PRIMARY SOURCES

OVERVIEW

• Bauer, K. Jack and Roberts, Stephen S., Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990, Major Combatants. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1991 — statistical information from official sources.
• Whitley, M.J., Destroyers of World War Two, an international encyclopedia. Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2000 — all destroyers completed or laid down during the period 1939–1945 by all the world’s naval powers.

OPERATIONS

• Crenshaw, Russell Sydnor, Jr., South Pacific Destroyer. Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1998 — first-person account by a participant in the Solomon Islands campaign.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown & Co., 1947–1962 — 15 volumes; definitive; comprehensive.
• O’Hara, Vincent P, The US Navy Against the Axis, Surface Combat 1941–45, Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2007 — description and analysis of every surface action involving major American warships.
• Pratt, Fletcher, Night Work, The Story of Task Force 39. New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1946 — “Tip” Merrill’s “Hollywood Squadron,” including descriptions of actions of DesRons 21, 22 and 23 in the Solomon Islands.
• Rohwer, Jurgen, Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945, Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2005 — fifty years of compilation of the naval history of World War II.
• Roscoe, Theodore, United States Destroyer Operations in World War II. Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1953 — basic reference regarding detailed operations of destroyers and destroyer escorts, with many charts and photographs.

DESIGN

• Friedman, Norman, U.S. Destroyers, an illustrated design history. Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1982 — general development of the American destroyer from the steam torpedo boat to the present.
• Raven, Alan, Fletcher-class Destroyers. Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1986 — photographs and line drawings.
• Reilly, John C., Jr., United States Navy Destroyers of World War II. Poole, Dorset, UK, Blandford Press, 1983 — perhaps the best one-book description of “third- and fourth-generation” American destroyers and the process by which these classes evolved.
• Walkowiak, Thomas F., The Floating Drydock’s Plan Book: Fletcher Class Destroyers of World War Two. Treasure Island, FL, The Floating Drydock, 1988 — extensive photos and drawings for high- and low-bridge Fletchers for modelers.

SECONDARY SOURCES

OVERVIEW

• Alden, Comdr. John D., Flush Decks & Four Pipes, Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1965 — a complete history of the class and its metamorphosis as needs changed.
• Dickey, J. L., II, A Family Saga, Flush Deck Destroyers, 1917–1955 — study of the flush-deck four-stack destroyers, the era in which they served and their operations.
• Worth, Richard, Fleets of World War II; Cambridge, MA, Da Capo Press, 2001 — useful overview in a few paragraphs.

OPERATIONS

• Calhoun, C. Raymond, Typhoon: The Other Enemy, the Third Fleet and the Pacific Storm of December 1944. Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1981 — first person account and analysis from Dewey’s commanding officer.
• Crenshaw, Russell Sydnor, Jr., The Battle of Tassafaronga. Baltimore, Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1995 — detailed tactical analysis by a participant.
• Dull, Paul S., A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1941–1945). Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1978 — the Pacific war from the Japanese viewpoint.
• Hailey, Foster, Pacific Battle Line. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1944 (see excerpts on this web site).
• Hara, Tameichi, Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York, Ballantine, 1961.
• Newcomb, Dick, U.S. Destroyers of the World Wars. Paducah, Kentucky, Turner Publishing Company, 1994 — featuring extensive history with tables reflecting extensive research, though containing some errors, mis-emphases; valuable for biographies of destroyer namesakes amd memories of selected shipmates.

DESIGN

• Ross, Al, Anatomy of the Ship, USS The Sullivans; Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1988 — extensive line drawings, descriptive text and photos.
• Sumrall, Robert F., Sumner–Gearing-class destroyers: their design, weapons, and equipment, Annapolis, United States Naval Institute, 1995 — comprehensive, illustrated description; also with detailed discussion of predecessor classes.

SHIP-SPECIFIC

• Emmons (DD 457; DMS 22) — Billingsley, Edward Baxter The Emmons Saga. Lincoln, Nebraska, iUniverse, Inc., 2005 — the finest single-ship destroyer history from World War II, meticulously researched and brilliantly written by a former commanding officer-turned-history professor.
• Kidd (DD 661) — O’Hara, Kelly, Wolfe, Larry W., and Wolfe, Lisa J., History of the USS Kidd and the Fletcher-class destroyers. Paducah, Kentucky, Turner Publishing Company, 1992 — detailed history of Kidd; also contains biographies of namesakes and histories of all Fletcher-class destroyers and memories of selected shipmates.
• Cassin Young (DD 793) — Harmon, J. Scott, U.S.S. Cassin Young (DD-793) A Fletcher Class Destroyer. Missoula, Montana, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1984 — including good introductions to The Destroyer: All Purpose Ship and Fletcher Class Destroyer.

REFLECTING RESEARCH FROM THIS WEBSITE

• McComb, Dave, US Destroyers 1934–45, Pre-War Classes. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2010 — illustrated overview of design and World War II operations of the US destroyer classes designed during the 1930s.
• McComb, Dave, US Destroyers 1942–45, Wartime Classes. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2010 — illustrated overview of design and World War II operations of the Fletcher, Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes.

RESEARCH SOURCES

PUBLIC

• American Naval Records Society (ANRS) — documentary sources on-line.
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) — original photos, deck logs, action reports and other documents.
• Naval Historical Foundation — preserving and promoting the naval history of the United States.
• Naval History & Heritage Command — official historical information concerning the US Navy including photographs and the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
• The US Naval Institute — for the advancement of professional, literary, and scientific knowledge in the maritime services.

PRIVATE

• Destroyer Escort Sailors Association — with extensive history section.
• Tin Can Sailors — the national association of destroyer veterans.
• The Floating Drydock — supplier of US Navy warship information.

WEB SOURCES

BASIC REFERENCE

• Global Security destroyers and frigates.
• Haze Gray & Underway naval history and photography.
• Hyperwar — World War II official US government histories, source documents and primary references with hyperlinks.
• NavSource — Destroyer photo archives by Fred Willshaw and destroyer escorts by Mike Smolinski.
• Navy Yard Associates — quality books and superior art work.
• US Navy Warship Camouflage — an on-line database of camouflage and radio call signs.

COLLECTIONS

• Combat Stories of World War II by Ernie Herr — including Horror at Guadalcanal, a fast-moving battle report as seen from the deck of O’Bannon, and the Maine Potato Episode
• Sailor’s Diary, World War II naval art collection by George S. Eisenberg — more than 350 works of fine art from his tour in La Vallette.
• Long Lancers — Japanese destroyers in World War II.