decided to go in , commanded by Samuel D . Dealey . Dealey had just finished up " Harder ' s " epic fifth war patrol , in which he was credited with sinking five Japanese destroyers ( reduced post - war to three destroyers ) . Despite the fact the crew was exhausted , Dealey agreed to extend his fifth patrol and take Christie on board . When " Harder " returned to port on 3 July 1944 , Christie was concerned about its commander . Dealey was one of the leading submarine skippers but , having completed five war patrols , he was showing signs of strain . The admiral believed Dealey should step down from command of " Harder " , but Dealey felt he should make one more patrol before leaving the boat . After Christie ' s return from his second combat patrol , Admiral Chester Nimitz recommended he and Lockwood meet in Brisbane and discuss joint submarine operations . During the visit , Lockwood and Christie discussed technical issues , and the establishment of advanced bases in Mios Woendi and Saipan . However , the meeting also resulted in some kind of personal rift between the two men . They had already clashed over problems around the Mark VI exploder and the Mark 14 torpedo , and some of Lockwood ' s staff believed Christie ' s ride in " Harder " was a risky and unnecessary stunt . After meeting with Lockwood , Christie met with MacArthur and related the events of Dealey ' s fifth war patrol to the general . MacArthur then decided to award Dealey a Distinguished Service Cross , and Christie the Silver Star . Additionally at this meeting , Christie found out his earlier recommendation for an army decoration to Griffith had apparently been blocked by Kinkaid . Despite Kinkaid ' s order regarding army decorations , MacArthur insisted on granting medals to the two men . Although Christie did not request the decorations , he was put on the spot and felt compelled to report the entire affair to Kinkaid . In the end , the general awarded the medals , displeasing Kinkaid . On 5 August , Dealey took " Harder " out for a sixth patrol . His former executive officer , Frank C . Lynch , believed Dealey was mentally exhausted . Christie also had reservations , but Dealey seemed to recuperate while " Harder " was being refitted in port . The admiral therefore allowed Dealey to remain in command . On 24 August , " Harder " was sunk with all hands off Dasol Bay . Dealey ' s loss was a great shock to Christie , and the event worsened his relationship with Kinkaid . Christie recommended Dealey for the Medal of Honor for " Harder " s fifth patrol and the supposed sinking of five Japanese destroyers . Kinkaid turned down the recommendation on the grounds Dealey had already received the Distinguished Service Cross for the same patrol . Christie was angered by this , and sent dispatches to Admiral Edwards , MacArthur , and Kinkaid himself . The radio dispatch to Kinkaid was sent in a low - order code that was easily decipherable ; it criticized Kinkaid and urged him to reconsider . The message was so blunt and public , it was viewed as bordering on insubordination . In October and November 1944 , Christie received intelligence regarding German plans to operate a wolfpack of U - boats in Australian waters . He vectored Allied forces to detect and eliminate the threat , resulting in the Dutch submarine " Zwaardvisch " ( swordfish ) sinking " U - 168 " on 6 October near Surabaya and ' s sinking of " U - 537 " on 10 November near the northern end of the Lombok Strait . Another U - boat disappeared en route while a fourth , " U - 862 " , evaded searchers to slip around the south coast of Australia and sink a Liberty ship south of Sydney in late December . In November 1944 , Kinkaid relieved Christie of command of submarine operations at Fremantle , and assigned the position to Fife commencing 30 December . Although no specific reason was given , Christie was convinced it was because he pushed Kinkaid too hard for Dealey ' s Medal of Honor , and for his process of awarding decorations in general . However , Christie ' s losses , which included Dealey and Kinkaid ' s nephew , Lieutenant Commander Manning Kimmel on in July 1944 , may have also influenced Kinkaid ' s decision . Christie returned to the United States , and went on to command Puget Sound Navy Yard . Now that he was no longer under Kinkaid ' s command , Christie renewed his push to get Dealey awarded the Medal of Honor , this time by getting the endorsement for the decoration from MacArthur . The general agreed , and Dealey was posthumously awarded the medal . Post - war career . After the war Christie attempted to get command of operations for Atlantic submarines , but that job went to James Fife instead . However , Christie was given command of naval forces in the Philippines . He retired from the Navy on 1 August 1949 , with tombstone promotion to the rank of vice admiral . He sold life insurance and dabbled in other ventures for some time . In his final years , he lived on the west coast of the United States and in Hawaii . Christie died in Honolulu , Hawaii on 19 December 1987 at the age of 94 . His wife , LaRene P . Christie , joined him at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific following her death on 31 May 2002 . His papers are in the Library of Congress .