Contents

Collection Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Selected Search Terms

Correspondence, 1924-1979

Speeches and Writings, 1924-1967

Subject File, 1916-1974

Classified, 1955-1967

Top Secret, 1955

North American Treaty Organization, 1955-1959

Bernard L. Austin Papers

A Finding Aid to the Papers in the Naval Historical Foundation Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Joseph K. Brooks with the assistance of Richard Ratamalaya

2008

Biographical Note

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Scope and Content Note

The papers of Bernard Lige Austin (1902-1979), a naval officer who achieved distinction as a commander of submarines and destroyers and as an administrator, educator, military diplomat, and press officer, span the years 1916-1979, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1937-1968. The collection is organized into series of Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, Subject File, Classified, Top Secret, and North American Treaty Organization. Austin attended The Citadel at Charleston in his native South Carolina before matriculating at the United States Naval Academy, from which he was graduated in 1924. His first independent command was as captain of the submarine R-11 during 1934-1937. In the late 1930s, while serving as a press officer for the Navy Department, Austin wrote articles on submarine warfare for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Book Encyclopedia. His submarine expertise was again called on late in his career when he presided over courts of inquiry investigating the loss of the nuclear powered submarines Thresher (1963) and Scorpion (1968).

Despite his many years in submarines, Austin's principal achievements came during his command of destroyers. His submarine experience proved useful in his first destroyer command, the Woolsey, in 1942 when he participated in the sinking of a German U-boat off Casablanca during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. In 1943, Austin commissioned the destroyer Foote and sailed it to the South Pacific, where he assumed the command of Destroyer Division Forty-Six, which with Destroyer Division Forty-Five comprised Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Three, Arleigh Burke's famed "Little Beavers", the only World War II destroyer squadron to be awarded a presidential citation.

In November 1943, Austin participated in two battles off the coast of Bougainville, British Solomon Islands, which resulted in the sinking of at least nine Japanese warships. He was awarded the Navy Cross and promoted to commodore, making him the youngest flag officer in the Navy at that time. His postwar commands included the supply ships of Service Squadron Three in Korean waters during 1950 and Cruiser Division Two (1954-1955) and the Second Fleet (1958-1959) in the Atlantic. Most of Austin's sea duty is well documented in the correspondence series. Included in the Subject File is a substantial amount of material on his World War II destroyer commands, "R" class submarines, submarine warfare in the early part of World War II, and the Thresher and Scorpion inquiries.

During 1944-1945, Austin served as assistant chief of staff for administration to Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of Allied naval forces in the Pacific (CINCPAC). Other administrative postings included stints on the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (1945-1946) and the staff of the National Security Council (1947-1948). During 1956-1958 he was director of the joint staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and during 1959-1960 he served as deputy chief of naval operations for plans and policy. All of these administrative and policy billets are well represented in the correspondence, and there are subject files on the National Security Council, State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee, and the reorganization of the armed services after World War II.

From 1960 to his retirement as vice admiral in 1964, Austin served as president of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he emphasized the coordination of curricula among armed forces graduate institutions. Approximately one-fourth of the correspondence results from Austin's years as president of the Naval War College, and several folders on the college, such as minutes of the academic board, are included in the Subject File.

Austin's first foray into military diplomacy was as a member of the Ghormley mission to Great Britain 1940-1941. The task of Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley, "special naval observer," was to negotiate the policy and technical details of naval cooperation between the United States and Great Britain in the event of United States entry into World War II. Austin, as Ghormley's deputy, was the only mission member other than the admiral to participate in all of the meetings with the British political and naval leadership, which included Winston Churchill and Admiral Sidney Bailey. Other postings involving foreign relations were as assistant director and eventually director of the Navy's International Affairs Division (1951-1954) and as chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board (1964-1967). Correspondence from the 1940-1941 period includes letters from Robert Ghormley. Austin corresponded with many South American naval officers during his service on the Inter-American Defense Board and maintained substantial contact through the 1970s with the Brazilian admiral Levy A. Reis. Subject files also includes material on the Ghormley mission and United States-British naval relations during the World War II period.

Austin felt that his role as Navy Department press relations officer during the period 1937-1940 was a major factor in his achieving flag rank. As a press officer, he developed his interest in oral communication into a professional skill. Some of the speeches in the Speeches and Writings File were ghostwritten by him for key naval civilian officials and admirals, such as secretary of the navy Charles Edison and chief of naval operations Harold R. Stark. Austin's correspondents during the period 1937-1940 included Hanson Baldwin, military correspondent of the New York Times.

The Subject File contains detailed material on Austin, including biographical sketches, orders, and personnel records.

