Hello Michael, Thank you very much for this good advice. The U.S. Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command offers the same advice on their webpage, though there is no mention of NARA digitizing the ship's logs. I may eventually contact NARA but thought it worth posting to various on-line boards to see if by chance someone had access to this same information. Thanks again! Mark C.
Forum: WWI forum

I am hoping a visitor to this forum with expertise in U.S. naval forces in World War I can provide some details for me. My grandfather served in the U.S. Army during the war and was sent to France. I know he sailed from the U.S. on the troopship USS George Washington (ID-3018) and arrived in France on November 9, 1918. I believe most US troopships in 1918 arrived at Brest but would like to determ
Forum: WWI forum

Hello Jackie, I am interested in learning more about your father's service in the Royal Netherlands Navy. His ship, the Soemenep (or Soemanep), was an auxiliary minelayer converted from a civilian tugboat. The ship was small, just 227 gross tons, and built in 1930 at Surabaya, Java. It was commissioned into the RNLN on 24 June 1940 and stationed at Balikpapan, Borneo during 1941. A few da
Forum: Warship forum

Hello Jack, Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, I am still collecting information. I found your article a few months ago. Let's continue the conversation through private messages via this site. Mark C. Jones
Forum: General Discussions

I thank Don Prince and Snake Doc (Maciek) for their helpful suggestions. Clearly, the examples provided in their messages show that Uboats could and did dive well below the depths normally considered their maximum limits. Mark C. Jones
Forum: Technology and Operations

I am looking for a published source, hopefully in English but if not in another language, that discusses the issue of how deeply U-boats could and did dive during World War II. A reference book I consulted indicates that the most common types of German submarines during World War II could dive to 150 meters (492 feet). What would be interesting to read is an analysis of how deeply German subs act
Forum: Technology and Operations

Hello Mark, Thank you for this valuable suggestion. Yes, I have made extensive use of fold3.com over the past year. The collection of U.S. Navy war diaries for individual ships, bases, squadrons and fleet commands is a very valuable resource. This is particularly true since finding such details at the US National Archives is difficult because of the way the files are organized. Regards,
Forum: General Discussions

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into that forum. Mark C. Jones
Forum: General Discussions

I am seeking information about French and Italian submarines that served as training targets for U.S. Navy escort vessels 1943-45. These subs operated from Bermuda, Guantanamo Bay, Key West, Port Everglades, New London, and Casco Bay and were assigned to the U.S. Navy's Submarine Squadron 7. Generally, the subs served as training targets for the U.S Navy's Destroyer-Destroyer Escort Sha
Forum: General Discussions

There is a wonderful on-line naval history resource that I thought members of this forum would find potentially useful. An American company www.fold3.com specializes in digitizing military, naval and aviation documents from the U.S. National Archives. Fold3 operates a subscription service with the documents available over the web. They have a wide variety of U.S. military records from different t
Forum: Warship forum

Hello Tony, I have a strong interest in the Allied navies that cooperated with the British Royal Navy during World War II. Information in English about the Royal Yugoslav Navy is scarce. I have some details of Nebojsa's operational history after it joined the RN in the Middle East, and am interested in learning more about your father's time on board. Is there a way I can contact y
Forum: Warship forum

An excellent place to start your search is the website www.naval-history.net which features extensive information about Allied naval casualties, ship operational histories, and daily operational histories by major British naval commands as recorded in their command war diaries. While this is a start, you might also need to draw upon the naval records held by the National Archives at Kew near Lond
Forum: Warship forum

A coder is an enlisted sailor (rating in British parlance) specially trained in communications. The task is to take a message and either transform the words into a code or take a coded message and turn it into words. Radio broadcasts can be intercepted by anyone with a receiver, so it was necessary to code/decode all messages. Coders, signalmen and radio operators (telegraphists) were three of th
Forum: Warship forum

I hope someone can easily provide the information you are looking for. However, an alternative is to consult The National Archives (TNA) at Kew outside London. My own naval history research has often lead me to use documents from TNA. From the TNA web site, you can search for appropriate files but will need a contact in London or a professional researcher to actually check the documents for you.
Forum: Warship forum