Henry A. Schade
Encyclopedia
Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade (December 3, 1900 - August 12, 1992) was a United States Navy
officer, naval architect
, and professor.
During World War II
, Schade was Head of the Carrier Desk for the United States Navy's Bureau of Ships. In this capacity he was highly influential in the development of all classes of aircraft carriers commissioned during the war, particularly the Essex-class. Schade added materially in overcoming the shortage of aircraft carriers of all types by overseeing their accelerated construction thereby contributing to the defeat of the German Submarine campaign, the shift from the defensive to the offensive in the Pacific, and the subsequent successful prosecution of the war.
Near the end of the war, Schade served as Chief of the United States Naval Technical Mission in Europe. The Mission was charged with the responsibility of exploiting German science and technology for the benefit of the United States Navy's technical Bureaus.
. He attended Central High School. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy
by the US Congressman from the Fourth District of Minnesota in 1919.
He was called "Packy II" at first, after a more athletic student who had attended six years earlier at the Academy. His own athletic talents led his classmates to drop the "II" later.
He was on the Plebe and Junior Varsity
crew teams.
In 1923, Schade graduated from the Naval Academy with distinction, seventh in his class of 414. On He was commissioned Ensign in the United States Navy and ordered to the battleship . There Schade became Communication Watch Officer.
In May 1925, Schade started postgraduate work in Naval Architecture at the Naval Academy's Postgraduate School
, Annapolis, Maryland. In 1926, he attended the Construction Corps
. He continued his education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), where he received his Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture in June 1928. Schade's Masters thesis entitled Deformation and Stresses in Pipe Bends was published later that same year by MIT's Department of Naval Construction.
in New York City. From October 1928, and for the three succeeding years, Schade served in the Industrial Department at Mare Island Navy Yard, California. In December 1931 Schade joined the Design Section within the Bureau of Construction and Repair
. He was promoted to Lieutenant. He furthered the development of the use of welding in naval ship construction until January 1935.
Schade was then assigned to the Experimental Model Basin
, which was then at the Washington Navy Yard
. Detached from the Model Basin in July 1936, he was ordered overseas to attend the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg. In June 1937 Schade received the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Naval Architecture for his research on strength of ship structures and his landmark dissertation entitled Statik Des Schift-Bodens Unter-Wasserdruck. An English translation by Schade was published as Theory of Motions of Craft in Waves.
After graduating, but prior to leaving Europe, the Bureau of Ships ordered Schade on a tour of inspection, as student observer, of representative shipbuilding plants and model basins in German ports; plus naval establishments of The Netherlands, France, Britain, Italy, and Austria. Completing his tour of European naval facilities by the end of August, 1937, Schade then returned to the United States.
Lieutenant Schade was then ordered to serve in the Office of the Superintending Constructor, later redesignated Office of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia. On June 23, 1938, less than one year into his duty at Newport News, Schade was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Also that summer, the professional organization of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
(SNAME) published Schade's paper on his study of Bending Theory of Ship Bottom Structure. In June 1940, all Constructors (Naval Architects) and Engineers (Marine Engineers) were united into a new Bureau of Ships
All such technical personnel were then transferred from the line of the Navy and redesignated Engineering Duty Only - or EDOs.
This massive reorganization of the Navy's technical Bureaus created new opportunities for younger officers with potential. Following the reorganization of the Bureau he was promoted to Commander. He assumed the billet of Senior Naval Liaison Officer (SNLO) assigned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock. The SNLO is the direct link between BuShips' ship "type desk" and the actual building and builder stationed in their yard. At this time Newport News was tackling the mighty job of acting as design agent, responsible for the creation of detailed working drawings, for the Navy's new Essex class aircraft carriers. This made Schade the Carrier (type) Desk's direct liaison at Newport News solely to effect work on the Essex design.
During 1941, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers again published one of Schade's studies. His new study was entitled: Design Curves for Cross-Stiffened Plating Under Uniform Bending Load. This paper proved to be an important work, as the theories espoused therein by Schade were thereafter accepted and adopted by BuShips as new policy and practice regarding estimating static responses on welded stiffened ship panels.
Just four days before the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Schade celebrated his 42nd birthday. By all accounts he had done a tremendous job over the previous two years at Newport News working diligently on the Essex project. His efforts had not gone unnoticed in the Bureau of Ships. With the nation now at war, his reward would not be long in coming.
, and Deputy Chief, RAdm. Alexander H. Van Keuren, immediately recognized that this new war would be conducted just as the Japanese conducted the raid on Pearl Harbor. This would be a carrier war. To successfully prosecute this war, the United States Navy would need both better carriers and more of them to defeat their enemies. To get these ships built both quickly and properly would take skill, ability, and leadership. To get that leadership they would need to fill each key position within the Bureau with the officer best suited to handle the colossal challenges that lie before them.
The Chief and Deputy Chief of BuShips wasted no time reorganizing their personnel to meet the demands of a two-ocean war. In the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor orders were sent to ships and stations around the world recalling the people they felt best suited for a particular task. One such recall was Commander Schade. Ordered detached from his role as SNLO at Newport News in late December 1941, he was to report to "Main Navy" for duty at the Bureau of Ships by January 1, 1942.
Just three weeks after turning 42, Schade had been identified as the ideal candidate to head the Bureau's Carrier Desk during the country's first ever carrier war. Quite a responsibility for a Commander. Nearly all of the Bureau's ship type desks were run by officers with the rank of Captain. The fact that the most important ship type, arguably the aircraft carrier, for the anticipated nature of fighting would be placed in the hands of a mere Commander speaks volumes as to the complete faith both Robinson and Van Keuren had in Schade. There were thousands within the bureau that in some way would contribute to developing the Navy's carriers, but it was up to Schade to get those carriers built and fully prepared to join the fleet.
In January 1942 Schade was assigned to the Navy's Bureau of Ships
, where he was responsible for the design of the Midway-class carriers, with innovations including the use of the flight deck
as a structural element (previously flight decks were flimsy wooden platforms perched above the ship proper).
For Schade's efforts as Head of the Carrier Desk during World War II he was awarded the Legion of Merit
. The commendation attached to his award read as follows:
Two days before Christmas, 1944, Captain Schade was advanced to the rank of Commodore.
In January, 1945, Commodore Schade was ordered to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
for a very special reassignment of duty. Schade was to create, and head, a team of scientific and technical specialists to obtain and exploit German science and technologies in areas immediately behind the front lines of fighting in Europe. As allied ground forces gained ground, Schade and his scientists would rush into the void left behind advancing forces to study the equipment and weaponry employed by the Germans. The United States Naval Technical Mission in Europe was particularly interested the capture and study of rocketry and all things naval as German ports and bases were wrested from Hitler's forces. Schade initially headquartered the Mission in Paris, but soon the Mission was constantly on the move as allied forces advanced more and more rapidly deeper into German occupied territories and then into Germany itself.
in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. The commendation which accompanied his Gold Star read as follows:
Following the war, Schade was also bestowed with the American Defense Service Medal
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
, the American Campaign Medal
, and the World War II Victory Medal. Additionally, the Government of Great Britain made Schade an Honorary Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
.
On November 1, 1945, he was appointed Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, at Anacostia
, relieving the man who had chosen him to run the Carrier Desk at the outbreak of the war, Rear Admiral Alexander H. Van Keuren. The NRL conducted the most sophisticated and extensive forms of research and experiments in the Navy Department for the benefit of her technical bureaus.
Schade remained as Director of the Naval Research Laboratory until his retirement from the Navy Department on February 1, 1949. Effective upon his retirement, Schade was advanced from the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral before being placed on the retired list.
College of Engineering at Berkeley effective upon his retirement from the US Navy.
In 1950, Schade's doctoral dissertation Statik Des Schift-Bodens Unter-Wasserdruck, written for Technische Hochschule 13 years prior in Berlin, was translated to English by Packy Schade himself and published as Theory of Motions of Craft in Waves by the Department of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
.
In 1958 he organized a Department of Naval Architecture at Berkeley, serving as its first chair. (The department later added offshore engineering, but was always small, and finally disbanded in 1998).
He received the David W. Taylor Medal
in 1964. In 1970 Schade received the Gibbs Brothers Medal
of the National Academy of Sciences
, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
in 1973.
Schade and his wife, the former Alice Houseman of Pasadena, California, had two sons, Henry A. Schade, Jr. and Richard J. Schade. Alice Schade died in 1990. Rear Admiral Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade died less than two years later in 1992.
Modern day researchers of World War II era aircraft carriers, both student and professional, can visit the records of BuShips held at the National Archives and Records Administration, in College Park, Maryland. There they will find, indelibly marked for posterity, Schade's impact on the US Navy carrier program. The serial number of nearly every carrier document carries the mark of "(512)" - Schade's Carrier Desk; and nearly all of those bear his classic handwritten big, bold, openly scripted partial signature "Sch".
Schade indeed left his mark upon BuShips during World War II, but he also continues to impact lives today. Professional papers of modern day Naval Architects frequently draw upon his concepts, passages, and papers as references for their own academic studies. Students are still today exploring Schade's original theoretical thinking on effective breadth of ship structures and often cite his works in their doctoral dissertations.
Rear Admiral Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade may be the least known man of World War II. But, he may also be as equally responsible for victory in the Pacific as any pilot that ever took-off from, or landed on, one of his carriers.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
officer, naval architect
Naval architecture
Naval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, maintenance and operation of marine vessels and structures. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a...
, and professor.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Schade was Head of the Carrier Desk for the United States Navy's Bureau of Ships. In this capacity he was highly influential in the development of all classes of aircraft carriers commissioned during the war, particularly the Essex-class. Schade added materially in overcoming the shortage of aircraft carriers of all types by overseeing their accelerated construction thereby contributing to the defeat of the German Submarine campaign, the shift from the defensive to the offensive in the Pacific, and the subsequent successful prosecution of the war.
Near the end of the war, Schade served as Chief of the United States Naval Technical Mission in Europe. The Mission was charged with the responsibility of exploiting German science and technology for the benefit of the United States Navy's technical Bureaus.
Early life and education
He was born in Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. He attended Central High School. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
by the US Congressman from the Fourth District of Minnesota in 1919.
He was called "Packy II" at first, after a more athletic student who had attended six years earlier at the Academy. His own athletic talents led his classmates to drop the "II" later.
He was on the Plebe and Junior Varsity
Junior varsity
Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
crew teams.
In 1923, Schade graduated from the Naval Academy with distinction, seventh in his class of 414. On He was commissioned Ensign in the United States Navy and ordered to the battleship . There Schade became Communication Watch Officer.
In May 1925, Schade started postgraduate work in Naval Architecture at the Naval Academy's Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
, Annapolis, Maryland. In 1926, he attended the Construction Corps
Civil Engineer Corps
The Civil Engineer Corps is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers. They are responsible for executing and managing the planning, design, acquisition, construction, operation, and...
. He continued his education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT), where he received his Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture in June 1928. Schade's Masters thesis entitled Deformation and Stresses in Pipe Bends was published later that same year by MIT's Department of Naval Construction.
Early naval career
After graduating from MIT, Schade was briefly at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland and then at the Brooklyn Navy YardBrooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
in New York City. From October 1928, and for the three succeeding years, Schade served in the Industrial Department at Mare Island Navy Yard, California. In December 1931 Schade joined the Design Section within the Bureau of Construction and Repair
Bureau of Construction and Repair
The Bureau of Construction and Repair was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Navy...
. He was promoted to Lieutenant. He furthered the development of the use of welding in naval ship construction until January 1935.
Schade was then assigned to the Experimental Model Basin
David Taylor Model Basin
The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world...
, which was then at the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
. Detached from the Model Basin in July 1936, he was ordered overseas to attend the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg. In June 1937 Schade received the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Naval Architecture for his research on strength of ship structures and his landmark dissertation entitled Statik Des Schift-Bodens Unter-Wasserdruck. An English translation by Schade was published as Theory of Motions of Craft in Waves.
After graduating, but prior to leaving Europe, the Bureau of Ships ordered Schade on a tour of inspection, as student observer, of representative shipbuilding plants and model basins in German ports; plus naval establishments of The Netherlands, France, Britain, Italy, and Austria. Completing his tour of European naval facilities by the end of August, 1937, Schade then returned to the United States.
