SEAMANSHIP AND NAVIGATION

Background Sources

Encyclopedia Britannica.

Pacific War Encyclopedia. (Reference Shelves  D 767.9 .D86 1998)

Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers.  (Reference Shelves D 736 .A63 1996

Dictionary of the Second World War.  (Reference Shelves D 740 .W47)

Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II. (Reference Shelves D 743.2 .M37 1981)

Great Battles of World War II. (Reference Shelves and Indexes D 743 .M16 1997)

History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. This is the official history of the Navy during WW II by Samuel Eliot Morison.  In particular, volume four of the set addresses the action at Midway.  Copies of this book are in Reference and the circulating collection at call number D 773 .M6.

Bibliography

INNOPAC, The Nimitz Library Online Catalog.   The best way to identify materials in the Nimitz Library collection on the battle of Midway is to search the online catalog.   The Nimitz Library continues to purchase materials on World War II, including materials about the war in the Pacific.  If you are looking for an item that was mentioned in any of the background sources (see above) you can check the online catalog by author or title (known item searching).  Another approach would be to search the catalog by keyword or subject.  Listed below are some of the subject headings that can be searched to identify materials on the Battle of Midway.

Midway, Battle Of 1942      (currently identifies more than 32 items)

World War 1939 1945 Naval Operations American (more than 560 items)

World War 1939   1945 Pacific Ocean (more than 240 items)

An alternative approach would be to search more specific subjects, including the names of ships (USS Enterprise) or the names of personnel involved (Spruance, Nimitz, Nagumo,).  

In some cases searching the catalog by Keyword, as opposed to subject will be helpful in identifying materials.

Printed Bibliographies 

There are several printed bibliographies that can be used to identify journal articles, books, reports and other materials.  These items are helpful as they are organized by specific topics, such as aircraft squadrons, reference to other collections, etc.

Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, 1942; A Selected Bibliography (Reference Shelves D 774 .C63 S5628 1991)

World War II at Sea; a Bibliography of Sources in English, 3 volume set.  (Reference Shelves D 770 .S52 1976)

World War II in Asia and the Pacific and the War’s Aftermath.  (Reference Shelves D 767 .W67 1998)

Collections on Microfilm

The Nimitz Library contains several microfilm collections that include important primary source materials relating to the Battle of Midway.  To use these collections, go the Micro Reading Room on the first floor of the library.  Using the call number listed below, find the paper guide for each collection which will identify microfilm reel and frame to obtain specific materials.  Microfilm reels are located in the cabinets, under the same call number as the guide.

U.S. Navy Action and Operational Reports from World War II, Pacific Theatre, Part 1. (Micro D 767 .U52 Pt. 1, Printed Guide and 21 reels of microfilm.)

Map Room Files of President Roosevelt, Military Subjects.  (Micro D 769 .A2 .M36, Printed Guide and 27 reels of microfilm.)

Map Room Files of President Roosevelt, Naval Operational Files.  (Micro D 769 .A2 .M365, Printed Guide and 21 reels or microfilm.)

Websites  

A very good website is one that was created by the Naval Historical Center.  The site includes many details such as Order of Battle, U.S. Navy action reports and oral histories.  The web address is http://history.navy.mil/midway.htm.

The Naval Institute has published several oral histories by veterans who fought at the Battle of Midway.  The web address to a listing of the oral histories is http://www.usni.org/oralhistory/oralhistorycatalog.htm. Many of these oral histories can be found in the Special Collections area of the Nimitz Library or at the Naval Institute Library, located in Beach Hall on Hospital Point.

Journals and Newspapers

The Nimitz Library Collection is an excellent place to find 1942 journal articles and some newspaper articles about the Battle of Midway.  For example, the Library owns Life Magazine and Time Magazine from 1942.  These items can be found on the second deck of the Library, filed by the title of the journal.  To make identifying journal articles easier, the Library provides several research indexes, in book form and online.  The most promising indexes are:

• Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature  (Index Table 5)
• U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings Index 1874 To 1977. (Index Table 9)
• New York Times Index.  (Reference Collection AI 21 .N45)

• For more recent articles about the Battle of Midway, please consult the following indexes.
• America: History and Life 
• Historical Abstracts 

Additional Assistance is available at the Nimitz Library Reference Desk, ext 3-6946

Some of the links on this page may be to sites that are not located at the United States Naval Academy. The USNA is not responsible for the content found on these sites. In addition, the content of these sites does not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards, policy or endorsement of the Naval Academy or the United States Government.

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URL: http://www.usna.edu/Library/Seamanship/Midway.html
Last updated: 24 October 2005