Naval history is inextricably linked with the research and development of science and technology, and in the modern era no organization has had more influence on naval R&D than the Naval Research Laboratory. Oral histories provide insight that students of naval affairs cannot find elsewhere.

This 1985 document is a guide to oral histories related to U.S. Navy research and development. It includes a list of interviewees, three indices, and a list of contact points at repositories holding the material. The guide is a first edition and may be updated in the future. It also includes a message from the Historian of Navy Laboratories, D.K. Allison, and a list of suggestions for improving the guide. The guide covers a wide range of topics, including interviews with individuals involved in Navy research and development, discussions about institutions and cities, and other subjects. It is organized into three indices and provides contact information for repositories holding the material.

This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; four essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Grounds for Dissent; Red Team Critique; and MAGA Perspective.

This publication is dedicated to my grandfather and namesake, William Zimmerman III, who worked as a research scientist for the Naval Research Laboratory for many years. His 1947 publication for NRL, The Determination of Some Common Alloying Elements in Aluminum and Its Alloys, is included as Appendix A.