Seeking Deck logs of USS Nimitz

Dear Mr. Dowdy,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941 - 1983 in the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24) that include the deck logs of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) for May 1981. For access to and/or copies of these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Videos of the accident might be in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures Branch (RDSM). To request a search, please contact RDSM via email at mopix@nara.gov.  You also may contact the The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS)  and the The Media Library of the Department of Defense.  If videos of this incident are still in Navy custody and are still restricted, you may need to file a  FOIA request with the Navy.

U.S. Navy aircraft accident reports after 1972 are in the custody of the Commander, Naval Safety Center, Code 055, 375A Street, Norfolk, VA 23511.

We searched online and located two 1981 photographs in the collections of the Naval Naval Aviation Museum depicting the aftermath of an aircraft crash on the Nimitz.  See NNAM.1996.488.210.144 and NNAM.1996.488.210.135. There is also a description of a May, 1981 crash on the Nimitz (CVN-68) page published by the Naval History and Heritage Command. We also located a file on the website of the The Navy JAG Library relating to a 27 May 1981 EA-6B Accident Aboard USS Nimitz.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!