Not long after Pearl Harbor was attacked and the fighting moved elsewhere the enormous task of salvage and cleanup began. It was a task that would last most of the war. Reports and analysis of the vessels that had been damaged or sunk were made and sent back to the command in Washington, DC, for consideration. Photos were taken to document the different states of the vessels being worked on.
The reports provided a steady flow of information that was important to the operation and the decisions made by higher authorities about the efforts being made. This can be seen in the different reports. All but two ships were salvaged, the USS Arizona (BB-39) & the USS Utah (AG-16). (The USS Oklahoma [BB-37] was refloated, but the hulk sank while under tow to San Francisco in 1947).
These records would become a part of the War Damage Reports, which would comprise of similar reports for vessels that were damaged or sunk throughout the war.
Currently these reports are only available in paper format. The War Damage Reports are found under NAID 1105681 in the National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1105681).
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