Navy Log – Nostalgia Central

1 9 5 5 – 1 9 5 8 (USA)
105 x 30 minute episodes

This drama anthology series debuted in September 1955 and ran for three seasons, presenting dramatised stories based on true historical events drawn from official files of the United States Department of the Navy, which actively cooperated with production.

The Navy provided stock footage, lent Naval frogmen for underwater stunts, performed mock aeroplane crashes, and transported the production crew on actual military ships and planes.

Filmed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington, the iconic opening sequence (pictured above) featured 2,000 active-duty sailors standing on the deck to spell out the words “Navy Log”.

The series premiered on CBS before moving to ABC in October 1956 because CBS could not accommodate the scheduling wishes of the show’s corporate sponsors.

Actors who featured in the 105 episodes included Clint Eastwood, Leonard Nimoy, Michael Caine, James Cagney, Ernest Borgnine, Werner Klemperer, Frank Gorshin, John Banner, Stacy Keach, Cesar Romero, Dick Sargent, Alan Hale Jr. and DeForest Kelley.

Future President John F. Kennedy served as a technical advisor for the episode ‘PT 109’, which dramatised his own famous World War II survival story.

Narrator
Robert Carson

Video