Operational Records for the Royal Navy (since 1660)

The Operational Records for the Royal Navy can be divided into four main eras and then by categories of documents. The following breakdown is to provide some indication of the records available.

Pre-World War 1 (1914) Records
The Admiralty Board
Secretaries of State and Navy Board
Stations and Movements of HM Ships
Logs and Journals
Shipbuilding and Repair


First World War (1914 - 1918)
The Main Series of Records
Other First World War Records


Second World War (1939 - 1945)
Official Histories and Monographs
The Navy Lists
The Main Series of Operational Records and Reports
Other Operational Records and Reports
Ships Logs
Admiralty Records
Combined Operations
Naval Intelligence Records
Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Command
Photographs
Research and Design Records
Losses of Merchant Vessels


Post 1945 Operations and Policy
High Command
Specific Operations and Campaigns
Overseas Fleet and Station Records
Ships and Submarine Logs
Court Martial and Boards of Inquiry
Royal Marines
Fleet Air Arm


Pre-World War 1 (1914) Records

The Admiralty Board

For the pre-WW1 period the most important source for data on RN operations is the correspondence of the Admiralty Board. This record series can be difficult to use but it may be fruitful.

The Admiralty Board has both In- and Out-Letters. The In-Letters survive from about 1698 and include the reports of proceedings and other correspondence from Flag officers and commanding officers of HM ships, vessels and establishments. These are index from 1793.

Out-Letters for 1660 to 1869 are available but the series is incomplete. They include Lords Letters (signed by 3 or more Lord Commissioners), correspondence with the Secretary of State, formal orders to sea officers afloat and ashore, and various correspondence of the Admiralty Secretariat.

The same applies to the minutes of the Admiralty Boards and Lord Admirals' Councils from 1689 to 1802 and the rough minutes' (working papers) from 1793 to 1839 survive to the present day. These record the decisions taken by the Board and not the discussions that preceded or the motives which directed them.

Secretaries of State and Navy Board 

During the period 1689 to 1782 the control of strategy and naval policy rested with the Secretary of State. This was particularly so during wartime. The appropriate correspondence in State Papers Naval and the Navy Board contains much information on operations.

Stations and Movements of HM Ships

There are Abstracts of Ships' Journals, Muster Books and Stations of Ships via which it should be possible to discover the station and movement of HM ships. It may also be possible to discover the employment of HM ships. However the records combined are not complete.

Logs and Journals

There are Admirals' Logs (from 1702), Masters' Logs (detailing the ship's movements and the weather), Captains' Logs (shipboard routine and loss / damage of stores and any data the Captain felt appropriate) and Lieutenants' Logs (of anything thought appropriate by the Lieutenant.

Shipbuilding and Repair

The Progress Books for 1620 - 1912 give abstracts of the date, cost and nature of building, repairs and refitting work conducted on HM Ships. For the 19th century the Ships' Books give similar details but only a small selection of them have survived. Details of dimensions, reports on sailing qualities, draught and armaments may also be found but the series is far from complete.

First World War (1914 - 1918)

The main operational records for WW1 RN operations exclude those for administration, supply, research or personnel. These records are found outside of those discussed below.

The Main Series of Records

The best place to start with WW1 RN operations is the "Official History of the Great War". This multi volume series was produced by the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence and is based on the official records.

The papers used in the Official History are mainly "telegrams, signals and operational reports from ships, squadrons and stations covering individual actions and complete operations and campaigns" also included are details of convoys and minesweeping.

The papers not used in the Official History include those for (some) actions, courts of enquiry, casualties, recommendations for honours and awards for individual ships. Also excluded from the Official History are The Admiralty's own case files concerning larger operations and campaigns and operational reports for the RNAS & RNVR Anti Aircraft Corps, and Grand Fleet Orders.

Other First World War Records

The following briefly summaries other WW1 RN Operational Records:

a) Ships' and Submarines' Logs
b) Station Records - especially those for Nore, Portsmouth, Plymouth and the African Station
c) Admiralty Board - the minutes and memoranda of the Board, Admiralty Weekly and Monthly Orders, Minutes of the Reconstruction and Maintenance Committees
d) Royal Naval Division - War Diaries
e) Casualties (Personnel) - Officer casualties from the RN, (some) RM & Naval Reserve, Canadian and Australian navies 
f) Casualties (Ships) - Those lost 1914 -1919
g) Photographs of Ships - these are present in the archives but there is no index and there is no easy way of tracing them - The National Maritime Museum & Imperial War Museum are better sources of photographs
h) Publications - There are numerous intelligence report, Naval Staff Monographs, Monthly Returns of the distribution of HM Ships and the confidential version of the Navy List.

Second World War (1939 - 1945)

The integration of the armed forces, the civil government and allied forces was greater than on any previous occasion. As a result of this there is a large amount of material on naval operations located in records not relating specifically to the RN. These documents are not mentioned below. This guidance summary does not include records of the administration, supply, research or higher direction of the war. There are limited personnel records available and not all of the records on RN operations have been transferred into the public domain.

Official Histories and Monographs

The part of the Official History of the Second World War dealing with naval operations is entitled "The War at Sea". It was produced in two versions - a published version and a confidential set. The references in these publications use the old Admiralty system of registering papers which has been subsequently re-arranged. Unfortunately these references are now almost impossible to use.

There are Monographs on the development and operations of mines, minesweepers, net defences, anti-submarine weapons, demolitions, torpedo aircraft and submarine attacks.

