Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Biographical Note

Rose V. Gayle was an employee of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Ships and Naval Ship Systems Command. During her career, she maintained a keen interest in the Navy's nuclear program and collected memorabilia related to it. Among her collection were objects such as commemorative plaques, medals, and ashtrays, as well as invitations and special postal cachets. Many of these relate to events such as keel layings and launchings. From 1964 to 1973, Gayle also amassed a body of correspondence from Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, head of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program.

Scope and Content Note

The Papers of Rose V. Gayle consist primarily of ceremony invitations and commemorative cachets as well as correspondence from Admiral Hyman Rickover. The collection is organized in three series. 

Series I, Ship Files, includes invitations and other memorabilia commemorating the keel laying, launching, christening and commissioning ceremonies of various ships. Other commemorative material relating to such events as the anniversary of first voyage and the first day in commission are also included in this series. Additionally, the file on USS Seahorse file includes photographs from the ship's sea trials. Items in this series often relate to Polaris submarines or ships connected to the Navy's nuclear program. This series is arranged alphabetically by the ship's name.

The second series consists of correspondence from Admiral Hyman Rickover to Rose V. Gayle. Rickover's letters describe the history of ships with the same name as the submarine or ship over which he is overseeing completion. Additionally, at the end of each letter, he details the current number of subs/ships in the Navy's nuclear program. Some letters also contain a biography of the ship's namesake. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.

The final series contains two folders of miscellaneous papers.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Papers of Rose V. Gayle, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.

Related Materials

In addition to these papers, Gayle donated numerous objects from her collection. These items commemorate christenings, keel layings, and launchings of U.S. Navy ships and submarines. The objects have been transferred to NHHC's Curator Branch and are available for research use upon request.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

Ships--United States--Launching.
Invitation Cards--United States.
Naval Ceremonies, Honors, and Salutes--United States.
Warships--United States.
Submarines (Ships)--United States.
Rickover, Hyman George.