World War II War Diaries

World War II War Diaries were compiled between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1945, by the U.S. Navy. They were identified by the Navy as "the principal means by which the day-to-day experience of the Navy is recorded for current study and future historical use."

The documents are arranged into five subseries.

• War diaries submitted by Navy commands is by far the largest of the series.

And, the other four, smaller subseries, include war diaries submitted by

• military governments and occupation forces
• Coast Guard units
• Marine Corps commands
• joint (multi-national) commands

The hierarchy, explained in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) of the National Archives is:

The Navy commands subseries, the largest, is arranged roughly hierarchically, with fleet, theater and most area commands preceding numbered task organizations (task forces, groups and units). Task organizations are then followed by aviation commands; amphibious commands; battleship, aircraft carrier, cruiser, destroyer and surface escort commands; landing craft and landing ship organizations; mine warfare and motor torpedo boat units; service organizations; submarine commands; and training and transportation organizations. These are then followed by various sea frontiers, naval districts, and shore installations, and then war diaries submitted by individual ships. Each of these smaller segments is arranged alphabetically by name or numerically by unit designator.

Each of the other four subseries is also arranged roughly hierarchically, with large organizations preceding smaller commands. Typically, war diaries submitted by each type of command are arranged alphabetically by name or numerically by unit designator.

When browsing for a particular ship, you may find it under its name or under its name as USS, or in both places. As an example, war diaries for the USS Tippecanoe can be found under "T" for Tippecanoe, and under "U" for USS Tippecanoe. Remember to look in both locations, as well as perform a search on the vessel name in case it is mentioned in reports and diaries of other naval units.

Sections of each war patrol report include the following:

A) Prologue
B) Narrative
C) Weather
D) Tidal information
E) Navigational aids
F) Ship contacts
G) Aircraft contacts
H) Attack data
I) Mines
J) Anti-submarine measures and evasion tactics
K) Major defects and damage
L) Radio
M) Radar
N) Sound gear and sound conditions
O) Density layers
P) Health, food, and habitability
Q) Personnel
R) Miles steamed - fuel used
S) Duration
T) Factors of endurance remaining
U) Remarks

Military designations are an alphabet-soup mix of acronyms and abbreviations. The hierarchical descriptions for the World War II War Diaries include many such combinations of letters. Among them are:

CGAS – Coast Guard Air Station
CGC – Coast Guard Cutter
CINCPAC – Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet
COMDESRON - Commander Destroyer Squadron
CTF – Central Task Force
CTG – Commander Task Group
CTU – Commander Task Unit
DesDiv – Destroyer Division
LCI – Landing Craft, Infantry
LCI(L) – Landing Craft, Infantry, Large
LST – Landing Ship, Tank
LT – Large Tug, Army
MTB – Motor Torpedo Boat
MTBRon – Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron
NSB – Navy Submarine Base
NSD – Naval Supply Depot
NYd – Naval Yard
ONI – Office of Naval Intelligence
PhibFor – Amphibious Force
TorpRon – Torpedo Squadron
USS PC – US Ship, Patrol Vessel, Submarine Chaser (173’)
USS SC – US Ship, Submarine Chaser (110’)
UtRon – Utility Squadron
YMS – District Motor Mine Sweeper
VB – Navy bombing plane, or Navy dive bomber squadron
VF – Navy fighter plane, or Navy fighter squadron
VGF – Escort-fighting squadron
VGS – Escort-scouting squadron
VMF – Marine fighter squadrons
VMJ – Marine utility squadron
VMSB – Marine scout bombing squadron
VMTB – Marine torpedo bomber squadron
VS – Scouting plane
VT – Torpedo plane, or Navy torpedo bomber squadron
YMS – District Motor Mine Sweeper
YP – District Patrol Vessel

More can be found on the U.S. Navy Abbreviations webpage at the Navy History & Heritage Command.

From the following Fold3 title page you can search, browse, and see what others are finding within these documents:

WWII War Diaries

These images are digitized from textual records comprising 1,663 boxes (837 linear feet) archived in Archives II, the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

More information is available through the Archival Research Catalog (ARC).