12 



OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH AGENCIES 



the NRL staff to assist in an experiment at Antigua 

 early in 1945. This experiment investigated and 

 established the existence of surface air layers having 

 significant effects on radar coverage over large areas 

 of the ocean. 



Contract OEMsr-1502 between the Committee 

 and the Jam Handy Organization of Detroit was in 

 force from May 7, 1945 to December 31, 1945. The 

 contractor undertook the production of a motion 

 picture and various other training aids, designed 

 primarily for use by the armed forces in educating 

 personnel concerned with propagation phenomena, 

 and secondarily to acquaint all agencies concerned 

 with progress made. 



Contract OEMsr-1496 between the Committee 

 and the University of Texas was in force from June 1, 

 1945 to October 31, 1945. This contract required the 

 contractor to develop equipment for, and make 

 measurements of, deviations in angle-of-arrival of 

 microwaves propagated through the lower atmos- 

 phere. It was designed also to supplement and expand 

 knowledge of the deviations in angle-of-arrival 

 already obtained through experiments conducted by 

 the BTL. These deviations were considered large 

 enough to affect the accuracy of gunlaying radars 

 and similar equipments. 



Contract OEMsr-1497 with the Humble Oil 

 Company of Texas was in force from June 2, 1945 

 to October 31, 1945. Under its terms the contractor 

 undertook construction of certain field strength 

 measuring equipments for use in experiments being 

 carried on as part of Project AN- 16 in the Naval 



Research Laboratory, Navy Radio and Sound 

 Laboratory, and the Army's Camp Coles, Camp 

 Evans, and Watson Laboratories, and by the New 

 Zealand Joint Communications Board. 



These five contracts make up the total of direct 

 contractual relationships entered into by or on behalf 

 of the Committee on Propagation but represent only 

 a small portion of the work on propagation problems 

 carried on in the United States. The bulk of actual 

 research was conducted under contracts let by 

 Divisions 13, 14, and 15 and by the Service in 

 conjunction with laboratories and industrial com- 

 panies. The Committee served as the integrating, 

 analyzing, and disseminating body for the results 

 of all such work bearing on the propagation problem. 



In addition to carrying on the general integration 

 of reports and papers from all sources (see list of 

 sources in the Bibliography), the Committee spon- 

 sored three conferences which were attended by 

 representatives of most of the agencies investigating 

 propagation phenomena. A similar conference was 

 held before the Committee was in being, and a report 

 of the proceedings was published by the Wave 

 Propagation Group of the MIT Radiation Labora- 

 tory. The fourth and last conference on propagation, 

 the third held under sponsorship of the Committee, 

 was attended by 236 persons, representing approxi- 

 mately 59 separate agencies in and out of the armed 

 forces of the Allied nations. This meeting took place 

 May 7, 8, and 9, 1945 in Washington, D. C. Full 

 reports of this and previous conferences are listed 

 in the Bibliography. 



