248. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 
other government departments, to assist them in special problems 
requiring aerodynamic information. 
To construct the various types of models which are used in the inves- 
tigations which have been described, two separate shops, one wood- 
working, the other metalworking, form an integral part of the estab- 
lishment. The former exists particularly to manufacture the wood 
models of ships, aircraft, or other forms which are tested, while the 
latter constructs all special equipment, instruments, and other gear as 
well as any metal models used in the tests in the establishment. 
In its highly technical work which, in many of its aspects, involves 
the measurement of infinitely small units of time, stress, and motion, 
the Taylor Model Basin has taken a leading place in the development 
of special instruments. As two examples in the field of instrumenta- 
tion in which the organization has become preeminent, the work in 
ultra-high-speed motion pictures and electronics should be mentioned. 
The basin has taken a leading position in the development of high- 
speed motion-picture equipment and technique to record the details of 
lightning-fast phenomena such as shock and explosion, and also in the 
development of electronic measuring instruments accurately to record 
super-high-speed events such as the pressure curve of an explosion, or 
to measure infinitesimally small changes in displacement for obtaining 
data on vibrations and strains in structures. 
From the preceding paragraphs it can be seen how large a part the 
work at the Taylor Model Basin plays in the technical side of the war 
effort. Every new design of ship, from aircraft carrier to landing 
barge, is checked and tested as to its form and power; minesweeping 
gear, insofar as its performance in water is concerned, is tested and 
run in model or full size; special weapons and devices which operate 
in or on the water are designed as to their hydrodynamic features; and 
the vibration of new ships and their ability to withstand shock are 
investigated. The list could be multiplied indefinitely. 
This general description of the work undertaken and now under way 
at the Taylor Model Basin, and the special items listed, would not be 
complete without comment upon the quality of the technical reports 
which make available for use the actual results from these tests and 
projects. No matter how thorough and complete the technical studies 
and tests themselves may be, if they are not so written up and presented 
as to be understandable and clear for the use of the officials for whom 
the tests and studies are made, they might as well not have been made 
at all. Particular effort has been made in the preparation of better 
and clearer reports by progressive development of reproduction meth- 
ods, lay-out styles, and writing technique, so that these reports may be 
readily understandable by those who desire to use them. The success 
of these efforts has been made evident in the widespread demand for 
