PREFACE 
During the recent war there arose on both sides of the Atlantic among research workers in 
the field of underwater explosions the feeling that some of the problems posed by the conditions 
of undersea warfare had already presented themselves in the past and that various attempts had 
been made to solve them. Many of the records, however, had been lost or effectively hidden ex- 
cept for what had crept into open publications and consequently a whole new literature had to be 
developed at considerable cost in both time and money, encompassing both old and new problems. 
A corollary of this experience has been the firm conviction that this new literature should not 
suffer a similar fate. The idea of the joint publication of American and British research in the 
field of underwater explosions took form in the latter part of 1946 and the idea was further ex- 
plored with the Bureau of Ordnance and the Bureau of Ships, United States Navy Department and 
with the British Admiralty. The Office of Naval Research, Navy Department, in its capacity of 
disseminator of scientific information undertook to sponsor the publication and has eventually 
Seen the project through to its present form. 
The Compendium has three major purposes: first, to give a greater availability to many 
papers which otherwise would exist in a very small number of copies, and to preserve and revive 
certain rare items, the scarcity of which was due to wartime shortages rather than to any de- 
ficiencies in the papers themselves; second, to present a representative summary of original 
source material and to display the scope of this material ina manner which might make it of 
more universal interest to schools and colleges as a branch of applied science; and third, to 
stimulate interest in this field for the general benefit of the sciences of Naval Architecture and 
Naval Ordnance and to provide those working in these fields with ready reference material on 
many of the important problems which they must face in their work. 
The scheme of the Compendium is as follows: All of the papers selected, which represent 
between 10 and 20 percent of the total quantity of material known to exist, have been divided into 
three volumes. The first volume is devoted to the primary underwater shock wave, the second 
to the hydrodynamical effects falling under incompressible theory including the oscillations and 
behaviour of the gas globe formed by the explosion products, and the third to the effects of all of 
these phenomena on structures and to the measurement and calculation of the resulting damage. 
Three papers have been selected with the object of summarizing the knowledge over the field 
within the scope of the Compendium; these papers, which are placed in the first volume, serve 
to introduce the subject both in general terms, and also with some mathematical detail. 
The allocation of the original papers to the different volumes has, in a few cases, not been 
obvious and the editors must assume full responsibility for any arbitrary assignments. A far 
greater responsibility of the editors has lain in the selection of the papers and in this, various 
considerations have had a voice. 
Many of the older papers have been included for their historical interest. Some papers have 
been used to provide suitable introductory or background material. Most of the other papers have 
been included intact and represent the opinions of the authors at the time of writing. A few of 
the papers have been reworked and consist of new material incorporated into the older original 
papers, or consist of a summary of several progress reports which were too repetitive for eco- 
nomical inclusion without condensation. Papers which have been rewritten are so marked with 
the new date affixed. In general, selections have been made in an effort to give the best review 
of the entire subject in order to convey the most, and the best information within the space limi- 
tations imposed by the exigencies of publication, and within the scope permitted by considerations 
of security. Both these features prevent this compilation from being exhaustive, and the latter 
feature prevents many successful workers in this field from receiving recognition here. 
The editors believe that this Compendium is a new venture in international co-operation 
and hope that this effort may prove useful in pointing the way for other similar joint enterprises 
which may be considered desirable. 
