Rapid Development 153 



doing graduate work. The Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, 

 right in the middle of the Mohave Desert, was in need of professionals, 

 and I guess they were ready to take anybody, so they took me. That just 

 about fills up that gap. 



You came to Dahlgren as Technical Director in August 1964 after serving in 

 numerous impressive positions. How did you view your assignment at that time? 

 What did you see as the mission of Dahlgren, and how did you plan to achieve 

 and expand that mission"? 



By the time I was appointed at Dahlgren, it was already established as 

 a laboratory, and having had most of my experience in the Navy at a 

 laboratory like the one at China Lake, I thought that was what I wanted 

 to get back to. Research and development of any kind were always fas- 

 cinating to me, especially in ordnance. I was most familiar with rockets, 

 guns, etc. I had a familiarity with that for a long time before I worked 

 for the Navy. I thought I could help the efforts here with what I knew, 

 with the ideas that I had, and with the experience that I had in man- 

 agement, to look at all aspects of it. But I wasn't exactly prepared for 

 what greeted me after I arrived. It wasn't more than 6 months after 1 

 arrived when there were some hints that Dahlgren was to be closed. I 

 didn't like that. I didn't think I should have come to Dahlgren to 

 officiate at a decent burial, and that's when the challenge appeared. I 

 can tell you more about that later. 



Had you been to Dahlgren before 1964? 



Oh, yes. Even when I was at China Lake I had interactions with Dahlgren on a 

 number of weapons. Weapon A was one of them. That's when I first got to 

 know Dr. Cohen. There was also a shorter-range version of Weapon A. I think it 

 was in 1950 or 1951 when I first came to Dahlgren to look at the firing results of 

 Weapon A, and I talked to Dr. Cohen sometime in those years. Then I had 

 other interactions with Dahlgren when I was Chief Engineer of the old Bureau 

 of Weapons. I had quite a few of those, so I was conversant with what went on at 

 Dahlgren before I took the job. 



What was your view of Dahlgren in the early 1950's when you first came? 



Well, I thought that, really, it wasn't going to go very far if all they were going 

 to do was ballistics and making range tables. I felt that while we needed that 

 kind of service for weapons like Weapon A, there were limitations to it. The 

 Laboratory looked like it had certain kinds of work established for it on guns 

 and ammunition and something on rocket trajectories, and it was on the tail end 



