George Scott; Bush’s Navigator in World War II
George A. Scott, a radar and Navy communications pioneer who served as a navigator for pilot George Bush during World War II, has died. He was 82.
Scott, who died Sunday at Grossmont District Hospital in La Mesa in San Diego County, joined the Navy in 1925 and quickly proved adept in electronics. The Navy loaned Scott’s services to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach radar and associated concepts.
He later signed on for submarine service and remained in that area for 10 years before World War II. Scott and a friend developed a method of communication between submarines and surface ships during that time. The Navy later perfected the sub-to-ship concept and Scott was transferred to communications.
One of his most memorable assignments was as navigator and gunner on a torpedo bomber piloted by now-President Bush, said Scott’s wife, Frances.
At the end of the war, Scott was assigned to San Diego to supervise the construction of Navy communication towers. He was discharged in 1955 with the rank of lieutenant and immediately began working for the government on developing a two-man submarine.
A few months later, he went to work for General Dynamics Astronautics, where he was assigned to the Atlas Missile Project. He retired in 1961.
Besides his wife of 60 years, survivors include their son, John W. Scott, of Merced, Calif.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
