Executive Order 8381

section 1 of the act of January 12, 1938, 52 Stat. 3, provides: “That, whenever, in the Interests of national defense, the President shall define certain vital military and naval installations or equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital military and naval installations or equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the military or naval post, camp, or station concerned. or higher authority, and promptly submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary. Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the foregoing statutory provisions, and in effectuation of the purposes of the said act of January 12, 1938, I hereby define the following as vital military and naval installations or equipment requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto:

 All military or naval installations and equipment which are now classified, designated, and marked under the authority or at the direction of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as “secret”, “confidential”, or “restricted”, and all military or naval installations and equipment which may hereafter be so classified, designated, and marked with the approval or at the direction of the President, and located within: 

 All military or naval aircraft, weapons, ammunition, vehicles, ships, vessels, instruments, engines, manufacturing machinery, tools, devices, or any other equipment whatsoever, in the possession of the Army or Navy, or in the course of experimentation, development, manufacture, or delivery for the Army or Navy, which are now classified, designated, and marked under the authority or at the direction of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as “secret”, “confidential”, or “restricted”, and all such articles, materials, or equipment which may hereafter be so classified, designated, and marked with the approval or at the direction of the President. 

 All official military or naval books, pamphlets, documents, reports, maps, charts, plans, designs, models, drawings, photographs, contracts, or specifications, which are now marked under the authority or at the direction of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as “secret”, “confidential”, or “restricted”, and all such articles or equipment which may hereafter be so marked with the approval or at the direction of the President. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt The White House, March 22, 1940.