Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations [OCNO]
(Record Group 38)
1875-1993
Table of Contents
- 38.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
- 38.2 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
1917-63
- 38.2.1 Records of the Chief of Naval Operations
- 38.2.2 Records of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO)
- 38.2.3 Records of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet
- 38.2.4 Records relating to U.S. Navy operations received from the
Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center
- 38.3 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (ADMINISTRATION)
1885-1963
- 38.3.1 Records of the Division of Naval Communications
- 38.3.2 Records of the Central Division and its predecessors
- 38.3.3 Records of the Division of Pan American Affairs and United
States Naval Missions
- 38.3.4 Records of the Naval District Affairs Division
- 38.3.5 Records of the Office of Naval Records and Library
- 38.4 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE (ONI), OFFICE OF
THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1875-1956
- 38.4.1 General records
- 38.4.2 Records of the Director and Assistant Director of Naval
Intelligence
- 38.4.3 Communications with naval attaches
- 38.4.4 Records relating to investigations
- 38.4.5 Records relating to personnel
- 38.4.6 Records of the Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.7 Records of the Foreign Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.8 Records of the Far Eastern Section, Foreign Intelligence
Branch
- 38.4.9 Records of the Eastern European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.10 Records of the Central European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.11 Records of the Western European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.12 Records of the Latin American Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.13 Records of the Africa and Mid-East Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.14 Records of the Counter Intelligence Branch
- 38.4.15 Records of other ONI units
- 38.4.16 Other ONI records
- 38.5 RECORDS OF THE OPERATIONAL READINESS DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE
DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1908-45
- 38.6 FIELD RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1882-1955
- 38.6.1 Records of U.S. naval attaches
- 38.6.2 Records of aids for information
- 38.6.3 Records of branch naval intelligence offices
- 38.7 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (LOGISTICS)
1882-1962
- 38.7.1 Records of the Ships' Movement Division
- 38.7.2 Records of boards of inspection and review
- 38.7.3 Records of the Base Maintenance Division
- 38.7.4 Records of the Latin American Defense Section, Plans
Division
- 38.8 RECORDS OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (AIR)
1917-46
- 38.8.1 38.8.1 Records of the Aerology Section, Flight Division
- 38.9 RECORDS OF THE OPERATIONS EVALUATION GROUP, CENTER FOR NAVAL
ANALYSES, PROGRAM PLANNING OFFICE
1975-85
- 38.10 TEXUAL RECORDS RECORDS (GENERAL)
1963-93
- 38.11 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1917-19, 1955-68
- 38.12 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
- 38.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
- 38.14 MACHINE-READABLE RECORDS (GENERAL)
- 38.15 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
Established: In the Department of the Navy by an act of March 3, 1915 (38 Stat. 929).
Predecessor Agencies:
- Division of Operations of the Fleet (1909-15)
Transfers: With the Department of the Navy to the newly created National Military Establishment (NME), by the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 495), July 26, 1947; with the Department of the Navy to the Department of Defense (formerly NME) by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (63 Stat. 578), August 10, 1949.
Functions: Advises the President, Secretary of the Navy, and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) on the administration of the navy and on naval warfare. Administers naval programs to support manpower, materiel, weapons, and logistical needs; research and development activities; strategic planning; and the organization, training, and readiness of forces.
Finding Aids: Harry Schwartz, Kenneth F. Bartlett, and Lyman Hinckley, comps., "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations," NM 63 (1966); supplement in National Archives microfiche edition of preliminary inventories.
Security-Classified Records: This record group may include material that is security-classified.
Related Records:
Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and
Library, RG 45.
General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947, RG 80.
Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, RG 181.
Records of Naval Operating Forces, RG 313.
General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1947- , RG 428.
38.2 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
1917-63
History: Division of Operations of the Fleet, headed by an Aid for Operations, established, effective December 1, 1909, by Changes in Navy Regulations No. 6, November 18, 1909. Superseded by OCNO, pursuant to an act of March 3, 1915 (38 Stat. 929). Initial composition (Office of Naval Intelligence, Board of Inspection and Survey, and Naval Communication Service) augmented by Hydrographic Office and Naval Observatory pursuant to EO 9126, April 8, 1942. Reorganized to include Chief of Naval Operations; Vice Chief of Naval Operations; and Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations for Personnel, Administration, Operations, Logistics, Air, and Special Weapons, by EO 9635, September 29, 1945, and an act of March 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 67). Additional functions assigned by the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 992), October 1, 1986.