Prominent correspondents not previously cited include George Whelan Anderson, Richard W. Bates, Wallace M. Beakley, Arleigh A. Burke, Richard G. Colbert, Richard L. Conolly, Robert L. Dennison, Neil K. Dietrich, Henry Effingham Eccles, Ernest McNeill Eller, Philip D. Gallery, Anthony Harrigan, John Tucker Hayward, Edwin Palmer Hoyt, Dennys W. Knoll, Leland Pearson Lovette, K. M. McManes, Charles L. Melson, Thomas H. Moorer, Chester W. Nimitz, Howard E. Orem, Robert C. Peniston, Paul H. Ramsey, W. R. Smedburg III, A. B. Vosseller, and Frank T. Watson.

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Selected Search Terms

People

• Anderson, George Whelan, 1906-1992--Correspondence.
• Austin, Bernard L. (Bernard Lige), 1902-1979.
• Baldwin, Hanson Weightman, 1903-1991--Correspondence.
• Bates, Richard W., 1892-1973--Correspondence.
• Beakley, Wallace M.--Correspondence.
• Burke, Arleigh A., 1901- --Correspondence.
• Colbert, Richard G., -1973--Correspondence.
• Conolly, Richard L. (Richard Lansing), 1892-1962--Correspondence.
• Dennison, Robert L. (Robert Lee), 1901-1980--Correspondence.
• Dietrich, Neil K.--Correspondence.
• Eccles, Henry Effingham, 1898- --Correspondence.
• Edison, Charles A., 1890-1969--Correspondence.
• Eller, Ernest McNeill, 1903- --Correspondence.
• Gallery, Philip D. (Philip Daly), 1907-1973--Correspondence.
• Ghormley, Robert Lee, 1883-1958.
• Harrigan, Anthony--Correspondence.
• Hayward, John Tucker, 1910- --Correspondence.
• Hoyt, Edwin Palmer--Correspondence.
• Knoll, Denys W.--Correspondence.
• Lovette, Leland Pearson, 1897- --Correspondence.
• McManes, K. M.--Correspondence.
• Melson, Charles L.--Correspondence.
• Moorer, Thomas H., 1912- --Correspondence.
• Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966--Correspondence.
• Orem, Howard E.--Correspondence.
• Peniston, Robert C.--Correspondence.
• Ramsey, Paul H. (Paul Hubert), 1905-1982--Correspondence.
• Smedburg, W. R.--Correspondence.
• Stark, Harold R. (Harold Raynsford), 1880-1972--Correspondence.
• Vosseller, A. B.--Correspondence.
• Watson, Frank T.--Correspondence.

Organizations

• Inter-American Defense Board.
• Naval War College (U.S.)
• United States. Navy Department.
• United States. Navy--Foreign service--Great Britain.
• United States. Navy--History--20th century.
• United States. Navy.Fleet, 2nd.
• United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
• United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.International Affairs Division.

Subjects

• Destroyers (Warships)--United States.
• Journalism, Military--United States.
• Korean War, 1950-1953--Naval operations.
• Military readiness.
• Submarines (Ships)--United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American.
• World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, British.

Occupations

• Naval officers.

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Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged in six series:

• Correspondence, 1924-1979
• Speeches and Writings, 1924-1967
• Subject File, 1916-1974
• Classified, 1955-1967
• Top Secret, 1955
• North American Treaty Organization, 1955-1959

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Container List

Correspondence, 1924-1979

Letters sent and received with attached related matter.

Organized into family and general correspondence and chronologically therein.

Family, 1936-1979, undated

General

1924, Sept.-1943, Dec. (5 folders)

1944, Jan.-1951, Aug. (6 folders)

1951, Sept.-1954, Dec. (7 folders)

See also Classified, Top Secret, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1955, Jan.-1958, Mar. (6 folders)

See also Classified and North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1958, Apr.-1959, Aug. (6 folders)

1959, Sept.-1961, July (6 folders)

1961, Aug.-1962, Aug. (7 folders)

1962, Sept.-1963, Dec. (6 folders)

1964, Jan.-Oct. (5 folders)

See also Classified 1964, Nov.-1967, May (7 folders)

See also Classified 1967, June-1979, Aug., undated (7 folders)

Speeches and Writings, 1924-1967

Speeches, statements, articles, article outlines, and poems by Austin and others.

Arranged by type of material and chronologically therein.

