Editing Alan Shepard (section)

==Naval service==
{{quote box|align=right|width=30%|quote="You know, being a test pilot isn't always the healthiest business in the world."|salign=right|source=—Shepard quoted at the New Mexico Museum of Space History<ref name="nmspacemuseum.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=55 |title=International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History :: Inductee Profile |publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History |access-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227213907/http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=55 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
After a month of classroom instruction in aviation, Shepard was posted to a [[destroyer]], {{USS|Cogswell|DD-651|6}}, in August 1944;{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=57}} it was US Navy policy that aviation candidates should first have some service at sea.{{sfn|Shepard et al.|2010|p=64}} At the time the destroyer was deployed on active service in the Pacific Ocean. Shepard joined it when it returned to the [[Naval Base Ulithi|naval base at Ulithi]] on October 30.<ref name="Cogswell">{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cogswell.html |title=Cogswell |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141856/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cogswell.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After just two days at sea ''Cogswell'' helped rescue 172 sailors from the [[cruiser]] {{USS|Reno|CL-96|6}}, which had been torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, then escorted the crippled ship back to Ulithi. The ship was buffeted by [[Typhoon Cobra]] in December 1944, a storm in which three other destroyers went down, and battled [[kamikazes]] in the [[invasion of Lingayen Gulf]] in January 1945.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=62–64}}

[[File:USS Cogswell (DD-651) underway in 1945.jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Cogswell|DD-651|6}} in 1945|alt=A ship plows through the water. It has two guns forward, and two aft.]]
''Cogswell'' returned to the United States for an overhaul in February 1945. Shepard was given three weeks' leave, in which time he and Louise decided to marry. The ceremony took place on March 3, 1945, in St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in [[Wilmington, Delaware]]. His father, Bart, served as his best man. The newlyweds had only a brief time together before Shepard rejoined ''Cogswell'' at the [[Long Beach Navy Yard]] on April 5, 1945.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=66–68}} After the war, they had two children, both daughters: Laura, born in 1947,{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=109}} and Julie, born in 1951.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=131}} Following the death of Louise's sister in 1956, they raised her five-year-old niece, Judith Williams—whom they renamed Alice to avoid confusion with Julie—as their own, although they never adopted her.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=178–179}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201961%20%20Grayscale/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201961%20%20Grayscale%20-%202172.pdf |date=May 5, 1961 |title=Astronaut's Wife Was Confident |newspaper=North Tonawanda NY Evening News |access-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310021206/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201961%20%20Grayscale/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201961%20%20Grayscale%20-%202172.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> They eventually had six grandchildren.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=439}}

On Shepard's second cruise with ''Cogswell'', he was appointed a gunnery officer, responsible for the 20&nbsp;mm and 40&nbsp;mm antiaircraft guns on the ship's bow. They engaged kamikazes in the [[Battle of Okinawa]], where the ship served in the dangerous role of a [[radar picket]]. The job of the radar pickets was to warn the fleet of incoming kamikazes, but because they were often the first ships sighted by incoming Japanese aircraft, they were also the most likely ships to be attacked. ''Cogswell'' performed this duty from May 27 until June 26, 1945, when it rejoined [[Task Force 38]]. The ship also participated in the [[Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II|Allied naval bombardments of Japan]], and was present in [[Tokyo Bay]] for the [[Surrender of Japan]] in September 1945. Shepard returned to the United States later that month.<ref name="Cogswell" />{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=69–80}}

[[File:Alan Shepard as a student aviator - higher contrast.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Shepard as a student aviator in 1946|alt=Shepard, in Navy uniform short and tie, stands before a blackboard on which is stencilled "Student aviator USN – 8-19-1946 class. Above that is written in chalk: "Lt (jg) Shepard, Alan B. Jr"]]
In November 1945, Shepard arrived at [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi]] in [[Texas]], where he commenced basic flight training on January 7, 1946.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=84–87}} He was an average student, and for a time faced being "bilged" (dropped) from flight training and reassigned to the surface navy. To make up for this, he took private lessons at a local civilian flying school—something the Navy frowned on—earning a civil pilot's license.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=90–95}} His flying skills gradually improved, and by early 1947 his instructors rated him above average. He was sent to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] in Florida for advanced training. His final test was six perfect landings on the carrier {{USS|Saipan|CVL-48|6}}. The following day, he received his [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviator]] [[United States Aviator Badge|wings]], which his father pinned on his chest.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=100–103}}

