![]() ![]() Because of the war, construction did not begin until 1920. In 1916 Congress appropriated $1 million for the construction of a naval research lab, which would be built near the U.S. there should be a pattern shop, foundries for brass, cast iron and steel, and machine shops for large and small work.” As Edison told the New York Times, “The laboratory should be of complete equipment to enable working models to be made and tested. Modelled after his own West Orange research facility, Edison’s proposal called for a well-equipped laboratory capable of producing new invention rapidly. Edison recommended that the Allies change their shipping schedules to avoid German submarines.Įdison encouraged the Navy to establish a permanent research laboratory. and its Allies were using prewar shipping routes, which made it easier for enemy submarines to target ships, and that many ships were passing through danger zones during daylight. At the conclusion of this research, Edison discovered that the U.S. From October 1917 to January 1918 he used an office in the State, War and Navy Building near the White House (now called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) to collect data on Allied shipping losses. In the fall of 1917 Edison moved his war research to Washington, D.C. Peter Cooper Hewitt experimented on helicopters, while Frank Sprague developed depth charges, underwater fuses, and armor-piercing shells. Hudson Maxim invented improved contact mines and torpedo fuel. Elmer Sperry developed a number of improvements for airplanes and submarines, including a device to detect hydrogen in submarines, improved steel airplane propellers, and remote-control devices for aerial bombs. The technical research conducted by individual board members was more consequential. None of these ideas, however, were practical. Other ideas for camouflage and smoke reduction (to reduce the visibility of ships) were also tested. This committee received thousands of suggestions from the public for shields and nets to protect surface vessels from submarines. In February 1917, the Naval Consulting Board created a Special Problems Committee to address the issue of protecting ships from surface attack. The orientator, a simulated pilot’s seat mounted on gimbals, allowed instructors to simulate aircraft motion for pilot trainees. Of these submissions, only 110 were referred to one of the subcommittees for evaluation, while only one – the Ruggles Orientator – was produced during the war. The board received approximately 11,000 suggestions, most dealing with the submarine. These subcommittees evaluated invention proposals submitted by the public. At its first meeting on Octothe Naval Consulting Board quickly adopted operating rules and created fifteen subcommittees organized by subject, including submarines, ordnance and explosives, mines and torpedoes and ship construction. ![]()
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