OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 197 



During World War II, tlie need for a much more rapid rate of 

 analysis of the a^-ailable oceanographic data very soon became appar- 

 ent. Oceanographic problems entered into every phase of warfare. 

 Ocean waves were important in seaplane landings, and in refueling 

 operations at sea. Surf was critical in amphibious operations. The 

 propagation of sound in sea water was the limiting factor in detec- 

 tion of submarines and it in turn depended on the charactei- of the 

 bottom, particularly in shallow water. Mining and mine counter- 

 measure operations required knowledge of a variety of factors, such as 

 water transparency, nature of the bottom, waves, currents, the mag- 

 netic and acoustic picture, and even the growth of barnacles. Search 

 and rescue operations depended heavily on a knowledge of ocean cur- 

 rents. Marine animals had to be studied to determine which ones 

 made noise, which ones might be dangerous to swimmers, which ones 

 could be eaten by survivors. I could extend this list great:ly, but these 

 items will serve to show the variety of oceanographic factors that 

 affect military operations. 



In June 1943, mider the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy was given 

 responsibility for furnishing the oceanographic information required 

 by all the armed services, and the Oceanographic section of the Army 

 Air Forces Weather Information Service was transferred to the Hy- 

 drographic Office as the Oceanographic unit, pilot chart section. Divi- 

 sion of Maritime Security. This unit produced a number of basic 

 publications, such as Current Atlases and Sea and Swell Atlases, using 

 the WPA punchcard data. It also was responsible for products of 

 more direct militarj'^ significance, such as sonar charts and submarine 

 supplements to the sailing directions, much of the work on which was 

 carried out on contract at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and 

 Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 



At the end of the war, it was realized that the accumulated oceano- 

 graphic know-how was in danger of being lost unless some firm steps 

 were taken, since the Reserve officers would be returning to civilian 

 pursuits, and the institutions would tend to withdraw from classified 

 contract work. A series of interdepartmental meetings in late 1945 

 resulted in the recommendation that a Division of Oceanography be 

 established in the Hydrographic Office, and a detailed proposal for 

 this was formally approved by Secretary Forrestal on January 26, 

 1946. 



The proposal called for the Hydrographic Office "to act as a central 

 clearing house for oceanographic work, to prepare oceanographic 

 charts and manuals, and to sponsor and conduct oceanographic re- 

 search as a part of its general program of service to the maritime in- 

 terests of the United States." 



Great difficulty was experienced in obtaining qualified personnel 

 (and in retaining them in competition with other Government agen- 

 cies, universities, and private industry), and the Division of Ocean- 

 ography of the Hydrographic Office at first grew slowly. At the end 

 of fiscal year 1947 it had only 15 employees, and it had to enter fiscal 

 year 1948 with a 27 percent reduction in force under the first postwar 

 economy budget. This state of affairs did not continue long however, 

 and the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950 found the Division 

 with a staff of 73 and with two oceanographic survey vessels, the USS 

 San Pahlo and Rehoboth, in commission in the Atlantic. 



