Research
Do you have a question about one of the museum’s subject areas or artifacts? Explore our online resources and learn how to contact museum staff for unanswered questions.
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Research
Museum staff can answer straightforward inquiries and research requests, or provide limited research assistance for more involved ones. Use the Contact Us option to submit a content or artifact-related inquiry to the museum’s curator. The more specific you can be about the information you are looking for, the better we can help you!
Please explore the resources below before reaching out to see if the answer to your question is available here.
Digitized Artifacts
Explore digitized versions of our artifacts, from 3D digital models to scanned photographs and documents!
Finding Aids
Search through finding aids that detail the contents of archival collections.
Ship Histories
The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) Online provides official histories of U.S. Navy ships. With over 10,000 entries, DANFS is the most comprehensive and reliable source of information on Navy vessels.
Current Navy Ships and Weapons
The U.S. Navy Fact Files on the Navy’s official website provide information about present day Navy ships and weapons systems.
Navy Publications and Technical Manuals
Visit our Digitized Documents page to view scans of technical manuals and documents from our artifact collection.
The Historical Naval Ships Association (HNSA) shares digitized Navy publications and technical manuals on their Manuals and Documents page, including many original documents on undersea subjects such as submarines, torpedoes, mines, depth charges, sonar, radar, and PT boats.
Obtaining Military Records
The National Personnel Records Center has custody of the official individual personnel and medical records of Navy commissioned officers separated after 1902, and of Navy enlisted personnel separated after 1885. You can contact this agency directly at the following address:
National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100
Official service records for Navy commissioned officers separated in or before 1902, and Navy enlisted personnel in or before 1885, are held by the National Archives and Records Administration at the following address:
National Archives and Records Administration
Old Military and Civil Records Branch (NWCTB)
700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20408