10 KEPORl' OF THE UNDERSEAS WARFARE ADVISORY PANEL 



numerical superiority, argues for the desirability of relatively small 

 naval ships. But, if such ships are to be nuclear propelled, they will 

 need much smaller and lighter powerplants than can be constructed 

 today. To build such ph nts, in turn, we must learn far more than we 

 now know about reactor technology in general, and reactor materials 

 in particular. 



The technical difficulties involved in building compact powerplants 

 are formidable. They apply not only to the reactor portion of the 

 plants, but 'ilso to the associated propulsion equipment. Radical 

 improvements in nuclear propulsion are not now in sight. 



To the extent that technically worthwhile programs in this area 

 can be devised, liowever, we should accelerate and broaden the scope 

 of researcli and development projects specifically aimed at reducing 

 the size and weight of nuclear-propulsion powerplants for naval 

 application. 



5. EXPERIMENTAL SHIPS 



Progress in airplane design has involved a continuing program 

 of constructing experimental aircraft. The Navy, however, has 

 rarely built experimental ships. A program of design and construction 

 of such ships, in order to study their performance characteristics and 

 operational potentialities, should yield very large returns. Such 

 a program might include difl^erent true submarines (rather than 

 submersibles) capable of much higher speeds than present sub- 

 marines — for example, heavier-than-water submarines using con- 

 trollable planes to maintain depth. Likewise, design and construction 

 of submarines capaV)le of operating at depths of several miles might 

 open up many new tactical possibilities. 



In addition to a stepped-up applied research and development 

 effort, it is essential that the Xavy mcrease its support of basic 

 research. There must be more emphasis on scientific fields of concern 

 to the Navy, such as materials, oceanography, and meteorology. 



We cite one example of needed basic research: There are many 

 properties of the ocean's water and the ocean's bottom for which 

 present survey methods are inadequate. These include measurement 

 of deep sea currents, acoustic properties of the water, and acoustic 

 and magnetic properties of the bottom. Far more basic oceanographic 

 research at universities, industrial and Government laboratories will 

 be needed to develop new surveying methods, and to use survey 

 results most effectively. 



Responsibilit}- for the Navy's basic research program has been 

 magnificently handled by the Office of Naval Research. But the 

 "level budgeting" of ONR support during the last eight inflationary 

 years has tended to reduce the number of basic research scientists 

 because of the lack of job opportunities. At the same time, heavy 

 emphasis on development by all the military services has tended to 

 draw college graduates at the bachelor's level away from graduate 

 research training in universit}" laboratories. 



We estimate that under the right conditions, the number of creative 

 research scientists working in basic fields of relevance to the Navy 

 could be increased by at least 10 percent per 3"ear, provided there 

 were a corresponding increase in financial support for basic research. 

 A considerably larger immediate increase is necessary to overcome 

 the decline of the past few years. 



