Science Reference Guides

United States War Department/
Department of the Army Technical Manual Collection

Inventory in Library of Congress General Collections:
Series TM12-TM2100

(Includes TM12, TM14, TM16, TM19, TM20, TM21, TM27, TM30, TM31, TM37, TM38, TM44, TM45, TM55, TM57, TM71, TM715, TM743, TM754, TM2100)

• Scope
• Non-Print (Microfiche) Technical Manuals
• How to Obtain Copies of Technical Manuals
• Indexes
• Inventory of Technical Manuals
• Series TM1, TM2, TM3, TM4, TM5
• Series TM6, TM7, TM8, TM9
• Series TM10, TM11

Military manuals are several series of official publications intended to be instructive and informative. They were produced by all the branches of service, but are generally called Army manuals. Using a phrase which appeared in many, they were “published for the information and guidance of all concerned.”

During the 1940s, military manuals were approved by the Chief of Staff and authenticated by the Adjutant General. Field Manual FM 21-6, List and Index of War Department Publications, is a detailed list of the manuals that were available. Many editions of FM 21-6 were published during the 1940s and can be used to identify manual titles and numbers. The Library of Congress does not have a complete set of FM 21-6. Those editions identified are listed further in this document under the section “INDEXES,” “Field Manual FM 21-6, List and Index of War Department Publications.”

The War Department, which became the Department of the Army in 1947, issued three major classes of publications -- administrative, doctrinal training and organizational, and technical and equipment publications. Administrative publications include publications such as Army Regulations, Special Regulations, Bulletins, Circulars, General and Special Orders, and Pamphlets; doctrinal, training and organizational publications contain Field Manuals, Army Training and Evaluation Programs, Training Circulars, Tables of Organization and Equipment, and Tables of Allowances; and technical and equipment publications include publications such as Technical Manuals, Technical Bulletins, Supply Manuals, etc. The Library of Congress does not have a complete set of these publications, but its holdings are extensive and significant.

This inventory focuses on those War Department and Department of the Army Technical Manuals that were primarily received into the general collections from the 1940s to the 1970s. (In the 1970s the Library of Congress ceased receipt of this material.)  A little over 300 titles were fully cataloged; individual volumes were received as serials with the TM number issued as the volume number, under the single Library of Congress classification “U408.3.A13.” The researcher can find the individual records by browsing the Library of Congress Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) using the “Call Number Browse (LC Classification No.)” option available under “Basic Search” and browsing “U408.3.A13". In this publication we have not attempted to provide a bibliography of those items that can be easily found in the catalog under their classification, however this inventory does attempt to provide detail on items that were classed separately or were received as reprints. These items are listed below under the section “items with individual catalog records."

Because the items do not generally have individual bibliographic records it has been difficult in the past for the researcher interested in locating these superseded titles to identify what the Library of Congress has available. This finding aid attempts to reveal the depth and breadth of the collection available to the researcher. We will publish the inventory with updated tables as they become available to expose this information to the widest sources as quickly as we can.

Of interest to military historians, curators, military enthusiasts, reenactors and collectors, this collection can be used to trace the evolution of the Army’s doctrine, organizational structure, equipment, uniforms, and weapons. The collections  collection is also of interest to in terms of the care, maintenance and preservation of military artifacts.

Army manuals include publications on historic U. S. military vehicles, including military motorcycles, jeeps, military trucks, scout cars, tanks, and amphibians; aircraft, including fixed wing and rotary craft; radio equipment; cooking; and language dictionaries and phrase books.

Army manuals also included a number of so-called "enemy" manuals. They are manuals -- which are official US Army publications -- concerning enemy equipment or forces. The letter "E" in the manual number indicates that a particular manual is an "enemy" manual. For example, Technical Manual TM E9-803 on the German Volkswagen appears just after Technical Manual TM 9-803 on the Jeep..  A number of "enemy" manuals about foreign forces are included, like TM E30-420, Handbook of the Italian Military Forces. The publication of "enemy" manuals was authorized by Section II, "Processing of Captured Materiel for Intelligence Purposes,” of War Department Training Circular 81, 6 November 1942.

Not a complete inventory, this guide supplements the previously compiled United States War Department/Department of the Army Technical Manual Collection: Inventory in Library of Congress General Collections, Series TM10, TM11.(http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/technicalmanuals2.html.) Please see this guide for the inventory of series 10 through 11 and for additional bibliographic listings of items in the collection not classed under U408.3.A13.

