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Ballistic Research Laboratory
The Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) was a research facility under the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and later the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in ballistics as well as vulnerability and lethality analysis. Situated at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, BRL served as a major Army center for research and development in technologies related to weapon phenomena, armor, accelerator physics, and high-speed computing. In 1992, BRL was disestablished, and its mission, personnel, and facilities were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).
The laboratory is perhaps best known for commissioning the creation of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first electronic general-purpose digital computer.
The history of the Ballistic Research Laboratory dates back to World War I with the Office of the Chief of Ordnance (OCO) within the U.S. Army. During the first year of U.S. involvement in the war, OCO was responsible for supervising ballistic firings at Sandy Hook Proving Ground in New Jersey and computing firing tables for the Army. These firing tables played a vital role in the war effort, because field artillery units heavily relied on them to determine the proper angle of elevation that a specific projectile required to hit a target at a specific range with a given propellant charge. They were also used to predict the projectile's trajectory and correct for variations in atmospheric temperature, air density, wind, and other factors. However, Sandy Hook Proving Ground was closed down in 1917 due to its inadequate size and its close proximity to New York Harbor. Operations were subsequently moved to the newly established Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. By early 1918, almost all of OCO's test firings were conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
As the war continued, the Chief of Ordnance created a Ballistics Branch for the OCO on April 6, 1918, to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for firing tables and other ballistic data. Major Forest Moulton, a former astronomy professor at the University of Chicago, served as the first head of the Ballistics Branch. During his tenure, Moulton revamped how the branch conducted its ballistics work and recruited a large number of highly educated scientists to expand the staff.
In 1919, the OCO was reorganized into four major parts—the General Office, the Manufacturing Service, the Field Service, and the Technical Staff—in accordance with peacetime operations requirements. In 1935, the Research Division was created at Aberdeen Proving Ground and placed under the control of the Technical Staff. Led by Colonel Hermann H. Zornig, the Research Division initially consisted of only 30 people. Despite the small staff size, however, the group supervised six different sections of ballistic work: Interior Ballistics, Exterior Ballistics, Ballistics Measurements, Ordnance Engineering, Computing, and War Reserve. The Internal Ballistics Section was responsible for mathematical and experimental research that advanced the theory of interior ballistics and the investigation of gun design principles. The Exterior Ballistics Section focused on the trajectories and flight characteristics of projectiles and bombs, which influenced the design of new munitions. The Ballistics Measurements Section developed improved ballistic measuring devices, while the Ordnance Engineering Section performed kinematic and mechanical analyses of gun mechanisms and gun mounts. The Computing Section was tasked with preparing firing and bombing tables for standard ammunition and bombs, and the War Reserve Section was responsible for the surveillance of stored ammunition.
In 1938, the Research Division was renamed the Ballistic Research Laboratory in order to give greater emphasis to the organization’s basic mission, and Colonel Zornig became its first director; the assistant director was Captain Leslie E. Simon. The following year, the Army Air Corps contributed funds to BRL for a new building to house additional laboratory facilities as a show of gratitude for the lab's work on bomb ballistics. This building was designated as Building 328 and was completed in 1941.
The Ballistics Research Laboratory further expanded its capabilities and quickly rose to prominence during the timespan of World War II; in 1941 Simon replaced Zornig as director. Compared to its initial staff of 65 people with a $120,000 annual budget in 1940, BRL grew to have over 700 personnel with an annual budget of $1.6 million by 1945. It was responsible for conducting basic and technical research in ballistics and other related scientific fields as well as overseeing the development of computing techniques, the preparation of ballistic tables, and the provision of information regarding various weapon effects. Unlike civilian laboratories whose productions were inherently restricted by anticipations of market demand, BRL owed a significant portion of its success to how the development of their instruments and technologies reflected only what the Army needed. Enough flexibility was provided to the laboratory so that it could improvise solutions to particular problems and later refine those improvisations for wider use.
In 1940, Zornig established a Scientific Advisory Council and appointed eminent American scientists and engineers to undertake various assignments for BRL. The original members of the committee consisted of aerodynamicist Hugh Dryden, physicist Albert Hull, physical chemist Bernard Lewis, astronomer Henry Russell, physicist Isidor Rabi, physical chemist Harold Urey, aerospace engineer Theodore von Karman, and mathematician John von Neumann.