38.2.1 Records of the Chief of Naval Operations
Textual Records: CNO general correspondence, 1942-56. Microfilm copy of security-classified general correspondence, 1918-42 (377 rolls), with index, 1918-42 (42 rolls).
Microfilm Publications: T974, T975.
Related Records: Combined general correspondence of the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and the CNO, 1915-42, in RG 80, General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947.
38.2.2 Records of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO)
History: Appointed by the President under authority of an act of March 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 67).
Textual Records: Correspondence, reports, and other records relating to logistic operations, public works projects, and demobilization, 1942-46. Correspondence and program files of the Logistics Organization Planning Unit, 1944-45. Records of the History and Reports Section relating to logistic history and operations, 1942-46. Historical file relating to OCNO divisions, 1944-46.
Subject Access Terms: Advance base program; Barach Report; Base Maintenance Division; Booz Report; Central Division; Flight Division; Naval Transportation Service; Transportation Division.
38.2.3 Records of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet
History: Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (commonly referred to as "CINCUS"), established under OCNO, with administrative responsibility for fleet elements of U.S. Navy, 1922. Removed from OCNO, given supreme command of all U.S. naval forces, and placed as Commander in Chief (commonly referred to as "COMINCH") under general supervision of the Secretary of the Navy, but reporting directly to the President, by EO 8984, December 18, 1941. Headquarters COMINCH established in Washington, DC, December 30, 1941. Prepared and executed plans for war operations involving the naval forces of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Asiatic Fleets, and the naval coastal frontier commands. Duties of COMINCH and CNO combined under Adm. Ernest J. King by EO 9096, March 12, 1942. Headquarters COMINCH abolished, October 10, 1945, with functions absorbed by OCNO.
Textual Records: Correspondence, 1942-45 (883 ft.), with indexes (107 ft.). Publications, 1942-44. Reading files, 1942-45. Weekly reports on Allied and Axis naval forces, 1944-45. Administrative file of memorandums, instructions, and messages to all ships and stations ("ALNAVSTA Messages"), 1942-45. Correspondence of COMINCH aides and flag lieutenants, 1942-45.
Subject Access Terms: Kimmel, Adm. Husband E.
38.2.4 Records relating to U.S. Navy operations received from the
Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center
Textual Records: Records relating to U.S. Navy operations in World War II, 1939-47, including general correspondence of the Operations Division, CINCUS/COMINCH; records of the New Weapons Research and Developments Section, CINCUS/COMINCH; a microfilm copy of incoming and outgoing dispatches (832 rolls) and chronological message traffic (461 rolls) of the Commander in Chief, Pacific, and the U.S. Pacific Fleet ; charts and maps, 1941-45; immediate office files of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1942-47; records of the Tenth Fleet, Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, 1939-45; World War II action and operational reports, 1939-45; World War II plans, orders, and related documents, 1939-45; World War II war diaries, 1941-45; publications and record material (World War II Command File), 1939-45; and records of the Strategic Plans/War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1912-46. Records relating to U.S. Navy operations from World War I through the Korean War, 1917-63. Records relating to U.S. Navy operations, 1938-62, including submarine war patrol reports, 1941-45; records of the Mine Warfare Division, OCNO, 1941-49; chart room dispatches, CINCUS/COMINCH, 1940-46; records of U.S. Naval Group China, 1942- 57; records of Commander Naval Forces Europe, 1943-46; and records of Commander U.S. Naval Forces Northwest African Waters, 1942-43.
Machine-Readable Records (1 data set): U.S. Naval Group China personnel records, 1942-45, with supporting documentation. SEE ALSO 38.13.
38.3 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (ADMINISTRATION)
1885-1963
38.3.1 Records of the Division of Naval Communications
Textual Records: General correspondence of the director and his predecessors, 1911-26 (305 ft.). Microfilm copy of security- classified messages and dispatches, 1941-63 (8,868 rolls). Office files of Capt. David W. Todd, 1916-19; and Rear Adm. William H.G. Bullard, 1919-21. Newspaper clippings and publications, 1911-23. Daily records, including communication log sheets, from "Radio Central," 1932-39. General records of the Atlantic Coast Communications Superintendent, 1917-25. General correspondence of the Postal Affairs Section, 1942-45. Subject file, Commercial Traffic Section, 1929-37.
