Dahlgren's First Leading Scientist 23 



understand what was going on in the field of ordnance, and in order to do that 

 properly, we thought we needed testing at various scales. We needed to have a 

 lot of small-scale testing because we could do a great deal of work in that way 

 that we couldn't get done at all in large scale. Large-scale testing was so 

 expensive, and in some cases there was a lack of interest. 



Admiral Parsons* was a great scientist as well as an outstanding naval officer. Can you 

 describe your companionship with him at Dahlgren? 



That was one part of the experience at Dahlgren that was most encouraging 

 to me and most satisfactory. He did what he could to encourage the kind of 

 work I was trying to do, and I've never forgotten what that meant to me. 



/ understand you were very close friends. 



Yes, it was very fortunate that he could be there at that time. 



Can you describe some of the major problems you encountered during your stay at 



7? 



That was the time when the work at the Proving Ground was just getting 

 started in the direction that eventually became quite prominent there. It was 

 difficult in those days to get very much support, financially, for any large-scale 

 work. That was the biggest problem. Funding. 



World War II greatly increased the work at Dahlgren. When did you first feel the 

 inevitability of war, and what was your reaction? 



I'd always felt it was inevitable, but I don't think there was any abrupt 

 occurrence that made it perfectly clear, except for the developing political 

 situations which created the likelihood of there being trouble of this kind. One 

 couldn't help thinking more and more about what was necessary to get ready. 

 We had to be interested in the things that the military establishment lacked for 

 dealing with a major conflict, and we had to build up the scientific foundations 

 lor supporting that type of thing. 



' Rear Adniiial William Sterling Parsons served at Dahlgren between July 1939 and June 1943 as 

 the Experimental Officer for the Naval Proving Ground. Admiral Parsons assisted in the de- 

 xclnpmcnioi the combat radio proximity fuze. He is also noted for his assistance in the develop- 

 mcin of the atomic bomb and was Weaponeer and Bomb Commander in the bomber that 

 dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 

 1 945. Admiral Parsons died in 1953 while serving as Deputy and Assistant Chief of the Bureau of 

 Ordnance, Navy Department. 



