FOREWORD 



The success of the propagation program was the 

 result of the wholehearted cooperation of many 

 individuals in the various organizations concerned, 

 not only in this country but in England, Canada, 

 New Zealand, and Australia. The magnitude of the 

 research work accomplished was possible only because 

 of the willingness of the workers in many organiza- 

 tions to undertake their parts of the overall program. 

 In fact, the entire program of the Committee on 

 Propagation was carried out without the necessity 

 of the Committee exercising directive authority over 

 any project. 



Dr. Hubert Hopkins of the National Physical 

 Laboratory in England and Mr. Donald E. Kerr of 

 the Radiation Laboratory at the Massachusetts 

 Institute of Technology, who were working on this 

 phase of the war effort when the Propagation Com- 

 mittee was formed, were instrumental in giving a 

 good start to its activities. The largest single group 

 working for the Committee was under Mr. Kerr. 



The existence of a common program for the united 

 nations in radio wave propagation resulted from the 

 splendid cooperation given the Propagation Mission 

 to England by Sir Edward Appleton and his Ultra 

 Short Wave Panel. Later, through the cooperation 

 of Canadian engineers and scientists, Dr. W. R. 

 McKinley of the National Research Council of 

 Canada and Dr. Andrew Thomson of the Air Services 

 Meteorological Division, Department of Transport, 

 Toronto, Canada, undertook to carry on a part of the 

 program originally assigned to the United States. 

 The program was further rounded out by the willing- 

 ness of the New Zealand government to undertake 

 an experiment for which their situation was particu- 

 larly favorable. Dr. F. E. S. Alexander of New 

 Zealand and Dr. Paul A. Anderson of the State 

 College of Washington initiated this work. Needless 

 to say, the labor of the Committee on Propagation 

 could hardly have been effective without the coopera- 

 tion of the Army and Navy. Maj. Gen. H. M. 

 McClelland personally established Army coopera- 



tion, and Lt. Comdr. Ralph A. Krause and Capt. 

 Lloyd Berkner were similarly helpful in organizing 

 Navy liaison and help. 



Officers and scientific workers of the U. S. Navy 

 Radio and Sound Laboratory at San Diego, Califor- 

 nia, altered their program on propagation to fit in 

 with the overall program of the Committee. Capt. 

 David R. Hull, Bureau of Ships, understanding the 

 importance of the technical problems, paved the way 

 for effective cooperation by this laboratory. 



Dr. Ralph Bown, Radio and Television Research 

 Director, Bell Telephone Laboratories, integrated the 

 research program undertaken by Bell Telephone 

 Laboratories for the Committee on Propagation. 

 This joint research program included meteorological 

 measurements on Bell Telephone Laboratories prop- 

 erty by meterologists of the Army Air Forces work- 

 ing with Col. D. N. Yates, Director, and Lt. Col. 

 Harry Wexler of the Weather Wing, Army Air Forces. 

 The accomplishments of the Committee on Propaga- 

 tion are a good example of the effectiveness of co- 

 operation — all parts were essential and none more 

 than the rest. 



I want to thank Dr. Karl T. Compton, President 

 of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who 

 was always willing to discuss problems of the Com- 

 mittee and who helped me to solve many of the more 

 difficult ones, and also, Prof. S. S. Attwood, Univer- 

 sity of Michigan, whose continual counsel through- 

 out my term of office was in no small way responsible 

 for the success of our activity. 



Credit is also due Bell Telephone Laboratories, 

 which made my services available to the government 

 and paid my salary from August 1943 to September 

 1945, and to Cornell University, which has allowed 

 me time off with pay to complete the work of the 

 Committee on Propagation since September 1945. 



Chas. R. Burrows 

 Chairman, Committee on Propagation 