Microfilm Publications: T955.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (187 items): Plans and blueprints of communications installations at naval stations, 1917-25. SEE ALSO 38.10.
Subject Access Terms: Naval Radio Service; Noyes, Comdr. Leigh.
38.3.2 Records of the Central Division and its predecessors
History: Established, December 15, 1930, as a successor to the Policy and Liaison Section, Office of Island Governments, functioning since June 1926. Occupied Areas Section created under the Sub CNO, August 1943; redesignated the Military Government Section, Central Division, August 2, 1944. Military Government Section abolished, November 1945, and reconstituted as the Office of Island Governments. The Central Division and its predecessors provided administrative assistance; acted as liaison with navy bureaus, government agencies, and the Congress; and administered island governments and places occupied by naval forces.
Textual Records: Records of the Central Division, including general correspondence, 1943-44, with index; subject file, 1944; and records relating to public finance and public health matters, 1944. General correspondence of the Office of Island Governments, 1945, with index. Records of the Military Government of Santo Domingo, including correspondence, 1917-24; radio messages, 1922- 24; reports, Executive orders, and proclamations, 1916-24; and publications, 1904-24. Records relating to the Virgin Islands, including correspondence and reports, 1922-30; and newspapers, 1929-30.
Related Records: General correspondence of the Office of Island Governments in RG 80, General Records of the Department of the Navy. Additional records of the Military Government of Santo Domingo in RG 45, Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library.
Subject Access Terms: Bonin Islands; Caroline Islands; Coleccion de Ordenes Ejecutivas y Reglamentos Administrativos (Military Government of Santo Domingo); Dominican-Haitian boundary controversy; Formosa; Kurile Islands; Mariana Islands; Marshall Islands; Pescadores Islands; Policia Nacional Dominicana (PND); Universal Negro Improvement Association; Welles, Sumner.
38.3.3 Records of the Division of Pan American Affairs and United States Naval Missions
History: Pan American Division established, January 1942. Redesignated Division of Pan American Affairs and United States Naval Missions following World War II. Responsible for administration of naval missions and advisory groups; cooperation with Latin American republics; and training in the United States of armed forces personnel of Latin American and other countries.
Textual Records: Reports of bilateral staff conversations, 1940- 42. Correspondence with U.S. naval missions in Latin America, 1922-42. Correspondence relating to hemispheric security, 1940- 45; and to lend-lease procedures for Latin America, 1941-46.
38.3.4 Records of the Naval District Affairs Division
History: Established, October 13, 1945, to administer activities of naval shore establishments.
Textual Records: Records of the Committee on the Standardization of Terminology for Activities of the Navy, 1943-46.
Related Records: Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, RG 181.
38.3.5 Records of the Office of Naval Records and Library
History: Originated as Navy Department Library, 1800. Assigned to Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), 1882. Consolidated with Naval War Records Office to form Office of Library and Naval War Records, 1884. Assigned to Office of the Secretary of the Navy, 1889. Redesignated Office of Naval Records and Library, 1915. Restored to ONI, 1919. Assigned to Deputy CNO (Operations), 1946. Merged with Office of Naval History to form Naval Records and History Division, 1949. Redesignated Division of Naval History, 1952, and Naval Historical Center, 1971. For an expanded administrative history, SEE RG 45.
Textual Records: Letters sent, 1885-89. General correspondence, 1885-1925. Administrative records, 1918-25. Registers of records received from ships and stations, 1920-37. Records of the Historical Section, including a calendar of materials received concerning questions of international law and diplomacy, 1886- 1919; and miscellaneous correspondence of U.S. naval forces operating in European waters, 1917-18.
Sound Recordings (47 items): Radio broadcasts of navy and Marine Corps combat operations, Pacific theater, World War II; and relating to war production, women in the shipbuilding industry, and war bond promotion, 1942-45 (44 items). General Dwight D. Eisenhower's report to Congress on the progress of the war in Europe, June 18, 1945 (2 items). V-E (Victory in Europe) Day broadcast, May 8, 1945 (1 item). SEE ALSO 38.12.