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Ballistic Research Laboratory
The Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) was a research facility under the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and later the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in ballistics as well as vulnerability and lethality analysis. Situated at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, BRL served as a major Army center for research and development in technologies related to weapon phenomena, armor, accelerator physics, and high-speed computing. In 1992, BRL was disestablished, and its mission, personnel, and facilities were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).
The laboratory is perhaps best known for commissioning the creation of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first electronic general-purpose digital computer.
The history of the Ballistic Research Laboratory dates back to World War I with the Office of the Chief of Ordnance (OCO) within the U.S. Army. During the first year of U.S. involvement in the war, OCO was responsible for supervising ballistic firings at Sandy Hook Proving Ground in New Jersey and computing firing tables for the Army. These firing tables played a vital role in the war effort, because field artillery units heavily relied on them to determine the proper angle of elevation that a specific projectile required to hit a target at a specific range with a given propellant charge. They were also used to predict the projectile's trajectory and correct for variations in atmospheric temperature, air density, wind, and other factors. However, Sandy Hook Proving Ground was closed down in 1917 due to its inadequate size and its close proximity to New York Harbor. Operations were subsequently moved to the newly established Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. By early 1918, almost all of OCO's test firings were conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
As the war continued, the Chief of Ordnance created a Ballistics Branch for the OCO on April 6, 1918, to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for firing tables and other ballistic data. Major Forest Moulton, a former astronomy professor at the University of Chicago, served as the first head of the Ballistics Branch. During his tenure, Moulton revamped how the branch conducted its ballistics work and recruited a large number of highly educated scientists to expand the staff.
In 1919, the OCO was reorganized into four major parts—the General Office, the Manufacturing Service, the Field Service, and the Technical Staff—in accordance with peacetime operations requirements. In 1935, the Research Division was created at Aberdeen Proving Ground and placed under the control of the Technical Staff. Led by Colonel Hermann H. Zornig, the Research Division initially consisted of only 30 people. Despite the small staff size, however, the group supervised six different sections of ballistic work: Interior Ballistics, Exterior Ballistics, Ballistics Measurements, Ordnance Engineering, Computing, and War Reserve. The Internal Ballistics Section was responsible for mathematical and experimental research that advanced the theory of interior ballistics and the investigation of gun design principles. The Exterior Ballistics Section focused on the trajectories and flight characteristics of projectiles and bombs, which influenced the design of new munitions. The Ballistics Measurements Section developed improved ballistic measuring devices, while the Ordnance Engineering Section performed kinematic and mechanical analyses of gun mechanisms and gun mounts. The Computing Section was tasked with preparing firing and bombing tables for standard ammunition and bombs, and the War Reserve Section was responsible for the surveillance of stored ammunition.
In 1938, the Research Division was renamed the Ballistic Research Laboratory in order to give greater emphasis to the organization’s basic mission, and Colonel Zornig became its first director; the assistant director was Captain Leslie E. Simon. The following year, the Army Air Corps contributed funds to BRL for a new building to house additional laboratory facilities as a show of gratitude for the lab's work on bomb ballistics. This building was designated as Building 328 and was completed in 1941.
The Ballistics Research Laboratory further expanded its capabilities and quickly rose to prominence during the timespan of World War II; in 1941 Simon replaced Zornig as director. Compared to its initial staff of 65 people with a $120,000 annual budget in 1940, BRL grew to have over 700 personnel with an annual budget of $1.6 million by 1945. It was responsible for conducting basic and technical research in ballistics and other related scientific fields as well as overseeing the development of computing techniques, the preparation of ballistic tables, and the provision of information regarding various weapon effects. Unlike civilian laboratories whose productions were inherently restricted by anticipations of market demand, BRL owed a significant portion of its success to how the development of their instruments and technologies reflected only what the Army needed. Enough flexibility was provided to the laboratory so that it could improvise solutions to particular problems and later refine those improvisations for wider use.
In 1940, Zornig established a Scientific Advisory Council and appointed eminent American scientists and engineers to undertake various assignments for BRL. The original members of the committee consisted of aerodynamicist Hugh Dryden, physicist Albert Hull, physical chemist Bernard Lewis, astronomer Henry Russell, physicist Isidor Rabi, physical chemist Harold Urey, aerospace engineer Theodore von Karman, and mathematician John von Neumann.