Henry G. Munson

Henry G. Munson (1909–1975) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Second World War and Korean War. He served with distinction during wartime and played a critical role in the development of submarine warfare.

Munson enlisted in the Navy in 1927. He was accepted into the US Naval Academy the next year, from where he graduated in 1932. He served on surface ships until entering submarine school in 1936. During World War II, Munson commanded several submarines, including the USS Crevalle (SS-291), the USS S-38 (SS-143), and the USS Rasher (SS-269). In the course of a single day under his command, the lattermost submarine sank Japanese ships totaling an estimated 55,723 tons. The cruise sank the tenth most enemy ships of any submarine mission in the war.

Following the war, he became a leader in submarine warfare research and development. According to Naval documents, in November, 1946, "he supervised the first actual guided missile firings from submarines" as the commander of Submarine Division 71. He headed the group that developed the Mark 45 torpedo, planned and oversaw Operation Sandblast, the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, and directed the investigation into the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN-593).

Munson retired from the Navy in 1959, after which he served as senior research associate for the David Sarnoff Research Center. Following his death on July 16, 1975, Munson's ashes were interred under the high altar at Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan.