Websites Essential to Researching U.S. Navy Ships and Crews
For those interested in research about particular U.S. Navy ships or their crews during World War II, I highly recommend two websites.
The first is Fold3.com, owned by Ancestry.com. Here you can find muster rolls, deck logs, action reports, and other contemporary documents. One that falls into the “other” category is the various ships’ cruise books. A cruise book was compiled, usually by members of the ship’s crew, within a few years of the ship’s service.
Fold3.com would love to sell you a membership. They offer a free trial, but you can also find what you need by checking whether your public library has free access to Fold3.com and Ancestry.com. These “lite” versions don’t offer the full functionality of the paid versions. But at least you can take the websites out for a “test drive” to see if they’ll be helpful to your research.
WEBSITE OF THE NAVY HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
A second source of information, also free, is the National History and Heritage Command website, maintained by the U.S. Navy. I’ve found many useful photos and information on their website.
Today is the 82nd anniversary of the commissioning of the USS Franklin, an Essex-class aircraft carrier. Her crew would become the most decorated in U.S. Navy history and remains so to this day. I wrote this blog post, USS Franklin Commissioned 14 October 1943, last year on the 81st anniversary of her commissioning. The poem came from her cruise book, Big Ben The Flat Top, found on fold3.com. (You may need a subscription to access it.)
The picture at the top of this post came from the Naval History and Heritage Command website. Access to their online resources is free.
If you have a question about researching a particular crew member, ship, or event, feel free to leave a comment on this post, and I’ll get back to you.
Happy Researching!
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will discuss the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making, and the changes the US Navy made as a result.
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-Glenn
