Seeking ships logs of USS Nashville (CL-43)

Dear Mr. Calvert,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, 1801 - 1940 in the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24) that includes the deck logs of the USS Nashville (CL-43) for 6 June 1938 through December 1940. For information about these logs, please contact the National Archives at Washington DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at archives1reference@nara.gov.

We also 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 includes the deck logs of the USS Nashville (CL-43)  from January 1941 through 24 June 1946. Plus, we located World War II Action and Operational Reports in the Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Record Group 38) that may include reports submitted by the USS Nashville. For more information, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

In addition, we located Moving Images Relating to Military Activities, ca. 1947 - 1980 in the General Records of the Department of the Navy (Record Group 428) that includes 10 films relating to the USS Nashville. For more information, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RDSM) via email at mopix@nara.gov.

Next, we located Color Photographs of U.S. Navy Activities, 1939 - 1958 in the General Records of the Department of the Navy (Record Group 80) that includes 6 photographs of the USS Nashville which have been digitized and are available online using the Catalog. Plus, we located General Photographic File, 1900 - 1941 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127) that includes the file Vessels - Ships - N: USS Nashville - North Dakota. These records have not been digitized.  There may be additional photographs in other series that have not been digitized yet. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RDSS) at stillpix@nara.gov to request a search for photographs of specific ships.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1, RDT2, RDSM, and RDSS. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Further, we located World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, ca. 1/1/1942 - ca. 6/1/1946 in the Record Group 38 that contains war diaries and reports concerning the USS Nashville’s activities during World War II. These records have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog.  Please note that the Catalog does not always list files in chronological order.

We searched the website of the Naval History and Heritage Command and located an article about Nashville II (CL-43) as well as multiple photographs.

Finally, the unofficial website NavSource has a page on the USS Nashville.

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