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ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



emergency requests for the production of items on which the NDRC had 

 already done research and development. Such requests in reality amounted 

 to procurement for the Services but they were submitted sometimes in the 

 form of "new projects" and more often in the form of extensions to exist- 

 ing projects. Finally these requests reached such proportions that it became 

 necessary to review the whole problem administratively and to set up cer- 

 tain rules to regulate it. The resultant program was variously known as 

 "crash procurement" and the "Red Ticket Program." 



In May 1944 discussions were held by representatives of the NDRC with 

 the Office of the Chief Signal Officer and the Navy Department for the 

 purpose of reaching an agreement as to the conditions under which OSRD 

 would accept such procurement. The definition agreed upon was "a small 

 quantity production of an item which is urgently needed in the field and 

 which can be completed or deliveries started several months in advance of 

 the date when the manufacturer can commence production line deliveries." 



It was agreed further that such procurement would be undertaken by 

 the NDRC only upon receipt from the Services of assurance on the fol- 

 lowing points: (i) a statement from the using arm that sufficient military 

 urgency exists within the Services to warrant Expedited Procurement by 

 NDRC; (2) that the using arm cannot procure the desired equipment 

 within the time required to meet the military urgency schedule as set up 

 in (i), except through NDRC; (3) that transfer of funds will be available 

 for this procurement. 



In considering the acceptance of "crash procurement," the NDRC con- 

 sidered whether adequate manpower existed to produce the required equip- 

 ment within the time specified and the procurement could be accepted with- 

 out causing material interference to other projects of equal importance. 

 The Army and Navy agreed that the expedited procurement programs 

 should be given sufficiently high precedence ratings to make possible the 

 satisfactory procurement of components to meet the desired delivery sched- 

 ules. 



The Director of OSRD felt very strongly that procurement by NDRC 

 for the Services should be on a very restricted basis. In a letter of March 19, 

 1945, he expressed himself as follows: 



It is my feeling that OSRD should not be called upon to act as a procurement 

 agency for the Services, except in very unusual circumstances when we shall 

 undertake small quantity production to meet advanced dates required by a mili- 

 tary urgency, but rather that we should confine our activity to research and de- 

 velopment as well as to act in a consulting capacity for the Services on the pro- 

 duction of equipment. 



The crash procurement program resulted in equipment getting into sig- 

 nificant use at critical periods; from that standpoint it must be adjudged 



