Fred T. Berry

Fred Thomas Berry was an American dirigible commander.

Biography

He was born 23 November 1887 in Logan, Iowa, was a member of the United States Naval Academy class of 1908. Through much of his early career he specialized in engineering duty, and during World War I commanded McCall (DD-28). He was awarded the Navy Cross for his outstanding performance of duty in this billet.

In 1927, he began training in dirigibles, and later commanded the airship Los Angeles (ZR-3). Commander Berry, then commanding Naval Air Station Lakehurst, was lost in the crash of Akron (ZRS-4) off the New Jersey coast 4 April 1933.

Namesake

In 1945, the destroyer USS Fred T. Berry (DD-858) was named in his honor.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.