James O. Richardson - World War I and Interwar Years

World War I and Interwar Years

In 1917-19, Commander Richardson was navigator and executive officer of the battleship USS Nevada. Following a tour at the Naval Academy, he was given command of the gunboat USS Asheville in 1922 and took her out to Asiatic waters, where he also had command of the South China Patrol. Captain Richardson was Assistant to the Chief, Bureau of Ordnance, in 1924-27. In the later 1920s, he commanded a destroyer division, then returned to the U.S. for service with the Bureau of Navigation (BuNav).

In January 1931, Captain Richardson placed the new heavy cruiser Augusta in commission and commanded her for more than two years. After a tour as a Naval War College student in 1933-34, he was Budget Officer at the Navy Department, receiving promotion to rear admiral while in that position in December 1934. His early duties as a flag officer included command of a Scouting Force cruiser division, service as Chief of Staff and aide to the United States Fleet's commander, and a tour as Commander Destroyers, Scouting Force. He became Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations in June 1937 and a year later became chief of the Bureau of Navigation. In June 1939, Richardson went back to sea as Commander, Battle Force (ComBatFor), U.S. Fleet, with the temporary rank of admiral.