How to find a ship's crew list

Last checked 2026-10-18. Written in plain English by Veteran Records Finder; not legal advice.

Short answer: The Navy did not keep a single "crew list" for each ship. It kept muster rolls: lists of the enlisted crew taken every few months, plus reports of who came and went in between. For World War II (1939 to 1949), these are digitized and free to view in the National Archives online catalog. For later years, they are on microfilm and in some online collections. Deck logs, cruise books and reunion groups fill in the rest.

Veteran Records Finder is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Navy, the National Archives or the VA.

What a muster roll shows

A muster roll lists the enlisted sailors assigned to a ship or station on a given date. For each man it usually gives:

• Name and service number
• Rate (rank and job, like "S1c" for Seaman First Class, or "MM2c" for Machinist's Mate Second Class)
• Date and place he enlisted
• Date he reported aboard

Between full rolls, the ship sent in reports of changes: men who joined, transferred, were promoted, went to the hospital, deserted or died. To see the whole crew over time, read the rolls and the change reports together.

Officers are usually not on enlisted muster rolls. For officers, look at the ship's deck logs, cruise books, the Navy Register and the officer's own personnel file.

Where to find them, by era

Before 1939. Muster rolls from 1798 to 1939 are at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Many are not online.

1939 to 1949 (World War II). The series "Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities" is digitized in the National Archives Catalog, free. Search the catalog for the ship's name and hull number (for example, "PCE-877" or "USS Ellyson DD-454"). Each file covers a date range. The same images are also on Ancestry and Fold3.

1949 to 1971. Muster rolls are on microfilm at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, and are also in Ancestry's "U.S., Navy Muster Rolls, 1949-1971" collection. Many public libraries offer Ancestry Library Edition free on site, so you may not need a subscription.

After 1971. Later rolls used Social Security numbers, so access is restricted and may require a Freedom of Information Act request.

Other places crews show up

• Deck logs. The ship's daily log names the officers on watch, events, and where the ship was. Logs from 1941 to 1983 are at the National Archives in College Park. Many Vietnam-era logs have been digitized.
• War diaries and action reports. WWII ships filed these. They tell the story of battles and patrols.
• Cruise books. Yearbook-style books made for a deployment, with crew photos by division. The Navy Department Library holds many; reunion groups, Fold3 and collectors have more.
• Ship histories. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), published by the Naval History and Heritage Command, has a history of most Navy ships.
• Reunion associations. Many ships have an association with a roster, newsletter and photo archive. Search the ship's name with "reunion association."
• Volunteer sites. Sites like NavSource collect ship photos and histories. Some crew sites let former sailors add their own names. These are helpful but unofficial.

How to find one sailor on a ship

1. Get the right ship. Many names were reused. Use the hull number (DD-454, CV-60) and the dates.
2. Get his service number if you can. It is on his discharge paper, and on WWII Navy muster rolls next to his name.
3. Pick a date range. If you know roughly when he served aboard, open that roll and the change reports around it.
4. Read it like a census. Names are often in alphabetical order by rate, sometimes typed and sometimes handwritten.
5. Follow him. The "received from" and "transferred to" notes show where he came from and where he went next.

Our free report searches the WWII Navy muster rolls for you and shows the scans with the matching line marked. It also builds a timeline of where the ship was while he was aboard. Browse our ship, base and unit pages for examples.

Tips for common questions

• "I can't find him." Try other spellings, his middle name, and nearby dates. He may have been on a smaller vessel, a shore station or a receiving ship between ships.
• "Was he aboard during a famous battle?" Find his report-aboard and transfer dates, then compare with the ship's history and deck logs.
• "He was a Marine on a ship." Marine detachments appear on Marine Corps muster rolls, not Navy ones.
• "He was Coast Guard." Coast Guard muster rolls are kept separately at the National Archives.

Common questions

Sources

More guides

• How to get a DD-214, free
• What the 1973 fire means for your family
• How to find which unit Grandpa was in
• How to request records for a veteran who has died

Veteran Records Finder is independent: not part of the VA, the National Archives or the Department of Defense.