Related Records: Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, RG 45.
38.4 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE (ONI), OFFICE OF
THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1875-1956
History: Established in the Bureau of Navigation by General Order 292, March 23, 1882. Transferred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1890; returned to the Bureau of Navigation by order of the Secretary, April 26, 1898. Transferred to the jurisdiction of the Aid for Naval Operations, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, 1909; and to the OCNO, 1915. Designated the Intelligence Division, 1922, but continued to be known as ONI. Under command of the Sub Chief of Naval Operations during World War II. By reorganization, September 29, 1945, ONI came under supervision of the newly established Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Administration). Transferred to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Operations), July 1946.
Textual Records: Letters received, 1882-99. Letters sent, 1899- 1911. General correspondence, 1899-1943 (222 ft.), with indexes. Case files of persons suspected of espionage and other activities, 1917-18. Administrative correspondence, 1927-48 (452 ft.). Instructions to intelligence officers and naval attaches, 1916-33. Registers of letters received, 1922-42. Letters sent ("Day File"), 1929-46.
38.4.2 Records of the Director and Assistant Director of Naval
Intelligence
Textual Records: Correspondence, 1928-43. Dispatches, 1929-39. Director's subject file, 1939-50 (bulk 1939-46). Correspondence of the Assistant Director, 1946-47. Daily information memorandums ("DIMS"), 1939-41. Summaries of current national situations, 1940-43. ONI summaries, 1947-50. Reference file of capital ship construction, 1927-40.
38.4.3 Communications with naval attaches
Textual Records: Letters from naval attaches, 1882-1900. Registers of intelligence reports and other records received, 1882-88, 1897-1909. Registers of letters received from naval attaches, 1901-29. Naval attache reports, 1886-1947 (1,421 ft. and 6 rolls of microfilm). Naval intelligence reports ("IR's"), 1948-56 (755 ft.). Naval attache reports relating to the outbreak of World War II, 1936-43. Registers of naval attache reports, 1900-45. Subject index to naval attache reports, 1900-45; and to World War II intelligence reports, 1940-46. Diary and other records of Lt. N.A. McCully relating to the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5. Cable correspondence with naval attaches during the Spanish-American War, 1898-1900.
Microfilm Publications: M975, M1332.
Maps and Charts (276 items): Maps forwarded to ONI as oversize enclosures to reports from naval attaches and shipboard naval officers, showing intelligence information about foreign areas, 1884-1945, including locations of U.S. and foreign naval bases; coaling and oiling stations; coastlines; islands; cities and harbors; telegraph lines; radio stations; trade routes; commercial steamship lines; Latin American airline routes; airports; values of British, German, and Japanese exports and imports; Spanish harbor defenses in Cuba, 1898; China during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5; Russian forces in Poland, 1915; Battle of Jutland, 1916; and locations of possible German activities in Latin America. SEE ALSO 38.10.
Related Records: Additional reports of naval attaches in RG 45, Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library.
38.4.4 Records relating to investigations
Textual Records: Records relating to subversive activities, 1917- 27. Lists of persons suspected of being foreign agents, and business firms suspected of illegal activity, 1917-18. Summaries of activities of cable and postal censors, 1917-18. Index to press clippings regarding subversive activities, 1917-18. Lists of intercepted mail, 1917-18. Lists of persons investigated by ONI, and carriers of illicit material and enemy correspondence, 1917-18. Index to seized passports, 1917-19. List of reports on German activity in Central and South America, 1917-18. Seized records of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the United States, 1927-30.
Subject Access Terms: American Protective League; Daily Worker; draft dodgers; Johnson, James L.; pacifists; The Spy Glass.
38.4.5 Records relating to personnel
Textual Records: Register of personnel, 1882-1925. Lists of agents, 1917-20. Lists of ONI agents and informants residing in foreign countries, 1917-25; and ONI personnel in naval districts, 1917-20. Card file of Navy Department personnel investigated, 1917-18. Name list of persons considered as potential sources of information, 1914-18.
