NDRC OF OSRD: THE CHAIRMAN S OFFICE 77 



than in the field of electronics, were primarily in the nature of offering 

 advice and information. Attempts were made to assemble lists of electronic 

 components of devices under development by NDRC so that advance 

 planning for production could be carried on, or the necessity of design 

 change due to future unavailability of critical materials could be pointed 

 out. 



In the fall of 1943, the Office began to operate on a project basis, through 

 aiding specific devices in the transition stage rather than offering advisory 

 services on an over-all basis. This necessitated close contact for varying 

 periods of time with each device going through this phase. A contract 

 with New England Power Service Company provided for the supply, at the 

 request of the Transition Office and under its supervision, of engineering, 

 expediting, and administrative personnel for project work. The success of 

 this method of operation led to the establishment of a large manpower 

 pool, securing for the Office the services of personnel made available by 

 several public utility companies. At the same time a central engineering 

 group under E. M. Wagner was built up rapidly to cover various phases 

 of electrical, mechanical, and electronic engineering. 



A California branch of the Engineering and Transition OfBce was 

 organized in April 1944. It operated as an entity on the West Coast, to 

 initiate contacts and develop useful lines of endeavor with contractors and 

 laboratories in that area. The California office continued on an expanding 

 plane of usefulness until it was closed on December 31, 1945. 



In June 1944, Woodrow resigned as Deputy Chief of the Transition 

 Office to go to the Radiation Laboratory in connection with an urgent 

 project of substantial magnitude. C. H. Schauer, who had been on the 

 staff of the Office since the middle of 1942, was appointed Assistant Chief 

 of the Engineering and Transition Office and served as second in command 

 to Scherer in the direction of the combined ofi&ces and as active administra- 

 tor for the Transition Office. 



Originally established as few-quick with a staff of three, the Engineering 

 and Transition Office prior to the war's end consisted of a full-time staff 

 of about 50, an additional part-time group of about 20, and an available 

 manpower pool of nearly 200. The assistance rendered to laboratories and 

 the divisions concerned primarily with work in the electronic field was 

 particularly valuable; there can be no doubt that its operations advanced 

 the field use of many new devices of an electronic nature by days, weeks, 

 and even months in some cases. 



Two major factors continuously shaped and reshaped the evolution of 

 the transition function. One of these was rooted in a fundamental of human 

 nature: that feeling of the creator that only he can fully and effectively 

 oversee the completion and perfection of his creation. The second stemmed 

 from the lines of authority and responsibility within the OSRD-NDRC 