Speeches

By Austin

1924-1961 (6 folders)

1962-1963 (7 folders)

See also Classified 1963-1967, undated (6 folders)

Undated (2 folders)

By others

1930-1950 (4 folders)

1952-1964, undated (3 folders)

Ghostwritten by Austin, 1939-1948, undated

Writings

By Austin, 1924-1953, undated

By others

Poems, 1955, undated

Prose, 1931-1940, undated

Subject File, 1916-1974

Correspondence, awards, citations, newspaper clippings, drawings, cartoons, ship logs, maps, nautical charts, battle reports, press releases, notes, research material, orders, biographical sketches, resumes, personnel records, chronologies, administrative histories, minutes of meetings, records related to courts of inquiry, lectures, and transcripts of telephone conversations.

Organized alphabetically by topic or type of material and chronologically therein.

Aircraft carriers

Constellation fire, 1961

Forrestal christening, 1954

Awards, certificates, and citations, 1942-1964, undated

Biographical material, 1946-1960, undated

Burke, Arleigh, 1955, 1961, undated

Cartoons and drawings, undated

Charts and maps, 1916-1946, undated

Cruiser Division Two, 1951-1955, undated

Destroyers

Battles and operations, 1943-1963, undated

Converse, 1945

Destroyer Division Forty-Six, 1943

Destroyer Squadron Fourteen, 1944

Foote, 1943-1945, undated

Woolsey, 1942, undated

Imperial Defense College, London, England, 1948-1949

Inter-American Defense Board, 1964-1967, undated

International Affairs Division, United States Navy (OP-35), 1952-1953, undated

Miscellaneous, 1941-1959, undated (2 folders)

National Security Council, 1951-1953, undated

National War College, Washington, D.C., 1949, undated

Naval War College, Newport, R.I.

Academic Board Meetings, 1960-1964

Global strategy discussions, 1959

Miscellaneous, 1961-1963, undated

Lectures, 1952-1963

Second Conference of the War Colleges of the Americas, 1963

Reference cards, 1960-1963, undated (2 folders)(1 folder)

Navy News, Guam edition, Orders and personnel records, 1924-54 (5 folders) 1945

Orders and personnel records,

1924-1954 (5 folders)

1955-1968, undated (3 folders)

Press Relations Department, Navy Department, 1939, 1974, undated

Press releases,

1939-1946 (2 folders)

1957-1960 (2 folders)

Reorganization of armed services, 1944-1960, undated

Service Squadron Three, 1951-1953, undated

State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee, 1945, undated

Submarines

Encyclopedia articles by Austin, 1938-1940, undated

Miscellaneous, 1927-1940, undated

"R" class submarines, 1930-1937, undated

Scorpion

Correspondence, 1968-1969, undated

Miscellaneous, 1968, undated

Squalus, 1939, undated

Thresher

Correspondence

Miscellaneous, 1963 (4 folders)

Official, 1963

Summary of events, See also Classified 1963

Telephone conversations, 1963

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE),. 1955-1956, undated

United States-British naval relations

Administrative History of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, 1940-46, 1947 (1 folder)(2 folders)

ComNavEu monograph, United States-British Naval Relations 1939-1942, 1947, undated (2 folders)

Ghormley mission

Interview with Austin, 1966

Memoranda and notes, 1940-1941

Miscellaneous, 1940-1941, undated

U.S.-British Naval Cooperation 1940-45, undated (3 folders)

Classified, 1955-1967

Documents containing national security information removed from the collection.

Arranged and described according to the series and folders from which the items were removed.

Correspondence

General

(Container 4) 1955, Jan.-June

(Container 4) 1955, July-Aug.

(Container 4) 1955, Sept.-Dec.

(Container 5) 1958, Apr.-May

(Container 5) 1958, June-July

(Container 5) 1958, Oct.-Dec.

(Container 5) 1959, Jan.-May

(Container 10) 1965, Mar.-Aug.

(Container 10) 1965, Sept.-Dec.

(Container 10) 1966, Jan.-Apr.

(Container 10) 1966, Aug.-Dec.

(Container 10) 1967, Jan.-May

(Container 11) 1967, June-Dec.

Speeches and Writings

Speeches

By Austin, (Container 14) 1966

Subject File

Submarines

Thresher, summary of events, (Container 23) 1963

Top Secret, 1955

Documents containing national security information removed from the collection.

Arranged and described according to the series and folders from which the items were removed.

Correspondence

General, (Container 4) 1955, Jan.-June, undated

North American Treaty Organization, 1955-1959

Documents containing national security information removed from the collection.

Arranged and described according to the series and folders from which the items were removed.

Correspondence

General

(Container 4) 1955, Sept.-Dec.

(Container 5) 1958, Apr.-May

(Container 5) 1958, Oct.-Dec.

(Container 5) 1959, Jan.-May