38.4.6 Records of the Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Letters sent by the Security Section, 1929-40. Correspondence relating to the investigation of the naval arsenal explosion at Lake Denmark, NJ, 1926-27. Military attache reports received from Paris and Rome, 1937-38. Records of the Coastal Information Section, including general correspondence, 1939-43, with index; and a reading file of letters sent, 1941-43.
38.4.7 Records of the Foreign Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Office file, 1940-45. Correspondence with naval attaches, observers, and liaison officers, 1930-48. Reports on the world petroleum situation, 1940-42. Records of the ONI liaison to the Board of Economic Warfare, 1942-45. North American Theater Section historical file, 1943-45. Operational Intelligence Section historical file, 1939-43. Miscellaneous records of the Technical Section, 1945-46; Collection and Dissemination Section, 1949-50; Estimates Section, 1952-54; and Foreign Trade Section, 1942-45.
Subject Access Terms: National Intelligence Estimates.
38.4.8 Records of the Far Eastern Section, Foreign Intelligence
Branch
Textual Records: Subject file, 1936-46. Intelligence records, 1942-46. Intelligence summaries, 4th Marines, Shanghai, China, 1934-40. State Department consular reports and dispatches concerning China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, 1935-41. Treasury Department reports concerning China and Japan, 1937-40. Japanese merchant shipping file, 1934-39. Reports from the naval attache, Tokyo, 1939-41. War Department radiograms, China, 1937-40. Records relating to the Pearl Harbor attack, 1939-44 (bulk 1940- 41). Enemy Oil Committee reports, 1942-45. U.S. Seventh Fleet intelligence bulletins, 1944-46. Records concerning Japanese diplomatic personnel in Europe, 1942-45; and economic conditions in Japan, 1945-47. Japanese desk serial file, 1941-47. Records from the China-Malay desk, 1935-46. Captured documents and translations, 1942-45. Weekly news summaries of conditions in the Far East, 1938-41. Records relating to the Painter Expedition to the China Coast, 1944-45.
Subject Access Terms: Peiping War (Peking); Sian Revolt; Sino- Japanese War.
38.4.9 Records of the Eastern European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Day file, 1940-44. Serials, 1940-46. Situation reports, Russian Front, 1942-45. Dispatches relating to the Soviet Union, 1941-45. Communiques, 1941-45. Prisoner of war interrogations, 1948-49. Reference file, ca. 1942-48 (bulk 1942- 45).
Photographic Prints (376 images, in Washington Area): Vice President Henry A. Wallace's visit to China and Soviet Union, in albums, 1944. SEE ALSO 38.14.
Subject Access Terms: Aleutian Islands; Bering Sea; Black Sea; Caucasus; Hula Project; Hungary; Kamchatka; Kurile Islands; Poland; Sakhalin Island; Siberia; Soviet Navy.
38.4.10 Records of the Central European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Subject file, 1939-46.
38.4.11 Records of the Western European Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Records relating to the Spanish Civil War, including briefs and correspondence on nonintervention, 1936-37; reports on ship movements, 1936-37; naval and military attache reports, 1936-38; records concerning the evacuation from Spain of U.S. and other foreign nationals, 1936-39; and records relating to conditions in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal, 1936-41 (bulk 1936-39).
38.4.12 Records of the Latin American Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Letter file, 1928-33. Reports relating to Central America, 1945-47.
38.4.13 Records of the Africa and Mid-East Section, Foreign
Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Reports from the Mediterranean, 1943-47. Reference file on Palestinian partition, 1947-48. Letters from the naval observer, Freetown, Sierre Leone, 1942-43.
38.4.14 Records of the Counter Intelligence Branch
Textual Records: Letters, regulations, and orders of the Censorship Section, 1917-25. Reports, studies, regulations, and other records of the Counter Intelligence Section, 1940-48. Records of the Oriental Desk, 1936-46; and the Air Intelligence Group, 1942-48.
38.4.15 Records of other ONI units
Textual Records: Correspondence, reports, reference files, manuals, directives, and other records of the Special Warfare Branch, 1942-45; and the Planning Branch, 1940-52. Records of the Specific Activities Branch, including administrative files, 1940- 45; records relating to agents, 1940-45; interrogations and other documents relating to U-boats, 1941-45; and records of the Prisoner-of-War Section, 1949-54. Reports and other records of the Naval Contract and Plant Division, 1918. Intelligence reports and other records of "C" Section (Collating), 1916-19. Card file of security suspects compiled by "G" Section (Central Files and Indexing), ca. 1917-18. Correspondence and reports of the Naval Group China, 1941-45. Records of the Four Power Naval Commission in Rome, 1947-49; the Naval Technical Mission to Japan, 1945-46; and the Naval Technical Mission to Europe, 1945-47.
