Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
Technical Library
1 Administration Circle
China Lake, CA 93555

Collection of World War II Unpublished Manuscript Histories
Manuscript, 1976

1 item

Salt Wells Pilot Plant Story 1945-1954: Informal History of the Manhattan Engineering District and Atomic Energy Commission Activities at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, Inyokern
Manuscript, 1974

1 item

Technical History of the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station 1943-1953
Manuscript, 1975

1 item

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division China Lake historical and reference collections are maintained by Corporate Operations (Command Historian), Research and Technology Division (Technical Library), and Technical Information Division (Central Photographic Archive, Film and Video Archive). Controlled access to the archival collections and the Technical Library may be arranged for credentialed Department of Defense employees; access to classified collections requires security clearance verification and official visit request.  Limited access to the Technical Library may be arranged for Department of Defense contractors.  With the exception of the artifacts on display at the China Lake Exhibit Center/Museum, none of the China Lake archives or collections or the Technical Library are open to the public.  All non-Department of Defense requests for information or research assistance must be made via the NAWCWPNS Public Affairs Office.  Requests should be submitted in writing (Public Affairs Office, NAWCWPNS, China Lake, CA 93555-6100); requesters may be charged for certain materials and services. Contact nwpublicaffairs@navair.navy.mil.

Within the Office of the Command Historian are the Central Archive, the Archival and Technical Materiel Collections (Historic Artifact, Ordnance, Technical/Support Equipment, and Aircraft), and the Museum Collection.  The core of the Central Archive is the Collection of Archival and Reference Documents (CARD), which was developed to facilitate the research for the two published (1943-1948) and one upcoming (1948-1958) volumes of the Center's history http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/clmf/v123.html.  CARD includes copies of early correspondence, historical summaries, biographical data, clippings, photographs, project summaries, chronologies, technical/administrative board files, and informal project histories.  CARD is supplemented by project files and archives (e.g., Sidewinder, A-7 WSSA, STAMP); an extensive collection of transcribed oral histories; subject archives (e.g., weather modification, technology transfer, NOTS Advisory Board, China Lake community); predecessor organization archives (e.g., NOL Corona, NWEF); an archival/reference photo/film section; and reference collections, including instructions, manuals, and a reference library.  The Archive also includes unpublished manuscript histories and compilation documents.

27 February 2002