Henry A. Schade - Legacy

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.