At age 95, Captain Ira N. Schwarz, US Navy Retired, left the bridge and passed away September 22, 2023. Ira was not alone; members of the Tarheel Central Chapter of MOAA were present during his last moments. He will be interned in The Arlington National Cemetery.
After high school, Ira spent three years in Aeronautical Engineering at Virginia Tech, but his education was cut short by the death of his father. In 1949, Ira joined the Navy where he completed heavier-than-air flight training and was assigned to lighter-than-air dirigibles and served a post-WWII tour defending the east coast from submarines.
He briefly flew amphibious aircraft like the PBY-5 with his next tour as an instrument flight instructor in SNJ & SNB aircraft, followed by General Line School at Monterey where Ira learned about ships and ship handling. He went on to Hawaii for a tour in VU-1, during which he completed jet transitional training. In 1960, Ira reported to the Naval Post Graduate School (NPGS) in Monterey, CA for further studies in Aeronautical Engineering.
Upon graduation, and switching to Aeronautical Engineering duty, Ira reported to the Senior Program Office (SPO) as Head, Inertial Navigation Section, and a part of the Navigation Branch. His group was responsible for the Ships Inertial Navigators (SINS), the heart of successful navigation at sea. To feed these systems they developed a satellite navigation system (later introduced for civilian use as GPS). They simultaneously perfected a periscope capable of exposure for only 30 seconds that recorded a 17-star fix. As he explained, “If you can know exactly where you are, you can accurately predict where your missiles will land!”
He next commanded the Navy Aero Structures Laboratory at Naval Station, Philadelphia, PA. (1966-1968). In Viet Nam with the Marines, he determined the cause of and solution for the catastrophic losses of H-46 and H-53 helicopters. Ira and his team determined what the structural life of the blades was and how long they could be over stressed before failure would occur. Thereafter, blades could be replaced on a timed basis before catastrophic failure occurred, a new standard that saved hundreds of crews and troops!
His next tour (1968-1971) was as the Officer Assignment Officer for all AED Officers, followed by Air Systems Command (1971-1973) as Head, Structures Branch. In this position Ira was privileged to serve on the initial design team for the F-14 aircraft. Part of his responsibility was the Airborne Mine Countermeasures Equipment and support and Ira again returned to Viet Nam when it came time to remove the mines from harbors there.
His next assignment (1973-1975) was as Commanding Officer, Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu, CA. Ira became Commander, Pacific Missile Test Center from 1975-1976. This command comprised over 7,800 square miles of sea test range with three airfields; Point Mugu, San Nicholas Island and Barking Sands (in Hawaii). His responsibilities included testing each airborne missile against every navy aircraft platform.
Following that tour Ira returned to Washington as Deputy Director, Navy Space Program. In 1977 Ira retired from the Navy. As an aviator he logged over 8,000 flight hours in multiple types of military aircraft.
After retirement Ira became a major player with results in 1998 after nine years of North Carolina litigation that had the North Carolina Supreme Court uphold a decision that a breach of contract had occured and that State and Local government retirees were due a refund of taxes paid during years 1989 – 1997. The State agreed to put up a fund of $799 Million, under control of the Court, to refund the contested taxes paid by all North Carolina government retirees, Federal (military & Civil Service) and State and Local retirees. The Court was to administer the refunds, and Ira was appointed by the Court as Director, Settlement Administration.
The refunds were paid to all claimants by 2002. The final result was that every claimant, over 183,000, received a refund of all taxes paid to the State for the years 1989-1997 on government retirement benefits, PLUS an average interest of 19%.
A truly remarkable life of great accomplishments. RIP
