National Defense Research Committee - NDRC Research Organization

NDRC Research Organization

The NDRC's research organization changed constantly during its single year of autonomous existence. During early June 1941, shortly before it was superseded by the OSRD, its organization was as follows:

• Division A (Armor and Ordnance) – Richard C. Tolman, Chairman; Charles C. Lauritsen, Vice-Chairman.
  • Section B (Structural Defense)
  • Section H (Investigations on Propulsion)
  • Section S (Terminal Ballistics)
  • Section T (Proximity Fuzes for Shells)
  • Section E (Fuzes and Guided Projectiles)
• Division B (Bombs, Fuels, Gases, Chemical Problems) – James B. Conant, Chairman
  • Synthetic Problems — Roger Adams, Vice-Chairman
    • Section A-1 (Explosives)
    • Section A-2 (Synthetic Organics)
    • Section A-3 (Detection of Persistent Agents)
    • Section A-4 (Toxicity)
  • Physical Chemical Problems – W.K. Lewis, Vice-Chairman
    • Section L-1 (Aerosols)
    • Section L-2 (Protective Coatings)
    • Section L-3 (Special Inorganic Problems)
    • Section L-4 (Nitrocellulose)
    • Section L-5 (Paint Removers)
    • Section L-6 (Higher Oxides)
    • Section L-7 (Oxygen Storage)
    • Section L-8 (Gas Drying)
    • Section L-9 (Metallurgical Problems)
    • Section L-10 (Exhaust Disposal)
    • Section L-11 (Absorbents)
    • Section L-12 (Oxygen for Airplanes)
    • Section L-13 (Hydraulic Fluids)
  • Miscellaneous Chemical Problems
    • Section C-1 (Automotive Fuelds; Special Problems)
    • Section C-2 (Pyrotechnics)
    • Section C-3 (Special Problems)
• Division C (Communication and Transportation) – Frank B. Jewett, Chairman; C. B. Jolliffe, Hartley Rowe, R. D. Booth, and J. T. Tate, Vice-Chairmen.
  • Section C-1 (Communications)
  • Section C-2 (Transportation)
  • Section C-3 (Mechanical and Electrical Equipment)
  • Section C-4 (Submarine Studies)
  • Section C-5 (Sound Sources)
• Division D (Detection, Controls, Instruments) – Karl Compton, Chairman; Alfred L. Loomis, Vice-Chairman.
  • Section D-1 (Detection)
  • Section D-2 (Controls)
  • Section D-3 (Instruments)
  • Section D-4 (Heat Radiation)
• Division E (Patents and Invention) – Conway P. Coe, Chairman.

The Committee on Uranium, chaired by Lyman Briggs, reported directly to the Chairman of the NDRC and as such does not appear in the chart above.

Following the reorganization of the NDRC in December 1942, it had the following divisions:

• Division 1 (Ballistics Research), L. H. Adams, Chief
• Division 2 (Structural Defense and Offense/Effects of Impact and Explosion), John E. Burchard, Chief (1942–1944), E. Bright Wilson, Chief (1944–1946)
• Division 3 (Special Projectiles/Rocket Ordnance), John T. Tate, Chief (1942–1943), Frederick L. Hovde, Chief (1943–1946)
• Division 4 (Ordnance Accessories), Alexnder Ellett, Chief
• Division 5 (New Missiles), H. B. Richmond, Chief (1942–1945), Hugh H. Spencer, Chief (1945–1946)
• Division 6 (Subsurface Warfare), John T. Tate, Chief
• Division 7 (Fire Control), Harold L. Hazen, Chief
• Division 8 (Explosives), George B. Kistiakowsky, Chief (1942–1944), Ralph A. Connor, Chief (1944–1946)
• Division 9 (Chemistry), Walter R. Kirner, Chief
• Division 10 (Absorbents and Aerosols), W. A. Noyes, Jr., Chief
• Division 11 (Chemical Engineering), R. P. Russell, Chief (1942–1943), E. P. Stevenson, Chief (1943–1945), H. M. Chadwell, Chief (1945–1946)
• Division 12 (Transportation Development), Hartley Rowe, Chief
• Division 13 (Electrical Communication), C. B. Jolliffe, Chief (1942–1944), Haraden Pratt, Chief (1944–1945)
• Division 14 (Radar), Alfred L. Loomis, Chief
• Division 15 (Radio Co-ordination), C. G. Suits, Chief
• Division 16 (Optics), George R. Harrison, Chief
• Division 17 (Physics), Paul E. Klopsteg, Chief (1942–1945), George R. Harrison, Chief (1945–1946)
• Division 18 (War Metallurgy), Clyde Williams, Chief
• Division 19 (Miscellaneous Weapons), H. M. Chadwell, Chief
• Applied Mathematics Panel, Warren Weaver, Chief
• Applied Psychology Panel, W. S. Hunter, Chief (1943–1945), Charles W. Bray, Chief (1945–1946)