NRL Report


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New Eye for the Navy


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This study narrates the origin of radar at the Naval Research Laboratory. Radar should be seen as the product not simply of one man or even a group of men but rather as the result of individuals working within the structure of a mission-oriented research-and-development facility. To comprehend how radar was developed, when it was developed, and why, one must follow not just the evolution of technical progress but also the administrative and political decisions that shaped it. One must understand how the talents and motivations of the people who created this new device were related to the particular institutional situation and historical context in which they labored. The account is the story of a modern research-and-development laboratory in action. It discusses one major accomplishment of one institution. But it is also written to contribute to a broader understanding of the history of research and development laboratories in general and of the influence they have had on the course of modern American history. The work of the Naval Research Laboratory on radar is a significant episode in that story.




Navy's Needs in Space for Providing Future Capabilities


Book Description

The United States must operate successfully in space to help assure its security and economic well being. The Department of the Navy is a major user of space capabilities, although those capabilities are now primarily provided by DOD, the Air Force, and NOAA. Following a DOD assessment of national space security management in 2001, the Navy commissioned a Panel to Review Space to assess Navy space policy and strategy. As an extension of that review, the NRC was requested by the Navy to examine its needs in space for providing future operational and technical capabilities. This report presents a discussion of the strategic framework of future space needs, the roles and responsibilities for meeting those needs, an assessment of Navy support to space mission areas, and a proposed vision for fulfilling Naval forces space needs.




Warriors and Wizards


Book Description

In August 1943, the Luftwaffe began using radio-controlled anti-ship glide bombs and within weeks they had sunk one battleship, crippled another, wrecked two cruisers, and destroyed numerous merchant ships. Yet, a year later the Germans abandoned their use, defeated by scientists who developed electronic systems to jam the radio links that guided the bombs. Drawing on a wealth of new sources, Martin Bollinger examines what happened from both a historical and technological perspective and lays out a mission-by-mission analysis of effectiveness. Based on interviews with participants, intelligence documents, and archival records in four countries, his book chronicles the yearlong battle between the Allied seamen (the warriors) and the scientists (the wizards) for a story of courage, technical achievement, and sacrifice.




Glimpsing an Invisible Universe


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This book deals with the evolution of X-ray astronomy during the initial phases of its development. Three transformations of astronomy as a discipline are highlighted: the augmentation of purely optical observations; the emergence of federal funding as the dominant source of financial support; and the greatly altered size and structure of the research community.




Pushing the Horizon


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Military Communications


Book Description

An alphabetically organized encyclopedia that provides both a history of military communications and an assessment of current methods and applications. Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century is the first comprehensive reference work on the applications of communications technology to military tactics and strategy—a field that is just now coming into its own as a focus of historical study. Ranging from ancient times to the war in Iraq, it offers over 300 alphabetically organized entries covering many methods and modes of transmitting communication through the centuries, as well as key personalities, organizations, strategic applications, and more. Military Communications includes examples from armed forces around the world, with a focus on the United States, where many of the most dramatic advances in communications technology and techniques were realized. A number of entries focus on specific battles where communications superiority helped turn the tide, including Tsushima (1905), Tannenberg and the Marne (both 1914), Jutland (1916), and Midway (1942). The book also addresses a range of related topics such as codebreaking, propaganda, and the development of civilian telecommunications.




Pearl to V-J Day


Book Description

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Air Force History and Museums Program sponsored a symposium on the War in the Pacific held at the Bethesda, MD, Naval Officers' Club. The gathering offered a unique opportunity for its guest panelists -- participants in that war or historians of it -- to reflect on a variety of subjects: Japanese objectives; American military preparedness and grand strategy; the interaction between U.S. Army, Air, and Navy leaders; combined operations; political and diplomatic intrigue; the challenges of ground, air, and sea warfare within differing Pacific theaters; military science and technology; the essential role of intelligence; the proposed Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands; and the use of the atomic bombs. For the United States, World War II began and ended in the Pacific, from Japan's aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, to its surrender in Tokyo Bay, on September 2, 1945. For all but 5 months of those years, Americans and their Allies were compelled to hold the line in Asia, doggedly opposing imperialist Japan while a "Europe First" policy against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prevailed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The United States operated over huge distances, from China, Burma, and India, to countless Pacific islands. Sixty-five photographs are included.




United States Naval History


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