100 - Reports (Planning Committee)

This file consists mainly of reports of the Planning Committee (100-1 to 100-114), prepared for the CNO, on such matters as: naval patrol of the Great Lakes; recruitment of naval personnel; destruction of derelict vessels; disposition of surplus vessels; transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of the Navy; abolition of submarine warfare; organization, development, and mission of the Atlantic and Pacific fleets; and reorganizations of the Navy Department. At the beginning of the file are minutes of conferences of heads of OPNAV divisions (July 30, 1918- Dec. 22, 1925) and minutes of meetings of the Secretary's Council (Mar. 24, 1921-Feb. 7, 1924). Minutes sometimes include announcements of the meetings and verbatim statements of people who addressed the meetings. The last item in the file is the diary of the Planning Committee (Aug. 1919-Dec. 1920, 100-115), which explains its organization and records its major accomplishments. A report by the board of observers of the bombing tests held in June-July 1921 off the Virginia capes is filed here (100-21:1), although the Planning Committee had no connection with the tests.

102 - Peace Treaty (Germany)

Contained in this file are processed and printed documents from the proceedings of the Paris Peace Conference (102-16), weekly progress reports of the U.S. member of the Allied Armistice Commission, minutes of the meetings of the Allied Maritime Transportation Council (102-34), and memorandums prepared by the U.S. Naval Advisory Staff in Paris (102-35). These records relate to such naval aspects of the Armistice and peace treaty as the use and disposition of ex-German naval vessels (102-21). Also included are reports on the 1921 aerial bombing tests conducted against the Ostfriesland and other ships of the former Imperial German Navy (102 21:1). There is also some correspondence relating to visits of U.S. naval officers to Germany and to the visit of German naval training ships to U.S. ports.

104 - Personnel

Included are documents relating to the following matters: exchange of officers between the Army and Navy (104-54); recruitment, retention, morale, and efficiency of the enlisted force; annual operating force personnel and replacement plans (104-32:1); and the personnel requirements needed to meet the force structure outlined in the Basic War Plans (104-51). This master file contains a complete transcript of the 1925 court-martial of Brig. Gen. William Mitchell (104-47) and correspondence concerning the disappearance in 1923 of Lt. Col. Earl H. Ellis (USMC) in the Caroline Islands (104-52).

109 - Appropriations

This file contains correspondence on specific naval appropriations bills, estimates of naval appropriations, and annual estimates of the situation. These last estimates are general statements of U.S. naval policy, containing contemporary analyses of the international situation and its impact on the U.S. Navy.

111 - Air Service (Aviation)

Documents in this file reflect the growing importance of military aviation in the early 1920's and the impact of the development of aerial bombardment on naval doctrine and technology. Included are the proceedings and final report, dated January 17, 1925, of a board of officers under Adm. E. W. Eberle, which studied "policy with reference to upkeep of the Navy in its various branches," with particular attention to aviation and its effect on fleet operations (111-1). The report of the Naval Board on Bombing Tests, concerning tests conducted on the USS Alabama, September 23-26, 1921 (111-67:3), addresses similar questions, while the report of the Lassiter Board, April 24, 1923 (111-95:1), examines the question of military aviation from the perspective of the War Department. This file also contains a number of reports and construction drawings relating to the conversion of two battle cruisers to the aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga (111-58), as well as correspondence on a proposed around-the-world flight by naval aviators (111-99:1), arctic exploration flights (111-99:1), and the operations and crash of the airship Shenandoah (111-98).

112 - Naval War College

This master file includes correspondence exchanged between the Army War College and the Naval War College relating largely to such strategic subjects as coast defense policy and U.S. strategy in the Atlantic. It also contains copies of studies, prepared by the Naval War College, of the following subjects: relative fleet strengths of the major naval powers (112-33, 112-44); battleship force tactics, naval doctrine, and strategy for a central Pacific offensive (112-33); and suggestions for improving U.S. tactical readiness for war (112-49). Some correspondence relating to the proper location, activities, and functions of the Naval War College (112-13) is also included.

