William Francis Raborn, Jr., was the United States Director of Central Intelligence from April 28, 1965 until June 30, 1966. He was also a career United States Navy officer who led the project to develop the Polaris missile system and retired from the Navy in 1963 as a Vice Admiral.
Born in Decatur, Texas, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1928. During World War II he directed the Gunnery Training Section at the Bureau of Aeronautics. He also served in the Pacific on aircraft carriers: Raborn was the executive officer of the carrier USS Hancock when her deck was damaged by a kamikaze attack. He had the deck repaired in four hours, allowing the ship's aircraft to land safely - for this Raborn was awarded the Silver Star. He later commanded the carriers USS Bairoko and USS Bennington.
Raborn was a rear admiral when he was appointed, on November 8, 1955, as Director of Special Projects at the Bureau of Weapons. His task was to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile. He reported directly to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke and the Secretary of the Navy Charles Thomas.