Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/28

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 Art Force 15effslatiog USAP HSTOrCA. STUVLS -- 21 cance that they will be dealt with as a separate topic m the chapter. The Stockpfimg Act, passed by Congress in 1939, authorized the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Interior, acting through the Army and Navy Munitions Board, to deter- mine which materials were strategic and necessary for the wartime needs of the Urnted States, and what quality and quan- tity of these materials should be purchased. They were authorized to direct the Secre- tary o! the Treasury to purchase the neces- sary quantities of these materials for stock- piling. Those stockpiles were to be drawn upon by the Presxdent in time of war or national emergency. o Many of the critical materials stockpiled under this act were used m the manufacture of aircraft. Another measure passed by Congress in 1941 was of significance in meeting the matoriel needs of the ,Mr Corps. This was an act of July 30, 1941 facihtating the con- struction, extension, or completion of inter- state pipehnes relatmg to national defense. This legislation gave the President the power to declare the construction or com- pletion of certain interstate pipelines for the transportation of petroleum and pe- troleum products to be necessary for tiehal defense. uch lines could be built or completed by government agenmos, or through the advancement of government unds (on a loan basis) to private indi- viduals or groups. Provision was also made for the acquisition of righr,-of-way for such pipelines.  This legislation had a direct bearing on the Air Corps expansion pro- gram, which required great quantities of aircraft fuel for its greatly expanded train- ing activities. Concomitant with the legislation making great appropriations for the procurement of aircraft and related matoriel and the meas- ures enacted for the purposes of expediting production and facilitating procurement, a large amount of legislation pertaining to Air Corps expansion dealt with the financ- ing of a program of aeronautical research and development. Research and develop- ment was one of the most important phases of the Air Corps expansion program. This work had to be done in order that the effect of the great expenditures of money and en- ergy in the procurement of aircraft should not be nullified by the production of planes inferior in design and performance to those of potentml enemies. Prior to 1939 other natons had spent much more on research and development than had the United States; as a conse- quence, by the tme our expansion program began they had research facilities far supe- rior to our own. Aware of the existing emer- gency, Congress in 1939 introduced several bills authorizing new iacfities for research and development, and granting appropria- tions proxading funds or the NACA (Na- tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and the Matoriel Diveion (late the Mate- nel Command) to carry on the research and development actvites. The basic aeronautical research for both the Army and Navy was conducted by the NACA, which had been established by an act of Congress, approved 3 March 1915. Its 15 members were appointed by the Presi. dent; 9 of the 15 were representatives chosen from the War and Navy Depart- ments, he Civil Aeronautics Authority, the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Weather Bureau, and the National Bureau of Standards; the other six members were authorities on aeronautical sinenee. The Committee's work fell into two prin- cipal categories: t) research to furnish new ideas, 2) the development of these ideas and their application to current nnhtary de- signs. Through close cooperation with the Army, the Navy, and the aircraft industry it was possible to mcorporate the results of a great deal of the committee's work in the current productran of aircraft and to make those aircraft more effective military weapons. The agency o the Army air arm for applying the findings of NACA's re- search was the Matoriel Dwmon at Wright Field. As the threat of war grew in 1938, the NACA had planned and proposed an m- crease m its research facilities. Congress provided funds, first to increase the research faml[tms o the [VACA at Langley Field, ¾rginia, and to provide an electric generat- ing plant to permit continuous operations THIS PAGE Declassified lAW EO12958