During WW II, MG G. M. Barnes was the chief of research and development of the US Army’s Ordnance Branch. In that capacity, his unit produced many many weapons to help the United States & the Allies win WW II – from artillery, to armor to hand held weapons, Ordnance delivered.
Another development that has changed the world is that today 17 MAY 1943, some 66 years ago, US Army & the University of Pennsylvania developed the ENIAC, a computer containing 17,468 vacuum tubes.
Posted 2 years, 8 months ago at 8:01 am. Add a comment
The ENIAC was the first computer! ENIAC stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer.
It’s hardly known, but in my research about the guns of the esteemed Presidential Salute Battery of the 3d Infantry Regiment of the US Army – “THE OLD GUARD”, I came across what I believe is the true “Father of Computers” – Major General G. M. Barnes, US Army who was the Chief of the Research and Development of the Army Ordnance Department during WW II and beyond. It was under his leadership that the project was sponsored and led us into the computer age. Think about it, the ENIAC computer was created (with its 19,000 vacuum tubes) to address the complicated calculations of trajectory for firing of cannon and other artillery… from that room-sized behemoth, we now have computers that make life better.
Again the US Army – the Army Research Lab (ARL) has contributed greatly to the world and has gotten little recognition.
I located an old photo in the National Archives that shows the General along with others of the ENIAC Team.
In the photo you will find — Left to Right: J. Presper Eckert, Jr., Chief Engineer; Professor J. G. Brainerd, Supervisor; Sam Feltman, Chief Engineer for Ballistics, Ordnance Department; Captain H. H. Goldstine, Liaison Officer; Dr. J. W. Mauchly, Consulting Engineer; Dean Harold Pender, Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania; General G. M. Barnes, Chief of the Ordnance Research and Development Service; Colonel Paul N. Gillon, Chief, Research Branch of the Army Ordnance Research and Development Service.
GHTime Code(s): nc nc Posted 4 years, 3 months ago at 12:26 am. 2 comments
After a week of capturing three final honors at Arlington National Cemetery plus several other photographic events. I was pleased when the phone rang and one of my friends was coming into town to do some WW I research at the National Archives . Not the downtown Washington, DC location, but where they keep the “real stuff” for researchers to pour over and extract the nuggets of information that are well preserved by the US Government.
I was amazed to find out that there are really “many” national archives — (see the map) of the Archives.
While I was there, I explored the wonderful collection of US Army ordnance. (The first intent was to explore the still photo section located on the 5th floor – - – I never got there!) I spent the day pouring over about 13 boxes of records that opened my eyes to the vast array of ordnance and their transport proposed, developed and used during WW II. The morning “pull” of information didn’t provide much in the way of what I was looking for — “The Origin of the 105 MM anti-tank guns mounted on howitzer chassis…” — “The Presidential Salute Battery” – The Guns of the 3d Infantry Regiment – “The Old Guard”
After lunch, I finished the last of the first set of boxes and then retrieved the second “pull”
EUREKA!
In the first box … the first folder, I found the order by a General G. M. Barnes, chief of the Ordnance of the US Army to mount the anti tank guns on the howitzer chassis. I dove into the folder and found several photos of the guns … what a great day!
Posted 4 years, 4 months ago at 11:15 pm. Add a comment
