Edited by Alex M Spencer

During World War II, advances in aviation became unmistakable. Many nations’ air forces entered the war flying biplane aircraft that were not much different from their predecessors of the previous world war. They were soon eclipsed by aircraft that took advantage of new designs that utilized many aeronautical advances of the interwar period such as new powerplants, stressed-skin aluminum structures, and aerodynamic improvements. During the war, new technologies emerged and developed, such as jet- powered aircraft, which would come to dominate post–World War II military aviation.

In A Wartime Necessity: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and Other National Aeronautical Research Organizations’ Efforts at Innovation During World War II, each chapter has been written by a recognized authority in their field and draws upon the most recent research on their topic. This volume investigates a broad range of topics associated with aeronautical research and development that took place during the war within both Allied and Axis countries. It also demonstrates how the technological improvements conducted from their research were critical to those on the front line of combat as well as how wartime expedience and technology required institutions to adapt to the world crisis.

NASA SP-2024-4418

Contents

	Introduction	Alex M Spencer
1	Observation in Context: The Interwar Rebuilding of German Aviation, the Lindberghs, and the Challenges of Air Intelligence and Assessment	Richard P. Hallion
2	The NACA and American Aeronautical Research in World War II	Roger D. Launius
3	Japanese Aeronautical Innovation During World War II	Juergen Paul Melzer
4	TsAGI During the Great Patriotic War	F. Robert van der Linden
5	Essential, Not Supportive: Women and World War II Aeronautical Research and Development at the NACA’s Langley Aeronautical Research Laboratory and Beech Aircraft Company	Emily Gibson
6	Blades for Victory: Propeller Innovation, Production, and Use During World War II	Jeremy R. Kinney
7	The NACA Drag Reduction Program	F. Robert van der Linden
8	The Tuck-Under Problem: An Aerodynamic High-Speed Compressibility Disaster for the Lockheed P-38 and How NACA Engineers Fixed It	John D. Anderson, Jr.
9	The Evolution of the U.S. Navy’s Fast Carrier Task Force in World War II	William F. Trimble
10	Resighting the Norden Bombsight: Precision Tool or Area Bomber?	Breanna Lohman
11	“What About Aeronautics?”: The NACA Forms the Nucleus of America’s Space Agency	Layne Karafantis