1. Where did you get your records?

All records have been collected from the National Archives at College Park, MD. Many records have a watermark or declassification tag attesting to this fact. The collecting researcher is also willing to sign an affidavit regarding the source of the document, upon request.

2. What kinds of records do you have?

Our records come in a variety of forms. Most commonly product identification is supplied by: Machinery & Hull Synopses, blueprints, Material Inspection Reports, General Information Books, correspondence, purchase orders, Departure Reports, Shortages Lists, etc. We have whatever we could find to produce your desired end-result: a comprehensive list of Product ID aboard each ship.

3. What if I don't see the ship I'm looking for?

We primarily collect records on ships built prior to 1961-- focusing, of course, on those ships which saw the highest volumes of servicemen (i.e., Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers, Tender Ships, Subs, Battleships). If the ship you want is not listed, do not lose hope! Some of the more obscure or older hulls have not been included, in order to keep the site easily navigable for the more common stuff. Contact us, and we'll let you know if we have what you're looking for. 

4. I'm only looking for one manufacturer. Can you tell me whether Ingersoll-Rand manufactured anything aboard my ship? 

Unfortunately, we cannot charge you for selected manufacturers. However, if you give us a list of manufacturers in which you are interested, we can give you ALL of the records regarding the ship in question, along with a handy table enumerating Machinery Name, Manufacturer, and the name of the identifying document.

Before you get unhappy about this answer: remember, our pricing takes into account that you don't care about every piece of paper we painstakingly found, copied, digitized and sent to you. We charge a low flat rate, whether there are 3 or 40 solvent manufacturers on your ship.

5. How long until I get my records?

We ask that you give us 24 hours to see and respond to your request. Once we become alerted to your inquiry, we can usually send your documents immediately. (If you have time constraints, please specify them in your request).

6. What are "partial" records?

Whereas "complete" or "comprehensive" records indicate that almost all pumps and major machinery, or else all pumps, machinery and valves are documented, "partial records" refers to...anything else. This may indicate that we have a Material Inspection Report (specifying all major machinery, with maybe a miscellaneous extra id or two), or perhaps we just have documentation of a Buffalo Main Feed Pump and a Crane valve. To make this even less helpful, we will add that some records are as complete as they are ever going to be (i.e., we have exhausted the Archives' files, but the ship remains less than completely documented). 

As a rule of thumb, a "complete" ship should have 20 or more individual equipment id's. 

A "partial" ship will usually have less than 12. Believe it or not, there's not a lot in-between.

7. Do you offer bulk pricing for multiple ships?

Absolutely. Contact us, and we will see how we can best meet the needs of your firm. In fact, our entire database is available for purchase for high-volume firms.

8. What is a Machinery & Hull Synopsis? 

A Machinery & Hull Synopsis will list the manufacturer of every major piece of machinery aboard a ship (Main Turbines/Engines, Boilers, Air Compressors, Condensers, Distilling Plant, Refrigerating Plant, and ALL permanent Pumps). They do not typically have valve data, but we can supplement most synopses with this information.  Contact us to arrange a transfer of all documents. 

9. Why isn't my question in the FAQ's?

We bet you have a great question! Please contact us using our Contact feature.  This site will be updated frequently with new questions and improved functionality.