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Just after World War II, President Truman set up a program to distribute the fruits of government and government-supported research which had been bottled up by war-time secrecy. The Office of the Publication Board was organized to distribute reports and The Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports (BSIR) was issued to announce the reports available. The federal technical reports system and National Technical Information Service has grown out of that effort.

More than 2,000 U. S. Army manuals were listed in BSIR from 1946 into 1949. This finding aid lists those Army manuals and, where known, give the alternative PB or other number by which they can be found on microfiche.

For a list of Technical Manuals issued as PB reports please see the excellent compilation, Army Manuals Listed in the Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports, 1946-1949, compiled by Robert L. Bolin, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It is available at
http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/bsir/Army%20Manuals%20Listed%20in%20BSIR,%201946-49.htm.
The BSIR itself is available at http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/bsir-xml/. This index lists those Army manuals by manual number and gives references to the citations in BSIR. Appendices also list the manuals by title and by PB-number.  Technical Manuals can also be identified in "Government Reports Announcements & Index" and through the "National Technical Information Service" which grew out of the Publications Board. 

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Library of Congress

Copies of the print manuals listed in this inventory are available from the Library of Congress. However they can be very expensive to reproduce. The best way to obtain manuals is through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Libraries will generally obtain items through this system using the Library of Congress as a library of last resort. Researchers should consult their local, college, or agency library to use Interlibrary Loan.

Microfiche Collections

The early PB-numbered documents are in the Technical Reports & Standards Section of the Science, Technology & Business Division of the Library of Congress as microfiche. Prints from the film are available.

For further information call Duplication Services at (202)707-5640.

FAX orders to the Library of Congress, Duplication Services at:

   (202) 707-1771
   or mail your orders to:

   Library of Congress
   Duplication Service
   Washington, DC 20540

You must include the PB number listed in the citation in your order and include other identifying information such as the number, title, and date of the manual you are ordering.

Current payment information can be found at Duplication Services page available at http://www.loc.gov/rr/copying.html.

Print Materials

Field Manuals (FM) and Technical Manuals (TM) within the Library of Congress collections were classed as the serial title United States. Dept. of the Army. Training Publication (see bibliographic record below). As such these items do not have catalog records, hence the need for the inventory, but instead are accessed through the Library of Congress Call number U408.3.A13 followed by a subseries number and date. For example Air Navigation TM 1-205 would be requested as U. S. Dept. of the Army. Training publication U408.3.A13 TM 1-205 Nov. 1940. As the Library of Congress may have more than one version of a manual the month and date is a very important identifier.

United States. Dept. of the Army. Training publication. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 19uu- .
   U408.3.A13
   War Dept. publications pertaining to training have been issued in the form of Field service regulations, Field manuals, Technical manuals, Technical regulations, Training manuals, and Training regulations.
   In January, 1940, numbers were assigned to Field service regulations and Field manuals from 1 to 1000 (FM), to Technical regulations from 1000 to 2000 (TR), to Training manuals from 2000 to 3000 (TM); and Training regulations were eliminated.
   In April, 1940, Technical regulations and Training manuals were consolidated in the series of Technical manuals, and a new system of numbering was adopted.
   The number of each pamphlet will consist of two parts: the basic number and subnumber. The basic numbers will be as follows: 1--Air Corps. 2--Cavalry. 3--Chemical Warfare Service. 4--Coast Artillery Corps. 5--Corps of Engineers. 6--Field Artillery. 7--Infantry. 8--Medical Department. 9--Ordnance Department. 10--Quartermaster Corps. 11--Signal Corps. 12--Adjutant General's Department. 13--Inspector General's Department. 14--Finance Department. 15--Judge Advocate General's Department. 16--Chaplains. 20 to 30--Basic field manuals. 100--Field service regulations. 101--Staff officers' field manual. 105--Umpire manual.
   The subnumbers for Field manuals will be from 1 to 199 and for Technical manuals 200, etc. ... Field manuals and Technical manuals will ordinarily be referred to by number only, e.g., FM 6-110 or TM 4-235. -- War Dept. Circular no. 36, April 6, 1940.
   Issued 19 - July 1947 by the War Dept.

Federal Depository Libraries

Many Army manuals are available in Federal Depository Libraries. The Federal Depository Libraries are libraries around the country to which the Government Printing Office sends copies of documents published by the Federal Government. Most lend documents through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). A listing of Federal Depository Libraries can be found through GPO Access, available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html.

Large Army Libraries

The Pentagon Library and the library at the Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, have excellent collections of manuals. Both make loans through Interlibrary Loan.

