Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Kittredge: Remembered

[Jon Wallace <jonw@psubs.org>]

*Captain George W. Kittredge Obituary
*

Captain George W. Kittredge, USN-Retired, died unexpectedly at his home 
in South Thomaston, Maine on February 23, 2010. George was born in 
Washington, D.C. on May 26, 1918.   He was the son of Scott F. and 
Henriette Green Kittredge.  He graduated from the United States Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1940 with a degree in electrical 
engineering and a commission in the United States Navy.  Upon 
graduation, George was ordered to the USS/ Chicago/, a heavy cruiser 
with a home port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The/ Chicago/ participated in 
the Battles of the Coral Sea and Savo Island and covered the Marine 
landings at Guadalcanal.  When the/ Chicago/ had its bow blown off in 
the Battle of Savo Island, George volunteered for submarine duty.  He 
made a total of seven submarine war patrols, two on the/ Sunfish/ (SS 
281) and five on the/ Haddock/ (SS 231).  During those seven war 
patrols, sixteen enemy ships were torpedoed. At the end of World War II, 
George commanded the submarine/ Grouper/ (SS 214).  He was 26 years old 
at that time.

George married the former Gayle Clark on his birthday, May 26, 1944, 
thus ensuring that he would never forget their anniversary.

In 1946, he was Admiral Byrd's navigator on Byrd's last expedition to 
the Antarctic.  That was followed by a tour of duty as Assistant Naval 
Attache at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. George returned to the 
United States to take command of the submarine/ Sterlet/ (SS 292) and 
then the fast attack submarine/ Trout/ (SS 566).   Later, he would spend 
two and one-half years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He 
then returned to Pearl Harbor as the Commander of the Fast Attack 
Submarine/ Division 11/.  George's last tour of duty was as Senior 
Military Attache at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In 1962, Captain Kittredge retired from the Navy.  Subsequently, he was 
a member of the 102nd Maine Legislature and a Trustee of the Maine 
Maritime Academy.  In 1970, he founded Kittredge Industries to 
manufacture small submarines.  He is generally recognized as the father 
of personal submersibles.  Between 1970 and 1988, the company built and 
sold small submarines worldwide, the last one going to the University of 
Nagasaki in Japan.  He then sold submarine plans to individuals for self 
construction.  His plans are still available at www.psub.org.

Captain Kittredge was an excellent horseman and a good polo player. In 
1950 in New Delhi, India, he played on the Argentine Polo team that 
defeated the Indian Army Team, 5 to 4 in overtime before a crowd of 
100,000 people.  He owned and rode horses until the time of his death. 
He was also a pilot.  In recent years, he built and flew an amphibious 
ultra-light plane.

Captain Kittredge's wife, Gayle Kittredge, predeceased him on March 19, 
2000. Per George's request, there will be no funeral or service.  His 
ashes will be interred in the Columbarium at the United Sates Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.  Local arrangements are in the care of 
Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.





************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
The personal submersibles mailing list complies with the US Federal
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.  Your email address appears in our database
because either you, or someone you know, requested you receive messages
from our organization.

If you want to be removed from this mailing list simply click on the
link below or send a blank email message to:
	removeme-personal_submersibles@psubs.org

Removal of your email address from this mailing list occurs by an
automated process and should be complete within five minutes of
our server receiving your request.

PSUBS.ORG
PO Box 53
Weare, NH  03281
603-529-1100
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************