How do I find naval records for grandfather?

Question

I know he was in navy during ww2 but I have no idea which ships or his dates of service.

Answer 1

If it is in the US, write the Service Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri and give them his whole name, his birth year, social security number if he has one, his service number if you know it, his place of birth, and why you want the records.  If he is dead, they probably will send you a good bit of it, but it will take a long time.

Answer 2

Try Veterans administration for a good start.

Answer 3

you could try getting this book  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/books...

Answer 4

Have you tried the Navy? I would start there.

Answer 5

KEW in London has naval records.....Aslong as you have a name and a good idea when they should be able to help....My wife did it that way for her fathers war records....Good luck

Answer 6

just google the royal british navy,and there will be loads of information.good luck.or you can try at the c.w.g.c.you can find a lot out there aswell.peace.

Answer 7

Lets assume for the moment you're talking UK and the Royal Navy.  Some of the advice you've been given above genuinely frightens me.  If you don't know people, then don't answer.  Don't try and guess.

First of all, recent military records (and "recent" is anywhere in the last 75 years or so post-1929) are not in the public domain, they are still with the MoD.  Advice to go down to the National Archives in Kew is just so wrong as to be unreal.  Yes, they will eventually be sent here once the appropriate time limit has expired on the files, but at the moment, these files are with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and closed to public access.  You cannot look at them, but it is possible as next-of-kin to send a written application to the MoD, enclose a rather hefty fee (£30) and an attempt will be made to locate the files for you and send a copy.  You have to fill in the form stating your relationship to the deceased and also enclose a copy of their death certificate.  Genealogists enquiries get pushed to the back of the queue behind current and ex-servicemen and waiting times can stretch into weeks or months, depending on the information you can provide.  It can be quite a headache filling in the forms and sending proof of death or kinship, especially if you really aren't the next of kin.  I applied for my granddads records last year, but as his grandson I am not strictly speaking first in line on the list of kinship - my dad and his sisters are still alive.  I did bend the truth a bit and claimed that I was the next of kin just because I didn't want the extra aggro of my dad writing me a letter telling the MoD that he gave me permission to get his dad's records.  He would have done without a doubt, but it just seemed like too much paperwork, and it's not like I'm not entitled or won't be first in line at some point so it was only a little white lie.  Claim what you think you can get away with - just try not to get caught, especially for records that you don't have a right to.

Army records have to be obtained from an address in Glasgow (Kentigern House, various "MP" (mailpoint) numbers).  Naval inquiries should be directed to Portsmouth:

RN Disclosures Cell

Room 48

West Battery

Whale Island

Portsmouth

Hampshire

PO2 8DX

The form you'll need is here:

http://www.veterans-uk.info/pdfs/service...

Dates of service help, but as long as you have a full name and date of birth, that should be enough.

Answer 8

what do u want to know ? if its an inny or outy?

Answer 9

www.ancestry.com--on their home page go down left side where databases are listed, click link to see all titles, and then on next page click link on left for Military. These are some listed:

WWII U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Muster Rolls, 1939-1949 has

       1,041,700  names

U.S. WWII Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea, 1941-1946  has 80,427 names

Naval Pensioners of the United States --3,944  names



From a Yahoo search (US Navy records, WWII):

1. Navy Records Search

Govt-Files.com - Lookup anyones navy records now. Online public record resources.

2. WWII US Submarine lists records & history : Pacific World War 2 1941 1945

Detailed records and lists of the World War II WWII U.S. Navy submarine campaign ... WORLD WAR II US SUBMARINE. PACIFIC COMBAT RECORDS ...

www.valoratsea.com/records1.htm

3. How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service (DD ...

... staff will work directly with us to obtain the required records for the service. ... NOTE: Some records (Navy and Marine Corps enlisted personnel pre-1939) are in ...

archives.gov/veterans/.../get-service-...

4.Research Tips - Military Records

... information for US Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy service and ... from World War II through Vietnam, with a heavy concentration in WWII records. ...

www.armed-guard.com/searchre.html

If you had put his name in your question, it would have been easier to look up for you. The above 4 ads are from 11+ pages about Navy records.

Answer 10

I would apply here http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ but I am almost certain you have to be next of kin, with proof.

Answer 11

Naval archives or museum