Portrait

William Sowden Sims (1858 – September 25, 1936) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who sought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modernize the Navy. During World War I he commanded all United States naval forces operating in Europe. He also served twice as President of the Naval War College.

Sims was born to American parents living in Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1880, the beginnings of an era of naval reform and greater professionalization. Commodore Stephen B. Luce founded the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1884, to be the Service's professional school. During the same era, Naval War College instructor Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan was writing influential books on naval strategy and sea power.

As a young officer, Sims sought to reform naval gunnery by improving target practice. His superiors resisted his suggestions, failing to see the necessity. He was also hindered by his low rank. Never one to let obstacles stand in his way, Sims overcame the opposition by writing directly (in 1902) to President Theodore Roosevelt. The President, who had previously served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was intrigued by Sims' ideas and made him the Navy's Inspector of Target Practice.

When the United States entered World War I, now-Rear Admiral Sims was serving as President of the Naval War College. Just before the U.S. entered the war, the Wilson Administration sent him to London as a naval representative. After the U.S. entry, Sims was given command over U.S. naval forces operating from Britain. He ended the war as a vice admiral, in command of all U.S. naval forces operating in Europe.

Sims served a second tour as President of the Naval War College (1919–1922), and retired in October 1922. His account of the U.S. naval effort during World War I, The Victory at Sea, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for History. He died in Boston, Massachusetts, with the rank of full admiral.

U.S. Navy Vessels named for Admiral Sims

Three ships named USS Sims.

The transport vessel Admiral W. S. Sims (AP-127): laid down June 15, 1944; launched on June 4, 1945; commissioned September 27, 1945, decommissioned June 21, 1946.

External links

• Sims (DD-409), Dictionary of American Fighting Naval Ships (http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s13/sims-i.htm)
• Admiral W.S. Sims (AP-127) Dictionary of American Fighting Naval Ships (http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a3/admiral_w_s_sims.htm)
• Naval History Bibliography, World War I, 1917-198, Naval Historical Center (http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio1/biblio1o.htm)
• History of the Naval War College (from NWC website) (http://www.nwc.navy.mil/l1/History.htm)

References

• Allard, Dean C. "Admiral William S. Sims and United States Naval Policy in World War I." American Neptune 35 (April 1975): 97–110.
• Morison, Elting E. Admiral Sims and the Modern American Navy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942..