The Navy's Aerodynamics Laboratory - 100 years of Experimental Aerodynamics from A-1 to DDG-1000

Abstract

The Navy has continuously operated wind tunnel test facilities longer than any other government organization in the United States. This legacy in experimental aerodynamics spans 100 years, beginning with early tests of the Navy’s first airplane, the A-1, in the Experimental Model Basin at the Washington Navy Yard and opening the world’s largest wind tunnel in 1914. It continues today with the recent testing of the Navy’s newest warship, the DDG 1000, in the Navy’s large wind tunnels at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock. The “Experimental Wind Tunnel” as it was called when it opened in 1914 was the centerpiece of the Navy’s newly established Aerodynamics Laboratory. Within five years of its opening, the technical value of the wind tunnel was highlighted by the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1919 by the U.S. Navy’s NC-4 Flying Boat designed with extensive testing in the wind tunnel. Together with the Experimental Model Basin adjacent to it, the Experimental Wind Tunnel served as the backbone of the Navy’s experimental fluid mechanics infrastructure for developing the Navy’s ships, submarines, and aircraft. The facilities were expanded and relocated a short distance north to Carderock Maryland during World War II and redesignated the David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB) after RADM David W. Taylor, the visionary behind the Navy’s experimental fluid mechanics facilities. In the years following World War II the Aerodynamics Laboratory was significantly expanded and included two eight-foot by ten-foot subsonic wind tunnels, a seven-foot by ten-foot transonic wind tunnel, as well as several supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels. By the early 1970s the DTMB was renamed the Naval Ship Research and Development Center and the various “Laboratories” that existed were replaced with “Departments.” The wind tunnel facilities within the Aviation and Surface Effects Department represented a fraction of the many wind tunnel facilities that existed at the time but continued to serve an important role in the development of advanced concepts and many types of naval platforms including aircraft, ships, weapons, and surface effects vehicles. Through the 1980s nearly all naval aircraft development programs included aerodynamic and weapons systems evaluations in the wind tunnels at Carderock. In addition to aircraft, many tests on ships, submarines, and underwater vehicles and systems were conducted. A variety of non-naval platforms were also tested including sea-basing platforms, spacecraft, and concepts for the National Aerospace Plane. Today, the wind tunnel facilities at Carderock serve an important role in supporting the current Navy and the Navy of tomorrow, continuing a legacy of 100 years of experimental aerodynamics.