Navy



Archives Branch

Naval History and Heritage Command

805 Kidder Breese Street, SE

Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5060

Processor: Roy Grossnick (Updated Jun 2012).

John E. Dingwell Papers

COLL/172

Creator: Captain John E. Dingwell, USN

Extent: 18 boxes

6 cubic feet

Date Range: 1933-1959

Classification: The collection had an initial declassification review and all records were declassified in full.

Access: Open.

Scope and Content Notes

This collection (1933-1959) contains the manuscripts & research files of Dingwell's efforts to record the events of Dec 7, 1941. Included is the testimony of Adm. H.E. Kimmel taken in the official board of inquiry. A considerable amount of information about Adm. Harold Stark is also provided. Stark was CNO at the time of the attack.

Since the collection includes many manuscript copies (some of which have been revised), it is possible that Capt. Dingwell may have attempted to write separate books on Kimmel and Stark. Items include typed and hand-written copies, research notes, index cards, correspondence\memos, news clippings, travel vouchers, and misc. publications.

Biographical Data

Captain Dingwell as born in Boston, Massachusetts on 1 March 1987. Prior to his naval career, he attended Lowell Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving his degree in Electrical Engineering in 1918. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force on 14 December 1917, was enrolled and commissioned Ensign in the Reserve Force 7 June 1918. He transferred to the regular Navy the following September, after completing the Fourth Reserve Officers Class at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. He has served continuously in the various grades until named Captain, date of rank 10 June 1943.

Captain Dingwell completed the course of submarine instruction at Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut. After his detachment in February 1919, he served successively in the USS AL-10, USS R-13, USS CHICAGO (cruiser), USS S-10, USS S-25, and USS ARIZONA (battleship), until 1 July 1926, when he reported to the Naval Academy for a postgraduate course in Diesel Engineering. The following July, under the supervision of the Postgraduate School, he entered the Columbia University, New York, receiving his Master of Science degree there in 1928. He also completed Naval War College course in International Law, Strategy and tactics, and Command, qualifying for command of submarines.

After a brief attachment to the USS HOLAND (submarine tender), he reporte4d on 12 November 1928 to Commander, Submarine Division 19, Battle Fleet, as Division Engineering Officer, and on board submarine. He assumed duties as Aide on the Staff, Commander, Submarine Divisions, on 12 June 1929, an d after one year, on 27 June 1930, reported to Commander, Submarine Division 11, later changed to Submarine Division 8, as Engineering Officer. He was subsequently detached, and on 5 January 1932 reported to the Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, remaining in that billet until reporting on 31 May 1933 to the USS HOVEY to assume duty as Executive Officer. Detached in March 1935, he next had duty as Engineering Officer on the Staff of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 4, USS BORIE, flagship, until 8 June 1936.

Capain Dingwell returned to the Navy Yard, Philadelphia, for a tour of duty, until ordered to the USS CHICAGO, serving in that vessel from 30 April 1938 until 17 June 1939, when he reported for additional sea duty in command of the USS TRINITY (oiler) from 28 June 1939 to 17 August 1940. He reported the following month to the Bureau of Navigation, later redesignated Bureau of Naval Personnel. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, he was designated a member of the Staff of Commander, Southwest Pacific Force, serving from 25 January 1942 until detached in December 1944, concurrently having temporary additional duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Washington.

After several weeks temporary duty in the Bureau of Naval personnel, Captain Dingwell reported to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations on 26 January 1945, as a member of the overall Logistics Board, planning advance bases on a world-wide basis. In April 1947 he returned to sea duty as Commanding Officer of the USS GENERAL WILLIAM MITCHELL (transport), from which he was detached in the summer of 1948, and after a brief period in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, he returned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 23 August 1948, as Chief of Logistics War Plans Branch, under the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Logistics).

Captain Dingwell had several other tours of duty before retiring on 1 July 1954.