117 - Central America

Much of this file consists of reports and dispatches received from the Special Service Squadron on conditions in Latin American countries, many of which describe the 1921 Panama-Costa Rica boundary dispute (117-45) and political conditions in Nicaragua (117-24) during 1926-27. A number of letters and dispatches relate to visits of U.S. ships to Central American ports and to requests for such visits.

121 - Hawaiian Islands

Most of these documents relate to the development of Pearl Harbor as a major naval base. Other records concern the defenses of the island from aerial, and naval attack (121-21) and from sabotage (121-20) and the policy of the Navy Department regarding employment of U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry (121-16).

127 - Guam

The two major topics documented in this file are the proposed development of Guam as a naval base and of the logistical and personnel requirements of the Marine garrison stationed there (127-2, 127-4, and 127-27). Other topics include the immigration of Chamorro people to Guam from islands in the Marianas under Japanese control (127-10), foreign residents (127-23), and the relationship of the Catholic Church on Guam to the naval government and to the people of the island (127-23:1). The annual reports of the naval station for 1921-24 (127-26) are also included.

151 - Fuel and Fuel Stations (Coal, Oil, and Gas)

This file consists of the following documents: correspondence relating to acquisition of bunkering and fuel storage stations and to the administration of the Naval Petroleum Reserves; a study prepared by the General Board in 1920 on petroleum reserves throughout the world; and reports on refueling experiments, engineering performance of certain vessels, and estimates of the annual fuel consumption of the U.S. Fleet.

162 - Ships

The contents of this file are largely correspondence and dispatches on individual ship movements, schedules of fleet deployments, inspections of vessels, and changes in ship equipment, armor, and armament. Specific subjects include the following: the 1920 "battle bill" for the USS Tennessee, outlining tactical procedures to be followed in battle by all crewmembers (162-41:1); operations and movements of the Special Service Squadron (162-45:1); proper organization and distribution of the U.S. Fleet in light of the 1921 strategic situation (162-73:1); Fleet Problems II through IV (1923-24) and VI (1926) (198-78:4/1 and 198-78:13), joint Army-Navy exercises, and fleet tactical exercises (162-78); improvements to the USS Langley (162-131); and organization, equipment, and armament of the aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga (162-164).

177 - Communications

Many of the documents filed under this master number concern codes and ciphers, including the development and use of the Hepburn electric code machine (177-26), the compromise of U.S. Navy codes (177-17 and 177-21), and the activities of decoding units operating during Fleet Problem VII (177-21:1). This file also covers ownership and operation of communications facilities in Europe and Latin America, plans for wartime communications in the Pacific (177-27), and fleet radio and visual signaling competitions. Copies of quarterly reports (1925-27) of the Director of Naval Communications (177-1 and 177-35) are included.

178 - Japan

This master file consists almost entirely of correspondence relating to exchanges of visits between Japanese and American naval personnel, ORANGE (Japan) war plans (178-6), and interception and decoding of Japanese messages (178-13).

190 - Naval Bases (Naval Districts)

Correspondence in this file relates to the acquisition, development, utilization, expansion, and abandonment of naval bases. Included are recommendations on development of West Coast naval bases (190-1), bases required to support a U.S. naval campaign in the Pacific (190-6:1), and the plans, budget, and legislation necessary for the naval base development program (190-10). Also included are documents on plans to develop naval bases at San Diego (190-10:11), San Francisco (190-10:12), Puget Sound (190-10:13), Pearl Harbor (190-10:14), Coco Solo (190-10:15), and Cavite (190-10:16).

196 - Pacific (Strategic)

This file consists of the following items: reports on a number of studies on U.S. strategy in a future Pacific war (196-1 and 196-7), reports on the potential use of floating dry docks in a central Pacific naval offensive (196-12), topographic and hydrographic surveys of Pacific islands (196-3), and reports on the 1920 naval maneuvers off Los Angeles harbor (196-6).

197 - Panama Canal

Included are correspondence and reports relating to the organization of naval activities in the Canal Zone, construction needed at Coco Solo, aerial defense of the Canal (197-10), the 1927 Joint Cooperative Plan for the Defense of the Panama Canal (197-22), and the 1923 estimate by the 15th Naval District of the situation concerning potential U.S. conflicts with ORANGE, RED (Great Britain), and RED-ORANGE (197-19).