The Navy Lists

The Confidential Edition of the Navy List is an excellent source of information on officers and ships. This includes location of ships in ports of all HM Ships and Air Squadrons, locations of minor war vessels in home waters, Landing Ships and Landing Craft etc and shipbuilding notes.

The Main Series of Operational Records and Reports

There are three main series of records. The original records of the Secretariat of the Admiralty comprise two of these series and the third series is a collection made by the Official Historians. The more popular topics amongst these records include:

a) Analysis of U Boat Attacks
b) Convoy Commodores' Reports
c) Operational Reports for the First Lord
d) Daily Summaries of Events
e) Fleet Air Arm - reports of actions
f) Anti-submarine reports
g) Operation Neptune (D-Day 6th June 1944)
h) South Atlantic Command
i) Submarine Patrol Reports
j) Trade Division of the Naval Staff
k) U Boat Incidents
l) War Diaries (commands and squadrons)
m) War Damage to Ships
n) X Cases (Naval Staff records) and Y Cases (various Flag Officers)

Other Operational Records and Reports

Various reports on actions and operations in the Channel are in the Portsmouth Station Records. The South Atlantic Station Records contain some material extracted from other stations. The Western Approaches Command's (incomplete) records consist of reports by Senior Officers of Escorts etc. These are indexed by convoy and by Senior Officers' Ships. No other station records have been transferred into the public domain. There are incomplete collections of Submarine Patrol Reports and Convoy Packs records. Unfortunately about half of these were destroyed.

Ships' Logs

There are surviving logs from submarines, destroyers, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and armed merchant cruisers. Naturally there are gaps due to enemy action and there are large gaps in the collection.

Admiralty Records

There are Admiralty records including Minutes of the Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Fleet Orders, The First Sea Lord's papers and minutes of the War Cabinet on the Battle of the Atlantic and Anti U Boat Warfare.

Combined Operations

Many of the records concerning Combined Operations are in the main series discussed above. The papers of the Combined Operations Headquarters have their own series and so too are those for the Royal Marine Headquarters (including the Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisations and RM Units' War Diaries) .

Naval Intelligence Records

Some of the reports and records of the Naval Intelligence Division (NID) are preserved in their own document series. These include transcripts of German naval wireless traffic (ENIGMA) and Special Intelligence Reports. It should be noted that selected ENIGMA traffic and documents relating to the Battle of the Atlantic have been published in 2 volumes by the Naval Records Society. Other intelligence records include daily / weekly intelligence summaries, "operational packs" regarding specific engagements / operations. Texts of enemy signals (naval and other) decrypted by the Government Code an Cypher School are also stored in their own series.

Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Command

Many ORBs for FAA Squadrons have survived and there are Reports of Proceedings regarding ships and squadrons. Coastal Command's papers are filed with those for the RAF (i.e. Coastal Command's ORBs and Headquarters Papers). There are no surviving Aircraft Carrier Flying Log Books but FAA & Coastal Command combat reports are filed with those for the RAF. The logs of some RAF personnel operating with the FAA have survived and operational / technological histories of the FAA are with the naval papers.

Photographs

Similar comments are to be made about WW2 ships' photographs as mentioned for WW1 ships' photographs above. 

Research and Design Records

These records are primarily those from the Admiralty Research Laboratory, Director of Naval Construction and the Directorate of Naval Operational Studies.

Losses of Merchant Vessels

Losses of Merchant Navy vessels were recorded in "Board of Trade: Register General of Shipping and Seamen: Daily Casualty Registers, War of 1939 - 1945.


Post 1945 Operations and Policy

High Command

The High Command consists of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Defence / Admiralty. The former creates the senior strategy and policy such as the annual Defence White Paper, Defence Reviews and major decisions. Most other defence policy matters after 1945 were increasingly dealt with by the Defence Committee. The Ministry of Defence hosts the Chiefs of Staff Committee consisted of the professional heads of the three armed services. In 1964 the Admiralty, War Office and the Air Ministry were amalgamated to form the Ministry of Defence. The Board of the Admiralty was dissolved and replaced by the Admiralty Board. As a result of this merger the registered paperwork for the operations and policy of the navy is more likely to be located in a separate series to those for the Admiralty.

Specific Operations and Campaigns

Generally there are records available for operations / campaigns such as Yangtse Incident (1949-50), the Korean War (1950-53), Suez Operations (1956) the First Cod War (1958-61) (but not the Second and Third Cod Wars), the Indonesia Confrontation (1963-65) and the Biera Patrol (1965-1974). With the exception of 7 pieces the papers relating to the Falklands War (1982) have not been released. 

Overseas Fleet and Station Records

Papers survive for the Mediterranean Station / Fleet (1843 - 1966), East Indies Station (1856 - 1960) and the Naval Commander in Chief, Germany (1945 - 1949).

Ships' and Submarine Logs

The ships' and submarine logs generally contain navigation and routine material but sometimes they have more specific information on particular incidents.

Court Martial and Boards of Inquiry

There are Court Martial records for post 1964 cases. Board of Inquiry records exist for pre 1951 and (approximately) post 1970.

Royal Marines

Unit War Diaries are kept for 1941 - 1967 and Unit Newsletters for post 1960. The latter are official internal documents written by and for each Commando. They often contain details of operations and social / sporting events.

Fleet Air Arm

The squadron records for 1943 -1955 provide a day to day account of operations of individual squadrons. Some contain unofficial accounts of recreational and social activities. There are accounts of aircraft trials, some squadron histories and accident summaries from 1967 onwards. Aircraft accident summaries from 1953 to 1955 are filed separately to those dating 1943 to 1962. Please note that there appears to be some slight overlapping of dates.