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Field Manual, FM 21-6, List and index of War Department publications.
Technical Manuals and other War Department and Department of the Army publications were identified in FM 21-6 List and index of publications (title varies). Of these the Library of Congress has identified the following issues in its collections, by date.

1940
U. S. War Dept. Basic field manual. List of publications for training. 1940. 48 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6a 1940

1941
U. S. War Dept. Basic field manual. List of publications for training. September 1, 1941. 128 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6b Sept. 1941

1942
U. S. War Dept. Basic field manual. List of publications for training, including training films and film strips. February 1, 1942. 187 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Feb. 1942

U. S. War Dept. Basic field manual. List of publications for training, including training films and film strips.
July 1, 1942. 263 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 July 1942

1944
U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List of publications for training. Field manuals, firing tables, lubrication orders, mobilization training program, technical bulletins, technical manuals, training circulars. October 1, 1944. 175 p.
   U408.3.A12 FM 21-6 Oct. 1944
   “This manual supersedes FM21-6, 1 February 1944, including C 1, 1 March 1944, C 2, April 1944, C 3, 1 May 1944, C 4, 1 June 1944, C 5, 1 July 1944, C 6, 1 August 1944 and C 7, 1 September 1944 except as to Modification Work Orders, Supply Bulletins, and War Department Pamphlets.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List of publications for training. Field manuals, firing tables, lubrication orders, mobilization training program, technical bulletins, technical manuals, training circulars. November 1944. 134 p.
   U408.3.A12 FM 21-6 Nov.1944
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 1 October 1944.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List of publications for training. Field manuals, firing tables, lubrication orders, mobilization training program, technical bulletins, technical manuals, training circulars. December 1944. 143 p.
   U408.3.A12 FM 21-6 Dec. 1944
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, November 1944.”

1945
U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List of publications for training. Field manuals, firing tables, lubrication orders, mobilization training program, technical bulletins, technical manuals, training circulars. January 20, 1945. 149 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jan.1945
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, December 1944.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department publications. May 10, 1945. 386 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 May 1945
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 20 March 1945 and War Department Pamphlet 12-6, 1 April 1945.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department publications. June 10, 1945. 400 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jun. 1945
   “This manual supersedes FM21-6,10 May 1945.”

1946
U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department Publications. January 10, 1946. 469 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jan. 1946
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 October 1945.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department Publications. April 10, 1946. 467 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Apr. 1946
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 January 1945.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department Publications. October 10, 1946. 467 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Oct. 1946
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 July 1946.”

1947
U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department Publications. January 10, 1947. 467 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jan. 1947
“This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 October 1946.”

U. S. War Dept. Field manual. List and index of War Department Publications. July 10, 1947. 500 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 July 1947
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 April 1947.”

U. S. Dept. of the Army. Field manual. List and index of Department of the Army publications. October 10, 1947. 520 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Oct. 1947
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 July 1947.”

1948
U. S. Dept. of the Army. Field manual. List and index of Department of the Army publications. January 10, 1948. 531 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jan. 1948
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 October 1947.”

U. S. Dept of the Army. Field manual. List and index of Department of the Army publications. April 10, 1948. 528 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Apr. 1948
   “This manual supersedes FM 21-6, 10 January 1948.”

1949
U. S. Dept. of the Army. Field manual. List and index of Department of the Army publications. January 1, 1949. 304 p.
   U408.3.A13 FM 21-6 Jan. 1949
   “This is the final edition of FM 21-6. Future listings and index of Department of the Army publications will be published in the 310-20 series of Special Regulations.”

Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports

Catalog of U. S. Government Publications
   http://www.gpo.gov

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SERIES 12. ADJUTANT GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT.

SERIES 14. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

SERIES 16. CORPS OF CHAPLAINS

SERIES 19. MILITARY POLICE

SERIES 20 TO 31. BASIC FIELD MANUALS

SERIES 20. MISCELLANEOUS

SERIES 21. INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER

SERIES 27. MILILTARY LAW

SERIES 30. MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

SERIES 31. SPECIAL OPERATIONS

SERIES 37.

SERIES 38. SUPPLY PROCEDURES

SERIES 44. ANTIAIRCRAFT ARTILLERY

SERIES 45.

55. TRANSPORTATION

SERIES 57.

SERIES 71.

SERIES 715.

SERIES 743.

SERIES 754.

SERIES 2100. TRAINING MANUALS.

Compiled by Brian Horowitz
January 2011