Robert C. Gooding

Robert Carpenter Gooding (June 27, 1918 – November 30, 1999) was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy.

In 1938, Gooding was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Virginia. After serving aboard the battleship until July 1944, Gooding was sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for further education. Gooding was promoted to lieutenant commander on October 3, 1945.

From 1946 to 1949, Gooding worked at the Charleston Naval Shipyard as an engineering duty officer. From 1949 to 1955, he was assigned to the Bureau of Ships, where he became an expert on underwater explosions. From 1955 to 1957, he was maintenance and logistics officer on the staff of Commander Mine Force, United States Pacific Fleet. From August 1957 to July 1958, Gooding was technical director for two underwater atomic test explosions during Operation Hardtack at Eniwetok Atoll. From 1962 to 1968, Gooding was assigned to the Special Projects Office supporting the Polaris and Poseidon submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile systems. Appointed deputy technical director in September 1964, he became technical director in February 1965. This command continued through the transition of Naval Ship Systems Command to Naval Sea Systems Command.

In 1976, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Gooding died from liver cancer at a hospice in Falls Church, Virginia on November 30, 1999. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.