Collection Summary
Herbert Bain Knowles
Papers
1941-1945
1941-1945
MSS12112
Knowles, Herbert Bain,
1894-1976
400 items
5 containers plus 1 oversize
2 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer.
Correspondence, orders to duty, subject files concerning invasion plans and
occupation reports for Guam, Japan, Kwajalein Islands (Marshall Islands), Leyte
Island (Philippines), Lingayen (Luzon, Philippines), Okinawa Island (Japan),
Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands), and Tarawa Atoll (Kiribati), and printed
matter relating to Knowles's service with the Amphibious Forces in the Pacific
during World War II.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Forrestal, James, 1892-1949--Correspondence.
Kauffman, James Laurence, 1887-1963--Correspondence.
Knowles, Herbert Bain, 1894-1976.
Stone, George Roben, 1909-1943--Correspondence.
Organizations
United States. Navy.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945--Amphibious operations.
World War, 1939-1945--Guam.
World War, 1939-1945--Japan.
World War, 1939-1945--Kiribati.
World War, 1939-1945--Marshall Islands.
World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Northern Mariana Islands.
World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Ocean.
World War, 1939-1945--Philippines.
Places
Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands)--History.
Leyte Island (Philippines)--History.
Lingayen (Philippines)--History.
Okinawa Island (Japan)--History.
Saipan--History.
Tarawa Atoll (Kiribati)--History.
United States--History, Naval.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Herbert Bain Knowles, naval officer, were deposited in
the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1968 and
converted to gift in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Herbert Bain Knowles were arranged and described in
1983. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
Additional Guides
In 1983 the Library published
William Frederick Halsey, Jr., Ernest Joseph King, and Herbert
Bain Knowles: Registers of Their Papers in the Library of
Congress.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Herbert Bain
Knowles is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Herbert Bain Knowles are open to research. Researchers
are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Herbert Bain Knowles Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1894, Mar. 20
Born, North Newburg, Maine
1913
1917
Student, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1917
Commissioned ensign
1919
Married Helen Kamp
1920
1926
Duty in USS
Arkansas
and submarine service
1922
First command, submarine USS
S-9
1928
1940
Served in submarines, on surface vessels, with Bureau of
Engineers, and as District operations officer, Fourteenth Naval
District
1941
Commander, USS
Heywood
1942
Promoted to captain
1943
1945
Commanded Transport Division 18, Transport Squadron 12, and
Transport Division 34
1945
1946
Assistant chief of staff for operations, First Naval District,
Boston, Mass.
1947
Promoted to rear admiral
Retired
1976, Mar. 3
Died, Portland, Maine
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Herbert Bain Knowles (1894-1976) cover the years
1941-1945 and describe Knowles’s service in the United States Navy’s
amphibious forces in the Pacific during World War II. The collection traces the
American advance across the Pacific Ocean to Japan via the Solomon Islands,
Attu, Kiska, Tarawa, Kawajalein, Saipan, Guam, Leyte, Lingayen, and Nagasaki,
Japan, during 1942-1945.
Included are mimeographs and carbon copies of after action reports of
Knowles and others, conference notes, service communications, operation plans
and orders for assault landings and training exercises, marine division field
reports, Knowles’s unpublished “History of U.S.S. Heywood,” and his war diaries or monthly logs of
Transport Division 18 and Transport Squadron 12. Also included are photographs
of the Leyte beachhead and a military intelligence bulletin. Personal materials
consist of a few items of correspondence, health reports, orders, response to
orders, vouchers, and similar documents depicting Knowles’s naval life while
not in combat or engaged in ship and troop deployment.
Knowles was a pioneer and innovator in the art of assault troop
landings. His ideas and innovations, as found in his operational plans and
orders and in his after action reports, were to become widely adopted for
amphibious landings by United States forces.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is organized by topic or type of material.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70012112]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Personal file,
1941-1945
1941-1945
(4
folders)
1
Writings, “History of U.S.S.
Heywood
,”
undated
undated
1
Military file
1
War diaries
1
Transport Division 18,
1943-1944
1943-1944
1943-1944
1
Transport Squadron 12,
1944-1945
1944-1945
1
Campaigns
1
Solomon Islands
1
After action reports and
operation order,
July-Aug. 1942
July-Aug. 1942
(3
folders)
1
Attu and Kiska, communication
plans and instructions, operation orders, reports,
Apr. 1942-[Aug.] 1943
Apr. 1942-[Aug.] 1943
(11
folders)
2
Kiska, field order, operation
plans, operation order,
Aug. 1943
Aug. 1943
(7
folders)
2
Tarawa, Makin, and
Apamama
2
Boat pools,
[Oct.] 1943
[Oct.] 1943
2
After action reports,
operation orders, operation plans, planning conference notes,
Oct.-Dec. 1943
Oct.-Dec. 1943
(11
folders)
2
Kawajalein, landing attack
order and report on capture,
Jan.-Feb. 1944
Jan.-Feb. 1944
(2
folders)
3
Saipan, after action report,
landing attack order, casualty memorandum cover,
May-July 1944
May-July 1944
(3
folders)
3
Guam, after action report,
landing attack order, list of vessels,
July-Aug. 1944
July-Aug. 1944
(3
folders)
3
Leyte, after action reports,
landing attack order, photographs, training memorandum,
Aug.-Oct. 1944, undated
Aug.-Oct. 1944, undated
(6
folders)
4
Lingayen, after action reports,
assault bombardment, field training memorandum and report, landing attack
orders, operation order, planning conference notes, transport schedules,
Nov. 1944-Feb. 1945
Nov. 1944-Feb. 1945
(11
folders)
4
Okinawa, after action reports,
landing attack order, landing craft losses, periodic reports,
Mar.-Apr. 1945
Mar.-Apr. 1945
(5
folders)
4
Nagasaki, after action report,
landing plans,
July-Sept. 1945
July-Sept. 1945
(3
folders)
4
Battle problems, communications,
Nov. 1944-Mar. 1945
Nov. 1944-Mar. 1945
(2
folders)
4
Communications, daily schedules,
staff memorandums, and memorandums and instructions on various subjects,
Dec. 1944-May 1945, undated
Dec. 1944-May 1945, undated
(5
folders)
4
Efate naval base, defenses,
gunnery practice,
Nov. 1943
Nov. 1943
(3
folders)
4
Hawaii, amphibious training,
training exercises,
Sept.-Oct. 1943
Sept.-Oct. 1943
4
Wellington, New Zealand,
amphibious training, aircraft codes, field training, messages, orders, training
reports,
Sept.-Oct. 1943, undated
Sept.-Oct. 1943, undated
(7
folders)
5
Printed matter,
Intelligence Bulletin
,
Apr.
1945
Apr.
1945
OV 1
Oversize maps, plans, and
drawings