Box and Folder Listing

Box 1

1. MANUSCRIPT: MIDSHIPMAN TO CMDR CHAPTER 1

2. MANUSCRIPT: LIMITATION OF ARMAMENTS CHAPTER 2

3. MANUSCRIPT: CMDR TO ADM CHAPTER 3

4. MANUSCRIPT: THE INT'L SITUATION-1939 ( 1 ) CHAPTER 4

5. MANUSCRIPT: THE INT’L SITUATION-1939 ( 2 ) CHAPTER 4

6. MANUSCRIPT: ORGANIZATION OF US NAVY CHAPTER 5

7. MANUSCRIPT: THE CNO ( 1 ) CHAPTER 6

BOX 2

1. MANUSCRIPT: THE CNO ( 2 ) CHAPTER 6

2. MANUSCRIPT: THE BLDG PROGRAM CHAPTER 7/8

3. MANUSCRIPT: US DESTROYERS & BRITISH BASES CHAPTER 9

4. MANUSCRIPT: SPECIAL PROBLEMS, INCIDENTS, &

WORLD AFFAIRS CHAPTER 10/11

5. MANUSCRIPT: WAR PLANS CHAPTER 12

BOX 3

1. MANUSCRIPT: SPECIAL PROBLEMS, INCIDENTS, &

WORLD AFFAIRS CHAPTER 13/14

2. MANUSCRIPT: ATTACKS ON US SHIPS-SHOOTING

ORDERS, ATL/PAC CHAPTER 15

3. MANUSCRIPT: THE WARNING MESSAGES OF NOV 27,

1941 CHAPTER 15 (?)

4. MANUSCRIPT: REORGANIZATION OF THE NAVY CHAPTER 26

5. MANUSCRIPT: EARLY MONTHS OF WW II (1) CHAPTER 26 (?)

6. MANUSCRIPT: EARLY MONTHS OF WW II (2) CHAPTER 26

7. MANUSCRIPT: ESTAB. OF US NAVY IN EUORPE CHAPTER 27

BOX 4

1. MANUSCRIPT: CMDR-US NAVAL FORCES-EUROPE CHAPTER 28

2. MANUSCRIPT: US NAVAL ACTIVITIES-G.B. CHAPTER 29

3. MANUSCRIPT: RETIREMENT CHAPTER 30

4. MANUSCRIPT: BIBLIO/INDEX

5. MANUSCRIPT: APPENDIX

6. MANUSCRIPT: PREFACE, US/JAP RELATIONS PRIOR

TO 1940 CHAPTER 1

7. MANUSCRIPT: THE INVESTIGATION CHAPTER 2

8. MANUSCRIPT: JAN 1 - JUN 30, 1940 CHAPTER 3

BOX 5

1. MANUSCRIPT: JUL 1 - DEC 30, 1940

2. MANUSCRIPT: WAR PLANS & UNITY OF COMMAND

3. MANUSCRIPT: JAN 1 - FEB 28, 1941

4. MANUSCRIPT: MAR 1 - MAY 31, 1941

5. MANUSCRIPT: JUN 1 - JUL 31, 1941

6. MANUSCRIPT: AUG 1 - AUG 31, 1941

7. MANUSCRIPT: SEP 1 - SEP 30, 1941

8. MANUSCRIPT: OCT - OCT 31, 1941

9. MANUSCRIPT: NOV 1 - NOV 15, 1941

BOX 6

1. MANUSCRIPT: NOV 16 - NOV 24, 1941 CHAPTER 13

2. MANUSCRIPT: NOV 24/25, 1941 CHAPTER 14

3. MANUSCRIPT: NOV 27 - NOV 30, 1941 CHAPTER 16*

4. MANUSCRIPT: DEC 1 - DEC 4, 1941 CHAPTER 17

5. MANUSCRIPT: DEC 5/6, 1941 CHAPTER 18

6. MANUSCRIPT: DEC 7 , 1941 CHAPTER 19

7. MANUSCRIPT: THE ATTACK 1941 CHAPTER 20

8. MANUSCRIPT: REVIEW OF SOME MAJOR ISSUES (l) CHAPTER 21

9. MANUSCRIPT: REVIEW OF SOME MAJOR ISSUES ( 2) CHAPTER 21

10. MANUSCRIPT: APPENDIX

* CHAPTER 15 MISSING

BOX 7

1. MANUSCRIPT CHAPTERS 1-10

2. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 11-16

3. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 18-20

4. MANUSCRIPT: PEARL HARBOR

5. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTERS 22-29

6. MANUSCRIPT: STARK AWARDS/MISC

7. MANUSCRIPT: NEWS CLIPPINGS

8. MANUSCRIPT: TRAVEL EXPENSES-ADM STARK

9. MANUSCRIPT: COPYRIGHT FILES

BOX 8

1. MANUSCRIPT CHAPTER 7

2. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 8

3. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 9

4. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 10

5. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 11

6. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 12

7. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 13

8. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 14

9. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 15

10. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 26

11. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 27

12. MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 28

BOX 9

1. LETTERS TO ADM KIMMEL 1941

2. COUNSEL RPT - P. HARBOR COMMITTEE

3. COUNSEL RPT – P. HARBOR COMMITTEE

4. LOG-SECNAV CRUISE, USS INDIANAPOLIS

5. MANUSCRIPT: STARK BIO; APPENDIX/BIBLIOGRAPHY/INDEX

BOX 10

1. NAV COURT OF INQUIRY-FACT FINDING

2. LETTERS-STARK: TO/FROM KIMMEL 1941

3. SUBJECT FILE: PEARL HARBOR ATTACK HEARINGS (FOLDER 1)

4. SUBJECT FILE: PEARL HARBOR ATTACK HEARINGS (FOLDER 2)

BOX 11

1. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 1-3

2. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 4-6

3. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 7-8

4. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 9-11

5. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 12-14

6. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 15-17

BOX 12

1. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR CHAPTER 17-21

2. MANUSCRIPT: EARLY EVENTS LEADING TO P. HARBOR

3. MANUSCRIPT: EVENTS LEADING TO P. HARBOR

4. MANUSCRIPT: EVENTS LEADING TO P. HARBOR PRIOR TO APR 1941

5. MANUSCRIPT: EVENTS LEADING TO P. HARBOR MISC (1)

6. MANUSCRIPT: EVENTS LEADING TO P. HARBOR MISC (2)

BOX 13

1. MANUSCRIPT: MANY ROADS TO P. HARBOR

2. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR

3. MANUSCRIPT: ATTACK

4. MANUSCRIPT: ATTACK

5. MANUSCRIPT: CONCLUSIONS

6. MANUSCRIPT: APPENDIX

BOX 14

1. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR FROM CNO STANDPOINT (FOLDER 1 )

2. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR FROM CNO STANDPOINT (FOLDER 2 )

3. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR FROM CNO STANDPOINT

4. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR FROM CNO STANDPOINT

5. MANUSCRIPT: P. HARBOR FROM CNO STANDPOINT

BOX 15

1. CORRESPONDENCE/MEMOS 1939-77

2. CONFERENCE NOTES

3. STARK TESTIMONY

4. ADM STARK-ORDERS 1938-59

5. INDEX CARDS ( 1 ) A-J

6. INDEX CARDS ( 2 ) L-Z

BOX 16

1. CORRESPONDENCE 1949-59

2. MANUSCRIPT - CORRESPONDENCE/INVESTIGATIONS

3. MANUSCRIPT - MISC

4. MANUSCRIPT - MISC

5. MANUSCRIPT - MISC

BOX 17

1. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

2. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

3. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

4. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

5. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

6. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

7. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

BOX 18

1 MANUSCRIPT-MISC

2. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

3. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

4. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

5. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

6. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

7. MANUSCRIPT-MISC

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