Sound Recordings (148 items): Propaganda broadcasts to Axis countries produced by the Special Warfare Branch, including talks by U.S. military personnel; news announcements; anti-Fascist messages; and German-, Japanese-, and English-language messages from prisoners of war to their relatives, 1943-45. SEE ALSO 38.12.
Subject Access Terms: War Information, Office of.
Textual Records: Ledger of expenses, 1883-96. Requisition book, 1885-1901. German-language diary of Else Finsterbusch (age 15), 1914-16. Daily radio reports, 1916-19. Reports on ship movements, 1917-19. Reports, photographs, and sketches of camouflaged warships, armed merchant vessels, and other vessels, 1917-19. Ship silhouette charts, ca. 1918. "Guide Cotier D'Italie" (Italian Coastal Guide) published by the Ministers de la Marine, Etat Major General of France, 1924-1940. Formerly security-classified census of manufacturers, 1929. Translation of German Foreign Office report, "The Liman Sanders Affair, January 1913-June 1914," 1935. ONI monograph files, 1920-55. ONI publications, 1882-1954. Intelligence publication collection, 1919-52. Foreign publications and reports, 1901-50. Exhibits file, 1942-55. Card indexes to German and Japanese naval and political figures and intelligence targets, compiled ca. 1941-45, but including biographical information dating back to the 19th century. Unpublished area studies of Japan, 1943-44. Unabstracted aircraft intelligence reports regarding Japanese and U.S.S.R. aircraft, 1942-49. Reports and publications forwarded to the Chief of Naval Operations, 1948-50. Case files of American prisoners of war during the Korean War, 1952-56.
Map (1 item): Aerial mosaic photomap of Nanking, China, 1929. SEE ALSO 38.10.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (154 items): Blueprints of naval auxiliary (private) vessels, ca. 1875-1904 (150 items). Plans relating to camouflage of ships, 1917-18 (4 items). SEE ALSO 38.10.
Photographs (13,074 images): Military defenses at Valparaiso,
Chile, 1897 (VAL, 7 images). Armor tests at the naval facility in
Indian Head, MD, 1891-92; sailors at Naval Training Station,
Newport, RI, 1891-92; Veracruz and Tampico, Mexico, 1914;
buildings in Haiti, ca. 1930; construction of German vessel
Kaiser Wilhelm II, n.d.; German, Chinese, and other foreign
medals, n.d.; and civilian and military personnel at the Navy
Department, ca. 1941-45 (HS, 330 images). Coastal defenses of
Japanese-mandated Marshall, Caroline, and Mariana Islands, ca.
1935 (SS, 100 images). Design and construction of domestic,
foreign, and experimental aircraft, 1914-43 (AC, 12,000 images).
Advance base naval units Lion 2 and Lion 4, ca. 1944 (LT, 313
images). Storage facilities at the Naval Supply Depot, Oakland,
CA, ca. 1943; and exterior and interior views of German U-boats,
1918 (NS, 192 images). Aerial views of coastal defenses of United
States and territories, 1914-23 (FCD, 102 images); and of Italian
ports and landmarks, and aerial bombing tests, 1920 (IS, 30
images). Photographs of U.S. Forces on Makin Island, 1943 (MK, 335 images).
SEE ALSO 38.14.
38.5 RECORDS OF THE OPERATIONAL READINESS DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE
DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1908-45
History: Operational Readiness Section (later Division) organized in Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Operations) at same time as the latter's establishment, October 10, 1945. Assumed functions formerly performed by Division of Fleet Training and by Mine Warfare Section.
Textual Records: Records of the Division of Fleet Training, including general correspondence, 1914-42; subject files, 1908- 26; reports, 1917-41; circulars, 1919-26; and vessel efficiency inspection reports, 1921-26. General correspondence of the Mine Warfare Section, 1942-45.
Microfilm Publications: M964.
