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Series II. Unpublished materials

 Series
Identifier: MSC-069

Scope and Content Note

From the Collection:

The collection consists of fifty-one boxes of published and unpublished research source material, as well as a small collection of personal papers.

Series I, published material, contains a variety of research materials collected by Layton. It is divided into four subseries. Select volumes of Senshi Sosho, the official Japanese History of World War II, along with portions that were photocopied and hand bound by Layton form the first subseries. This material is in Japanese. Books, including works on naval intelligence, Japanese ship lists, both in English and Japanese, comprise subseries II. Subseries III contains copies of journal and magazine articles, book reviews and chapters of books on intelligence and military topics for the World War II period, as well as portions of a U.S. Naval Institute Oral History with Captain Joseph Rochefort. Strategic area planning maps of the Pacific Ocean are in subseries IV.

Series II, unpublished material, contains, for the most part, documents that can also be found in the records of the National Security Agency located in the National Archives. Subseries I contains histories (SRH) treating aspects of radio intelligence in the war; memoranda of the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, as well as minutes of Committee meetings; OP-20 reports on Japanese Grand Maneuvers; Japanese reports on allied communications; a Naval Security Group history and the War Diary of the Combat Intelligence Unit covering the years 1941–1947. Subseries II houses Japanese Naval Radio Intelligence summaries of Japanese naval activities for the years 1942–1945, designated SRNS. Miscellaneous records pertaining to Japanese Naval Communications for 1942 (SRNM) are in subseries III. Translations of Japanese naval messages, 1941–1942, appear in subseries IV. Subseries V contains CINCPAC messages for 1942 along with Layton’s handwritten notebooks with comments on the messages and a Japanese diplomatic message of April 17, 1941. All of the above material is in English. Cassette tapes of oral history interviews with Layton conducted by Pineau and Costello, draft chapters of And I Was There, excerpts from ships’ logs, translations of accounts of naval operations in the Pacific Ocean area, notecards, research files, photographs, maps, personal letters, and articles comprise the final subseries.

Series III, personal papers, 1924–1976, contains a number of items, including correspondence regarding the establishment of the Layton Chair of Intelligence at the Naval War College, Layton’s retirement from the Navy, and an oral history interview conducted by the Naval Institute. Biographical material, certificates, books, pamphlets, photographs, maps, and a draft copy of

Dates

  • Creation: 1924 - 1986

Creator

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Materials are in English and Japanese.

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to all researchers, unless otherwise specified.

Repository Details

Part of the Naval War College Archives Repository

Contact:
US Naval War College
686 Cushing Rd
Newport RI 02841 US