Report of Bomb Tests on Materials and Structures; Memorandum on Protective Construction
Washington DC: United States Office of Civilian Defense, circa 1941. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. vi, 55, [3] pages including covers. Tables. Illustrations. This is one of a series of Protective Construction Pamphlets treating protection against the effects of aerial bombs, which are being prepared by the Office of the Chief of Engineers of the War Department and the Office of Corps of Engineers and the Office of Civilian Defense. This represents a pre-Atomic bomb damage baseline. Descriptions of the structures and tests are given in the appropriate sections. Some of the general considerations are presented with a view to giving a better understanding of the report. There were two different types of tests. The first type consisted of controlled tests, made by detonating bombs statically, on the ground or in craters or bored holes to determined, under predetermined conditions, the effect of splinters and blast, or earth shock at definite distances from the structures under tests. The test of panels of building material and protective materials and the tests of seven types of shelters were in this class. The second type of tests had the primary purpose of determining the adequacy of the structures to resist bombing under actual conditions and required general bombing of structures of different sizes of bombs from various altitudes. All the structures, including the splinter-proof shelters tested by static detonation initially, were placed in a general area approximately 100 by 330 feet. The western end of this area contained the splinterproof shelters and the typical panels of reinforced concrete building construction as building prototypes. Bombing with bombs up to 100 pounds in weight were scheduled. Bombs detonated statically addressed wall panels and splinterproof Air-Raid Shelters. Bombs released form Aircraft engaged concrete structures and utilities. and utilized sandfilled bombs and explosive bombs. Office of Civilian Defense was a United States federal emergency war agency set up May 20, 1941, by Executive Order 8757 to co-ordinate state and federal measures for protection of civilians in case of war emergency. Its two branches supervised protective functions such as blackouts and special fire protection and "war service" functions such as child care, health, housing, and transportation. It also created the Civil Air Patrol. The agency was terminated by Executive Order 9562 of June 4, 1945. The Office of Civil Defense with similar duties was established later. Fiorello La Guardia was the first head of the office, succeeded in 1942 by James M. Landis, followed in 1944 by General William N. Haskell. While the agency only had a paid staff of 75, it supervised and coordinated the efforts of civilian volunteers estimated to have topped 11 million. Volunteer tasks included firefighting and air-raid preparedness. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Civilian Defense, Bomb Damage Assessment, Building Materials, Structural Impacts, Protective Construction, Air-Raid Shelters, Splinterproof, Splinter-proof, Bombproof, Wall Panels, Blast, Shock
[Book #85744]
Price: $100.00