Fiske, Bradley Allen

Fiske, Bradley Allen (fĭsk), 1854–1942, American naval officer and inventor, b. Lyons, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1874. In the U.S. navy he devoted himself to the invention of instruments for shipboard use. His numerous inventions include an electrically powered gun turret, the torpedo plane, a naval telescopic sight, an electromagnetic system for detonating torpedos under ships, and an electric range finder—a device that brought him many citations when, as navigating officer of the gunboat Petrel, he successfully employed it in the battle of Manila Bay. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1911, but he was forced to retire in 1916 when his agitation for a stronger navy clashed with the policies of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.

Bibliography

See his autobiography, From Midshipman to Admiral (1919).

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Fiske, Bradley Allen (1854–1942) naval officer, inventor; born in Lyons, N.Y. As a naval officer (1874–1916) he developed over sixty patents, including those for submarine protection devices, telescopic sights for naval guns, and the mechanism for launching a torpedo from a plane (1912). He resigned from the navy after a series of disagreements with the secretary, Josephus Daniels.