198 - War Plans

This file mostly contains correspondence relating to war plans, their distribution, and revision. No copies of the formal, strategic color code name plans are included, but the file does contain some operating plans, contributory plans, and basic readiness plans required to implement the color plans. Specific subjects covered are the following: naval district staffing patterns, naval building, and the functions of the Marine Corps as all three relate to war plans (198-1:1); the authority of OPNAV to prepare war plans and the principles followed in their preparation; the relation between basic war plans and contributory plans (198-1:2); the role of the Navy in Special Plan GREEN (Mexico) (198-12:2); the wartime organization of the 14th Naval District (198-24); and Fleet Problems I, V, VI, and VII (198-35:1, 5, 6, 7).

200 - Philippine Islands

These documents mostly relate to proposals for the development of a major naval base in the Philippines, specific examples of which include the transfer of the floating drydock Dewey to Manila Bay (200-1:3), the development of Cavite and Olongapo Naval Stations (200-1), and the modernization of the port of Manila (200-8). The master file also contains documents on antiaircraft defenses of Cavite (200-8), 1925 naval maneuvers against Corregidor (200-7:1), and the retention of naval and military bases in the islands in the event of Philippine independence (200-22).

211 - Radio

Many of the documents in this file relate to technological developments in the field of naval communications, such as undersea radio reception, radio interference (jamming) exercises, and radio-controlled vessels. The file also contains records relating to acquisition of naval radio stations (as in Liberia, 211-9), joint Army and Navy radio procedures (211-17), merchant ship cipher and communications instructions (211-24), and plans for the wartime organization and utilization of radio intelligence (211-27).

212 - Reports

This file consists of the following types of reports: monthly and quarterly surveys of the Naval Establishment (July 1918-Dec. 1926), showing the status of personnel, equipment, and supplies; annual reports of the U.S. Fleet and its components (212-6); secret annual reports on the activities of the Office of Naval Intelligence for 1922-23 and 1925-26 (212-2); and 1916 memorandums on the wartime organization of the fleet (212-1).

216 - Charts, Maps, and Publications

Substantive documents in this file include the following: 1920 drafts of a manual on torpedo fire from destroyers (216-9), and of a "war manual," with comments (216-20); correspondence on the preparation of a minesweeping manual (216-12); an analysis of the Battle of Jutland (216-18); and a copy of the 1923 "Operating and Tactical Doctrine" for Aircraft Squadrons Scouting Fleet (216-53). Most of the file, however, consists of memorandums relating to the acquisition of hydrographic and topographic information on Pacific islands, requests and receipts for publications, distribution lists of publications, and correspondence relating to changes and corrections in publications.

226 – Miscellaneous

This master file contains correspondence on a variety of topics, including: changes in naval regulations (226-6); organization of destroyer squadrons (226-7); U.S. war dead buried overseas (226-17); U.S. merchant vessels lost in World War I (226-21); 1920-21 operations of U.S. Naval Forces Operating in European Waters (226-30:1); an analysis by Chester W. Nimitz and other members of the 1923 Naval War College class on the organization of OPNAV (226-33); a prospective visit to the United States, in 1920, of the Prince of Wales aboard HMS Renown (226-43); the visit in 1920 of the USS Chattanooga to Liberia (226-62); vice conditions in San Diego (226-92); capital ship construction within treaty limitations (226-103); and deliberations of the 1923 Hague Commission on revising the rules of warfare (226-110).

233 - Joint Board

Documents in this file generally relate to matters discussed by the Joint Army-Navy Board that particularly concerned the Navy, including the defense of naval stations (233-6), the mission of U.S. Forces in Hawaii (233-7), and joint action of the Army and Navy in coast defense (233-13). It also includes that part of the 1927 Census of Manufacturers that lists facilities relevant to naval needs (233-15).

US, Confidential Correspondence of the Navy, 1919-1927

Summary

Description

Background

Using the records

Document types

Related resources

List of master file numbers

Descriptions of select master number files