Ship's Commissioning Speech

Question

Does the National Archives maintain US Navy ships commissioning speeches from the World War II era? Searching specifically for the USS Silversides SS-236 Launching or Commissioning remarks at Mare Island Navy Yard August 1941. I have searched Naval History and Heritage Command and Navsource.

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

Jane Ladley 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 The National Archives does not maintain a dedicated list of all US Navy commissioning speeches. If the speech you are looking for was retained as a permanent record, it may be located in one of several record groups, including: 
 Record Group 19: Records of the Bureau of Ships 
 Record Group 38: Records of the Chief of Naval Operations 
 Record Group 181: Records of Navy Installations Command, Navy Regions, Naval Districts, and Shore Establishments 
 Record Group 428: General Records of the Department of the Navy 
 As you can see, this covers a broad swath of records that will require significant time to examine in full. We regret that we are not staffed to conduct the extensive research necessary to fulfill your request. However, we would be happy to make any records of interest available to you or your representative in our research room. To make an appointment to visit the National Archives, please visit the Textual Research Room Appointments page. All researchers must register for a NARA Researcher Card. Researchers are further encouraged to pre-register in advance of a visit. This process consists of two parts, including completing the Online Researcher Orientation and Online Kiosk Registration . 
 Should you be unable to come to the National Archives, you may wish to hire a professional researcher. A list of some of these researchers can be viewed at https://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help . 
 In addition to the above, the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, MI may be able to assist you in locating the ship&rsquo;s commissioning speech. We recommend contacting them via their website to learn more about their holdings. 
 We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 Sincerely, 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 [RR2RR 24-56589-BAK]