RN Submarine Refits in the USA in World War 2

[C. M]

I am looking for information on RN Submarine refits in World War 2,and in particular HMS Pandora‘s refit at the US Navy Yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I contacted the Navy Yard’s museum a couple of months ago by email but have not received a reply.
Christopher Morgan-Jones

[Anonymous]

Christopher,
A pity that the Museum has not contacted you – I assume you mean the Royal Naval Museum? I suggest as a good fall back the Naval Historical Branch who will either have records in the Admiralty Library on WW2 refits (unlikely) or will be able to point you at the Portsmouth Dockyard Historical Society whose details I do not have to hand, or to another good source.
Emails: (Head of NHB) cnsnhbad@a.dii.mod.uk
(Admiralty Librarian) cnsnhbal@a.dii.mod.uk
Justin Reay, Forum Editor

[C. M]

It would appear that my post has had the word Royal inserted into it after the word Portsmouth. I in fact meant the Portsmouth naval dockyard in New Hampshire, USA. I believe they have a small museum, but they do not respond to emails.
Christopher Morgan-Jones

[Anonymous]

Christopher, forgive me for assuming that you meant Portmouth GB in your initial post, and for incorrectly amending it, for clarity, to read Portsmouth RN Dockyard. I can fairly claim that as you mentioned an RN ship and Portsmouth you meant Pompey (Portsmouth GB), but as Forum Editor I should not have made an easy assumption in revising your post for clarity – a lesson learned!
I have amended my edited version of your initial post to make clear that it was the US Navy Yard at Portmouth New Hampshire to which you were refering.
My advice in my first response (post 96) still stands – the NHB’s Admiralty Library should have records of Pandora‘s WW2 refit even if it was in a US navy yard, or at least can advise on sources in the absence of a response from Portsmouth (NH) itself.
Justin Reay, Forum Editor

[C. M]

I contacted the NHB and unfortunately drew a blank. They have dates for when individual submarines were in US dockyards, but that is the extent of their records.
I am still looking for information on what work actually took place.
I have discovered a museum near the Portsmouth Navy Yard in New Hampshire that has a decorative wooden board with HMS Pandora‘s badge upon it. The rest of the board’s design incorporates dragons on either side so it must have been made in the Far East before the war started.
If any member is interested to see an image of this board please email me and I will send a copy of the photograph I have of it.

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