Lieutenant Schade was then ordered to serve in the Office of the Superintending Constructor, later redesignated Office of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia. On June 23, 1938, less than one year into his duty at Newport News, Schade was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Also that summer, the professional organization of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers is a professional society that provides a forum for the advancement of the engineering profession as applied to the marine field...
(SNAME) published Schade's paper on his study of Bending Theory of Ship Bottom Structure. In June 1940, all Constructors (Naval Architects) and Engineers (Marine Engineers) were united into a new Bureau of Ships
Bureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
All such technical personnel were then transferred from the line of the Navy and redesignated Engineering Duty Only - or EDOs.
This massive reorganization of the Navy's technical Bureaus created new opportunities for younger officers with potential. Following the reorganization of the Bureau he was promoted to Commander. He assumed the billet of Senior Naval Liaison Officer (SNLO) assigned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock. The SNLO is the direct link between BuShips' ship "type desk" and the actual building and builder stationed in their yard. At this time Newport News was tackling the mighty job of acting as design agent, responsible for the creation of detailed working drawings, for the Navy's new Essex class aircraft carriers. This made Schade the Carrier (type) Desk's direct liaison at Newport News solely to effect work on the Essex design.
During 1941, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers again published one of Schade's studies. His new study was entitled: Design Curves for Cross-Stiffened Plating Under Uniform Bending Load. This paper proved to be an important work, as the theories espoused therein by Schade were thereafter accepted and adopted by BuShips as new policy and practice regarding estimating static responses on welded stiffened ship panels.
Just four days before the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Schade celebrated his 42nd birthday. By all accounts he had done a tremendous job over the previous two years at Newport News working diligently on the Essex project. His efforts had not gone unnoticed in the Bureau of Ships. With the nation now at war, his reward would not be long in coming.
World War II
Pearl Harbor had a dramatic impact on the leadership of BuShips. The Bureau's Chief, RAdm. Samuel M. "Mike" RobinsonSamuel Murray Robinson
Admiral Samuel Murray Robinson was a United States Navy four-star admiral who directed Navy procurement during World War II.-Early career:...
, and Deputy Chief, RAdm. Alexander H. Van Keuren, immediately recognized that this new war would be conducted just as the Japanese conducted the raid on Pearl Harbor. This would be a carrier war. To successfully prosecute this war, the United States Navy would need both better carriers and more of them to defeat their enemies. To get these ships built both quickly and properly would take skill, ability, and leadership. To get that leadership they would need to fill each key position within the Bureau with the officer best suited to handle the colossal challenges that lie before them.
The Chief and Deputy Chief of BuShips wasted no time reorganizing their personnel to meet the demands of a two-ocean war. In the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor orders were sent to ships and stations around the world recalling the people they felt best suited for a particular task. One such recall was Commander Schade. Ordered detached from his role as SNLO at Newport News in late December 1941, he was to report to "Main Navy" for duty at the Bureau of Ships by January 1, 1942.
Just three weeks after turning 42, Schade had been identified as the ideal candidate to head the Bureau's Carrier Desk during the country's first ever carrier war. Quite a responsibility for a Commander. Nearly all of the Bureau's ship type desks were run by officers with the rank of Captain. The fact that the most important ship type, arguably the aircraft carrier, for the anticipated nature of fighting would be placed in the hands of a mere Commander speaks volumes as to the complete faith both Robinson and Van Keuren had in Schade. There were thousands within the bureau that in some way would contribute to developing the Navy's carriers, but it was up to Schade to get those carriers built and fully prepared to join the fleet.
In January 1942 Schade was assigned to the Navy's Bureau of Ships
Bureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
, where he was responsible for the design of the Midway-class carriers, with innovations including the use of the flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
as a structural element (previously flight decks were flimsy wooden platforms perched above the ship proper).
For Schade's efforts as Head of the Carrier Desk during World War II he was awarded the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
. The commendation attached to his award read as follows:
Two days before Christmas, 1944, Captain Schade was advanced to the rank of Commodore.
In January, 1945, Commodore Schade was ordered to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
for a very special reassignment of duty. Schade was to create, and head, a team of scientific and technical specialists to obtain and exploit German science and technologies in areas immediately behind the front lines of fighting in Europe. As allied ground forces gained ground, Schade and his scientists would rush into the void left behind advancing forces to study the equipment and weaponry employed by the Germans. The United States Naval Technical Mission in Europe was particularly interested the capture and study of rocketry and all things naval as German ports and bases were wrested from Hitler's forces. Schade initially headquartered the Mission in Paris, but soon the Mission was constantly on the move as allied forces advanced more and more rapidly deeper into German occupied territories and then into Germany itself.
Post-War
Schade's exceptional work as Chief of the United States Naval Technical Mission in Europe earned him a Gold StarAward star
An award star is a decoration issued to personnel of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in lieu of multiple awards of the same award. An award star is very similar to an oak leaf cluster, which serves the same purpose in the United States Army and United States Air Force...
in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. The commendation which accompanied his Gold Star read as follows:
Following the war, Schade was also bestowed with the American Defense Service Medal
American Defense Service Medal
The American Defense Service Medal is a decoration of the United States military, recognizing service before America’s entry into the Second World War but during the initial years of the European conflict.-Criteria:...
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, the American Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, and the World War II Victory Medal. Additionally, the Government of Great Britain made Schade an Honorary Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
On November 1, 1945, he was appointed Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, at Anacostia
Anacostia
Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Its historic downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue It is the most famous neighborhood in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, located east of the Anacostia River, after which the...
, relieving the man who had chosen him to run the Carrier Desk at the outbreak of the war, Rear Admiral Alexander H. Van Keuren. The NRL conducted the most sophisticated and extensive forms of research and experiments in the Navy Department for the benefit of her technical bureaus.
Schade remained as Director of the Naval Research Laboratory until his retirement from the Navy Department on February 1, 1949. Effective upon his retirement, Schade was advanced from the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral before being placed on the retired list.
Teaching career
Schade was named Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Research for the University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
College of Engineering at Berkeley effective upon his retirement from the US Navy.
In 1950, Schade's doctoral dissertation Statik Des Schift-Bodens Unter-Wasserdruck, written for Technische Hochschule 13 years prior in Berlin, was translated to English by Packy Schade himself and published as Theory of Motions of Craft in Waves by the Department of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
In 1958 he organized a Department of Naval Architecture at Berkeley, serving as its first chair. (The department later added offshore engineering, but was always small, and finally disbanded in 1998).
He received the David W. Taylor Medal
David W. Taylor Medal
The David W. Taylor Medal is a medal presented by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers for "notable achievement in naval architecture and/or marine engineering."...
in 1964. In 1970 Schade received the Gibbs Brothers Medal
Gibbs Brothers Medal
The Gibbs Brothers Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for "outstanding contributions in the field of naval architecture and marine engineering". It was established by a gift from William Francis Gibbs and Frederic H. Gibbs....
of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
in 1973.
Retirement, family, and death
Rear Admiral Schade finally retired from University of California at Berkeley in 1968.Schade and his wife, the former Alice Houseman of Pasadena, California, had two sons, Henry A. Schade, Jr. and Richard J. Schade. Alice Schade died in 1990. Rear Admiral Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade died less than two years later in 1992.
Legacy
Rear Admiral Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade proved just the right man, placed in exactly the right job, at precisely the right time. His particular expertise in the strength of welded ship structures made him uniquely qualified to oversee the rapid construction of the US Navy's aircraft carrier building program during the world's first ever carrier war.Modern day researchers of World War II era aircraft carriers, both student and professional, can visit the records of BuShips held at the National Archives and Records Administration, in College Park, Maryland. There they will find, indelibly marked for posterity, Schade's impact on the US Navy carrier program. The serial number of nearly every carrier document carries the mark of "(512)" - Schade's Carrier Desk; and nearly all of those bear his classic handwritten big, bold, openly scripted partial signature "Sch".
Schade indeed left his mark upon BuShips during World War II, but he also continues to impact lives today. Professional papers of modern day Naval Architects frequently draw upon his concepts, passages, and papers as references for their own academic studies. Students are still today exploring Schade's original theoretical thinking on effective breadth of ship structures and often cite his works in their doctoral dissertations.
Rear Admiral Henry Adrian "Packy" Schade may be the least known man of World War II. But, he may also be as equally responsible for victory in the Pacific as any pilot that ever took-off from, or landed on, one of his carriers.