King's persistence about weak fleet air defenses prompted Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison to give him a special assignment. Drawing on experiments with radio-controlled target drones that had proved difficult to shoot down, King reviewed ships already in service as well as those under construction. He specified the weapons, their locations, and the equipment that would have to be removed to make room. The resulting program sought roughly $300 million, turning his warnings into a concrete fleet-modernization proposal before American entry into the war.
Notable Point · 1:06:03-1:07:26
King designed a fleet-wide anti-aircraft rearmament plan
A 1940 inspection tour led to King's assignment to specify anti-aircraft changes across ships in service and under construction.