Shepard was assigned to [[Attack Squadron 42 (United States Navy)|Fighter Squadron 42]] (VF-42), flying the [[Vought F4U Corsair]]. The squadron was nominally based on the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|6}}, but the ship was being overhauled at the time Shepard arrived, and in the meantime the squadron was based at [[Naval Air Station Norfolk]] in [[Virginia]]. He departed on his first cruise, of the [[Caribbean]], on ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' with VF-42 in 1948. Most of the aviators were, like Shepard, on their first assignment. Those who were not were given the opportunity to qualify for night landings on a carrier, a dangerous maneuver, especially in a Corsair, which had to bank sharply on approach. Shepard managed to persuade his squadron commander to allow him to qualify as well. After briefly returning to Norfolk, the carrier set out on a nine-month tour of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. He earned a reputation for carousing and chasing women. He also instituted a ritual of, whenever he could, calling Louise at 17:00 (her time) each day.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=109–114}}

Normally sea duty alternated with periods of duty ashore. In 1950, Shepard was selected to attend the [[United States Naval Test Pilot School]] at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]] in [[Maryland]] with class five, graduating in January 1951.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=124–125}}{{sfn|Naval Test Pilot School|1984|pp=14–19}} As a test pilot he conducted high-altitude tests to obtain information about the light and air masses at different altitudes over North America; carrier suitability certification of the [[McDonnell F2H Banshee]]; experiments with the Navy's new in-flight refueling system; and tests of the [[angled flight deck]].<ref name="nasa bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/shepard_alan.pdf |title=Astronaut Bio: Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (REAR ADMIRAL, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED) |date=September 1998 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |access-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720121817/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/shepard_alan.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> He narrowly avoided being [[court-martial]]ed by the station commander, [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Alfred M. Pride]], after looping the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] and making low passes over the beach at [[Ocean City, Maryland]], and the base; but Shepard's superiors, [[John Hyland]] and Robert M. Elder, interceded on his behalf.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=131–137}}

[[File:Alan Shepard's 105th Sortie with F4U-4 on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt.jpg|thumb|left|Shepard's 105th F4U sortie on {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CVB-42|6}}|alt=A Corsair on deck. A man stands nearby with fist upraised, giving a signal. There is another Corsair in the air above.]]
Shepard's next assignment was to [[VF-142|VF-193]], a [[night fighter]] squadron flying the Banshee, that was based at [[Naval Air Station Moffett Field]], California. The squadron was part of Commander [[James D. Ramage|James D. "Jig Dog" Ramage]]'s Air Group 19. Naval aviators with experience in jet aircraft were still relatively rare, and Ramage specifically requested Shepard's assignment on the advice of Elder, who commanded VF-193's sister squadron, [[VF-191]]. Ramage made Shepard his own [[wingman]],{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=144–148}} a decision that would save Ramage's life in 1954, when his oxygen system failed and Shepard talked him through a landing.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=167–169}} As squadron operations officer, Shepard's most important task was imparting his knowledge of flying jets to his fellow aviators to keep them alive. He served two tours on the aircraft carrier {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|6}} in the western Pacific. It set out on a combat tour off Korea in 1953, during the [[Korean War]], but the [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] ended the fighting in July 1953, and Shepard did not see combat.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=151–154}}

Rear Admiral [[John P. Whitney]] requested Shepard's services as an [[aide de camp]], but Shepard wanted to fly. Therefore, at Shepard's request, Ramage spoke to the admiral on his behalf, and Shepard was instead sent back to Patuxent.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=170–172}} He flight tested the [[McDonnell F3H Demon]], [[Vought F-8 Crusader]], [[Douglas F4D Skyray]] and [[Grumman F-11 Tiger]].{{sfn|Shepard et al.|2010|p=65}} The [[Vought F7U Cutlass]] tended to go into an inverted spin during a snap roll. This was not unusual; many aircraft did this, but normally if the pilot let go of the stick the aircraft would correct itself. When he attempted this in the F7U, Shepard found this was not the case. He was unable to break out of the spin and was forced to eject. In 1957, he was project test pilot on the [[Douglas F5D Skylancer]]. Shepard did not like the plane, and gave it an unfavorable report. The Navy canceled orders for it, buying the F8U instead. He also filed an unfavorable report on the F11F after a harrowing incident in which the engine failed on him during a high-speed dive. He managed to restart the engine and avoid a fatal crash.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=175–177}}

Shepard was an [[flight instructor|instructor]] at the Test Pilot School, and then entered the [[Naval War College]] at [[Newport, Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=177–181}} He graduated in 1957, and became an Aircraft Readiness Officer on the staff of the [[Commander-in-Chief]], [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=190}} By this time he had logged more than 3,600 hours of flying time, including 1,700 hours in jets.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 10, 1959 |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |page=1 |title=Meet the New Men of Space |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/12123349/ |access-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813224225/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/12123349/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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