Photographs (369 images): Naval procedures for mine and antimine operations; and netting devices designed to protect ships and harbors from enemy torpedoes, mines, and submarines, 1944-45 (MW). SEE AlSO 38.14.
Subject Access Terms: Navy Fleet Problems I-XXII.
38.6 FIELD RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (OPERATIONS)
1882-1955
38.6.1 Records of U.S. naval attaches
Textual Records: Letters sent by naval attaches, 1882-1905. Correspondence and other records of U.S. naval attaches and missions in Brazil, 1919-29; Cuba, 1917-19; Honduras, 1929-33; The Hague, 1920-33; Peru, 1929-33; and the USSR, 1934-35. Records of the U.S. Naval Representative, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1917-19; and the Scientific Attache, London, 1917-19. Office files of various naval attaches in foreign cities, 1917-55.
38.6.2 Records of aids for information
History: As early as 1915, "aids for information" were assigned to supervise intelligence work within naval districts. At first reported directly to Director of Naval Intelligence; by 1918, to the naval district commandant.
Textual Records: Records of the Aid for Information, 3d Naval District, New York, NY (in New York), consisting of correspondence, 1917-19, with indexes to merchant seamen and other suspects; general correspondence and censorship reports of the Moving Picture Censorship Department, 1918-19; correspondence of the "Placing of Informants Aboard Ship" Department, 1918-19; records of the Ship Investigating Bureau, including lists of operatives of alien suspects investigated, and an index to locations of suspected illegal activities, 1917-18; and reports of the Ship Search Department, 1917-18. Correspondence concerning informants and submarine activity, maintained by the Aid for Information, New London, CT, 1917-18 (in Boston).
38.6.3 Records of branch naval intelligence offices
Textual Records: Records of the Branch Naval Intelligence Office, New York, NY (in New York), including administrative records, 1917-18; correspondence relating to the investigation of suspected labor agitators, 1918; copies of The Daily Bulletin, a publication of the New York Cable Censor's Office, with index, 1918; and general records of the Plant Protection Section, 1918. Records (in Philadelphia) of the Plant Protection Section, Branch Naval Intelligence Office, Pittsburgh, PA, consisting of reports of plant inspections and related records, 1918, with index.
38.7 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL
OPERATIONS (LOGISTICS)
1882-1962
History: Established, October 1945, assuming functions, previously vested in OCNO, of determining the navy's materiel requirements and of executing logistic plans and policies.
38.7.1 Records of the Ships' Movement Division
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1920-42. List of private vessels employed by the Naval Transportation Service, 1917-20. Case files of armed guard units aboard merchant vessels, 1940-45 (275 ft.).
38.7.2 Records of boards of inspection and review
Textual Records: Records of the Board of Inspection and Survey, including letters sent, 1882-1937, and received, 1882-1901; administrative records, 1917-35; a history of the board, 1921; inspection reports concerning naval vessels, 1893-1946, and submarines, 1920-44; and reports on acceptance trials of naval aircraft, 1919-32. Correspondence and inspection reports of the Boards of Inspection for Shore Stations, 1910-14. Records of the Joint Merchant Vessel Board, including correspondence, 1915-19; and inspection reports concerning merchant vessels and motor boats, 1917-20. Records of the Board of Review, including correspondence, appraisal reports, and other records relating to private vessels used by the navy, 1917-21. Security-classified correspondence of the Ships' Characteristics Board, 1958-62.
Motion Pictures (1 reel): Testing of Higgins Boats, silent, 1941.
38.7.3 Records of the Base Maintenance Division
Textual Records: Correspondence of the Base Defense Section, 1941-45. Correspondence concerning handling and employment of prisoners of war, 1944-46. Minutes of the Home Base Employment Council, 1944-45. Draft manuals of advance base development and maintenance, 1943-45. Records documenting the activities of the Naval Districts Division, 1916-18. Lists of private and government-owned vessels inspected for possible use, 1917-21. Records of the Shore Station Development Board, 1920-42. Graphs and diagrams depicting deployment of naval aircraft and aviation personnel and material, and illustrating personnel strength and progress of projects at advance bases, 1944-45. Correspondence concerning development and maintenance of advance bases, 1941-43. Correspondence and other records relating to overseas bases, primarily in the Pacific, 1941-42.
Photographs (156 images): Specialized training at advance bases, 1944-45 (SNT). SEE ALSO 38.14.
Subject Access Terms: Acorn (Advance Base); Bora Bora; Burma Road; China, supply of; Cub (Advance Base); Lion (Advance Base); Operation Bobcat; Pacific Base Facilities Charts.
38.7.4 Records of the Latin American Defense Section, Plans
Division
Textual Records: Subject file, 1941-45.
38.8 RECORDS OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (AIR)
1917-46
History: Established, August 18, 1943.
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1943. Correspondence of the Naval Air Transport Service, 1941-43. Correspondence relating to airplane contracts, 1943.
38.8.1 Records of the Aerology Section, Flight Division
Textual Records: Correspondence, 1917-21. Outgoing correspondence, 1922-34. Correspondence of Lieutenant Francis W. Reichelsdorfer, head of the Aerology Section, 1924-26. Correspondence relating to proposed aerology legislation, 1919-26. Office orders and circular letters received from the Bureau of Aeronautics, 1930-36. Correspondence of Commander Wilbur M. Lockhart, head of the Aerological Section, 1937-40. General correspondence, 1919-46.
Photographs (4,819 images): Studio portraits of Allied leaders and high-ranking officers of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps, by Comdr. Maurice Constant, Naval Photographic Service, 1942-46 (MCN, MCP). SEE ALSO 38.14.
38.9 RECORDS OF THE OPERATIONS EVALUATION GROUP, CENTER FOR NAVAL
ANALYSES, PROGRAM PLANNING OFFICE
1975-85
Machine-Readable Records (1 data set): Surface Warfare Division's Hostile Fire File ("HOSTA"), documenting incidents (1966-70) of Communist shore batteries firing on U.S. and Australian Navy ships off the coasts of North and South Vietnam, 1975-85, with supporting documentation. SEE ALSO 38.13.
38.10 TEXTUAL RECORDS (GENERAL) 1963-93
Selected records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, including information concerning the enlistment, service, and discharge of Lee Harvey Oswald from the Marine Corps; Oswald's defection to and return from the Soviet Union; investigations of other persons associated with Oswald; and requests for information about Oswald from various agencies after the assassination; 1963-93. Publications and other records relating to naval operations and administration, 1901-70 (402 ft. and 7 rolls of microfilm). Records of the Naval Security Group Command including Commander Naval Security Group Command Library, 1930-46; inactive stations library, 1930-46; active stations library, 1925-46; radio intelligence summaries, 1941-46; radio intelligence publications, 1924-45; and Naval Security Group detachment Crane Library, 1908-46. Translations of intercepted enemy radio traffic and miscellaneous World War II documentation, Microfilm collection, 1940-70. Master alphabet strips for unidentified mership ciphers during World War II, n.d.
38.11 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1917-19, 1955-68
Maps and Charts: Hydrographic Office Chart No. 5155 of west coast of Europe from southern Norway to the Straits of Gibraltar, annotated by the London headquarters of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe to show names of ports other than those printed on maps, as well as mine barrages, ca. 1917-19 (1 item). Incomplete set of seven marine climatic atlases of the world, 1955-68, and a naval operational weather atlas of North America, 1955, prepared by the Naval Weather Service Division, containing climatic charts (2,000 items). Plans of navy yards to accompany industrial managers' reports, 1917-18 (18 items).
SEE Maps and Charts UNDER 38.4.3 and 38.4.16.
SEE Architectural and Engineering Plans UNDER 38.3.1 and 38.4.16.
Finding Aids: Charlotte M. Ashby, comp., Cartographic Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, PI 85 (1955).
38.12 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
SEE UNDER 38.7.2.
38.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
SEE UNDER 38.3.5 and 38.4.15.
38.14 MACHINE-READABLE RECORDS (GENERAL)
SEE UNDER 38.2.4 and 38.9.
38.15 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
Photographs: Photographic report of the Japanese Army submarine YU-3, 1945 (JS, 62 images).
SEE Photographs UNDER 38.4.16, 38.5, 38.7.3, and 38.8.
SEE Photographic Prints UNDER 38.4.9.
Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.
This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.
Blogs
Facebook
Flickr
RSS Feeds
Twitter
YouTube