Prepared in the Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department.
UNITED STATES NAVAL CHRONOLOGY, WORLD WAR II Published by the United States Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C., 1955
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Preface to United States Naval chronology, World War II This United States Naval Chronology, World War II has been complied in the Naval History Division of the Office of Naval Operations, Navy Department, as a reference volume for official and general use. The starting point is September 1, 1939, the date marking the opening of World War II hostilities. In order to avoid constant repetition of "U.S.", "U.S.S.", "U.S.N.", etc., all ships, forces, aircraft, bases or stations, and names of individuals appearing in the Chronology are American, unless otherwise indicated. If a possibility existed for misunderstanding as to nationality, an appropriate identifer has been used. To illustrate: United States bases or stations established in territory not normally under the United States flag have United States before the name of the activity; American officers named in entries concerning Allied operations have "USN", "USMC", or "USA" following their names. The local date at the place of the event recorded has been used but for one purposeful exception: the Gilbert Islands campaign in the fall of 1943. These islands are in east longitude close to the International Date Line, but as most of the action reports were found to use west longitude dates, the same have been accepted in the Chronology. Latitudes and longitudes shown for ship sinkings and damagings have been arrived at by using the best available data. Nevertheless, they must be approached with reservation, for in any number of instances the original records only give approximate position. No amphibious types smaller than the Landing Ship Tank (LST) have been included with the ship casualties. It is believed that the abbreviations and designations used in the Chronology will be understood without difficulty. United States naval ships are always shown with the type written before the name, and the type designator and individual hull number following in parenthesis, i.e., submarine Gato (SS-212), destroyer Bailey (DD-492). Naval aircraft squadron designators may not be as familiar. Their meanings are: VB....Bombing Squadron VPB....Patrol Bombing Squadron VC....Composite Squadron VR....Transport Squadron VP....Patrol Squadron VS....Scouting Squadron VT....Torpedo Squadron The initial draft for a naval chronology was prepared in the Naval History Division by Lt. Comdr. Dorothy E. Richard, USN (W), with assistance from Mrs. Constance D. Lathrop, then Navy Department Librarian, and the Library staff. Rear Adm. Samuel Eliot Morison, USNR (Ret.), reviewed the manuscript at this stage, and offered many helpful suggestions. Comdr. Miles S. Whitener, USN, checked it, particularly with an eye for naval aviation items. In 1954, the chronology draft was turned over to Mr. William J. Morgan (Lt. Comdr., USNR, Inactive), Head of the Historical Research Section in the Naval History Division, with instructions to prepare the manuscript for publication. It was rewritten, revised, and reexamined in the light of sources made available since the original was complied. In bringing the Chronology to its present form, Mr. Morgan had the research assistance of Lt. Harold P. Deeley, Jr., USN; Lt. Jack F. Ayers, USN; Lt.(jg.) Thomas J. Wohlgemuth, USNR; Lt. (jg.) William J. Keogh, USNR; Lt. (jg) Henry A, Vadnais, Jr., USNR; and Lt. (jg.) Edwin S. Mullett, USNR. assigned to his Section at different times. Conspicuous among those who supplied answers to innumerable questions are Miss Loretta I. MacCrindle, Head of the Classified Operational Archives Branch, naval History Division, and her assistant, Miss Barbara A. Gilmore; Mr. Frederick S. Meigs, in the Navy Department Library; Miss Meta K. Hannay, of the Shore Establishment Development and Maintenance Division, and Mr. Adrian O. Van Wyen in the Aviation History Unit of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; Miss Helen R. Fairbanks, in the Bureau of Yards and Docks, and Mrs. Jessie M. Miller, in the Bureau of Ships. Much information for Appendix I was supplied by Mrs. Olive A. Finch, in the Officer Records Branch of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Mr. Roger Pineau and Mr. Donald R. Martin, assistants to Rear Admiral Morison, in the Operational History Section, Naval History Division, dug into their files for essential material. A difficult and lengthy typing job was handled by Samuel C. Anaya, YN2, USN; Raymond E. Gorsky, YN2, USN; and Miss Nancy J. Lindemuth. Charts for the end pages were prepared by the Hydrographic Office. At various stages, and in the final editing, I had the help and constructive criticism of Capt. Samuel G. Kelly, USN (Ret.), Assistant Director of Naval History. To all go appreciation and thanks. John B. Heffernan, Retired Admiral, USN (Ret.) Directory of Naval History Washington, D.C., March 17, 1955