The papers of John J. Ballentine (1896-1970), naval officer and aviator, span the years 1913-1973, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1942 to 1954. The papers focus primarily on Ballentine's activities during his career in the navy. His class graduated from the United States Naval Academy in three years in 1917 in order to participate in World War I, but the main documentation of his career begins in 1920, when Ballentine began flight training in the fifth class trained at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. His activities as a pioneer aviator included testing the first models of the Norden bombsight in the 1920s and 1930s and controlling from the ground the first airplane operated under remote control. A major focus of the collection is Ballentine's activities during World War II. He saw action off the coast of Casablanca in November 1942. He also served as the first commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill from its commissioning in May 1943 to 5 February 1944. While under his command, the Bunker Hill saw action at Rabaul and Kavieng (now part of Papua New Guinea) and in the Gilbert, Nauro, and Marshall islands. These episodes are documented in each series of the collection. Other portions of the collection document Ballentine's two tours of duty in the Mediterranean, as commander of Carrier Division One in 1947-1949 and as commander of the Sixth Fleet from 1949-1951, and his final duty in Norfolk, Virginia, as commander of the Air Force, Atlantic Fleet (COMAIRLANT), from 1951 to 1954.

The Diaries series (1941-1962) is incomplete. There are no diaries for March 1944 through 1946 or for 1954. The first four diaries document Ballentine's daily activities during much of World War II. The volume covering 20 October 1942 to 15 September 1943 provides detail about Operation Torch and the action off Casablanca as well as about his assignment overseeing the final fitting and commissioning of the Bunker Hill. The 16 September 1943 to 27 February 1944 volume features action the aircraft carrier saw in the Pacific during his command. The diaries covering his tours in the Mediterranean and as COMAIRLANT in Norfolk contain personal insights and details which supplement the official records found in the General Correspondence series and Subject File. The diaries for 1955-1962 document Ballentine's retirement, as well as his activities when recalled to serve on an interservice board in Washington, D.C., from November 1956 to July 1957. They demonstrate that Ballentine took an active role in maintaining his farm “Millbank” in Dogue, Virginia, and that he continued to pursue his lifelong interest in hunting. There are no entries concerning the last eight years of his life.

The General Correspondence (1920-1970) contains letters, cables, and memoranda relating to Ballentine's naval career, primarily from 1920 to 1954. In addition to official correspondence, there are copies of letters sent and received from friends and associates. Documents from the 1930s trace his various duties at the Naval Air Station in Dahlgren, Virginia. Correspondence from the mid-1930s through the 1940s from Theodore H. Barth, president of Carl L. Norden, Inc., includes information on the testing and production of bombsights. Related material can be found in the Subject File under “Naval aviation.” The general correspondence from 1948 through March 1951 is minimal because most of it has been integrated in the Subject File under the heading “Mediterranean ports.” The most extensive portion of the general correspondence consists of personal office files created when Ballentine was COMAIRLANT between 1951 and 1954. Included are letters from other fleet commanders reporting on the Mediterranean. The Korean War is a recurring theme although not a central feature of these files. Two oversize scrapbooks, containing photographs, clippings, cards, and letters relating to Ballentine's activities as COMAIRLANT, and his call record (telephone log) in the Miscellany series complement the correspondence files.

The Subject File (1913-1973, n.d.) primarily concerns Ballentine's naval career, naval aviation, and the activities of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Biographical information on Ballentine is contained in official military records, such as commissions and appointments, orders to duty, and awards and commendations, as well as official biographies and news clippings. Within the group of naval aviation files are records of Ballentine's own aviation activities in the 1920s and 1930s as well as historic overviews written as early as the 1930s and in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of naval aviation in 1961. The activities of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean from 1948 through 1951 are well documented in the segment relating to Mediterranean ports. These files contain memoranda, cables, correspondence, schedules, invitations, guest lists, and calling cards documenting the military training and diplomatic role of the Sixth Fleet. The subject files on Ballentine's Sixth Fleet activities are supplemented by the logbooks and photographs in the Miscellany series and in several oversize scrapbooks.

Most of the photographs from this collection have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. These include shots of airplanes, aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, and tankers; scenes of World War II action in the Pacific; activities aboard the Bunker Hill (including views of damage caused by two Japanese kamikazes in May 1945); and activities in the Mediterranean. Some personal photographs, duplicates, and photographs from albums presented to Ballentine to commemorate official naval functions have been retained in the Miscellany series.