Don't Forget the Little Guys: Digital Preservation of Small Combatant Craft from the First and Second World Wars

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Digital Approaches in Nautical Archaeology", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the expansive history of U.S. naval operations in the First and Second World Wars, the large combatant vessels reign supreme. Many major coastal cities in the United States have a battleship or aircraft carrier docked in prime tourist areas and dedicated funds for the maintenance of these behemoths. But their smaller brethren, though essential in tasks ranging from ship maintenance to coastline and commerce defense, rarely if ever received public acclaim and are little known outside of specialized academic circles. This paper will discuss the design process for three submarine chaser models, the SC-1 of the First World War, the PE-1 of the Interwar Years, and the PC-461 of the Second World War, in an effort to highlight the value of digital preservation for small combatant craft within the historical record of the World Wars.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Digital Approaches in Nautical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow