Show Have Y You ou Any Ideas for tor Secret W capons r T Inventors Inventors' nv Council Wants To I Know Them TheIn Many an War Machines Were T ere Developed by Civilian Amateurs Want to help finish winning the war Well just settle down some night in that favorite easy chair light up the old pipe take out pencil and paper and figure out an easy way of generating an artificial fog one fog one that can be laid just where you want it and really do the business Sounds simple doesn't it But the army would give a great deal for a practical solution to the problem of covering advancing troops this way It can be done A number of methods methods methods meth meth- have been tried out but most of the equipment is too big and cumbersome for effective action at atthe atthe atthe the front The army is still looking for a simple effective way of providing providing providing pro pro- viding this cover And while it is looking for a way to create an artificial fog it is also on the alert for any new methods of dispelling such a fog laid down by the enemy Here too a number of methods have been suggested some have been tried with a degree of success but the problem hasn't yet been really licked This is where the National Inventors Inventors' Inventors Inventors' Inventors Inventors' tors' tors council comes in It was set setup setup setup up within the framework of the department department department de de- de- de of commerce in 1940 to servo serve as a clearing house for just such ideas that military men might find valuable Headed by Charles F. F Kettering a past president of the society of Automotive Engineers and composed of the nations nation's leading leading leading lead lead- ing scientists and engineers it serves as a funnel between the American ingenuity of the man in inthe inthe inthe the street and the proper military authorities The council is dedicated to the principle widely accepted both within government and outside that all modern warfare is largely a battle of inventive ideas The heavily gunned and armored tank the the aircraft carrier carrier carrier car car- rier and the robot bomb bomb all all have been responsible for major changes in strategy as well wen as tactics in the battles of this war Civilian Contributions Another thing the council keeps firmly in mind is the fact that many of the weapons of modern war or orthe orthe orthe the key principles which go into them were the product of the civilian civilian civilian civil civil- ian mind the submarine the torpedo the motor driven airplane the internal combustion engine Naturally most of the major improvements on the weapons of war Var come from expert technicians or outstanding engineers thoroughly thorough thorough- ly familiar with the particular field fieldin in which they lie But many of the ideas or inventions that have been submitted to the council since its inception have come from the rank and file of the people From farmers teachers factory workers business men youngsters in school and even a few women have come suggestions that have proved of considerable assistance to I r I 4 Ir t I I 1 I 1 I ti n The army is still till looking for a simple method of generating artificial artificial arti arti- I fog to cover advancing troops the armed forces And these inventive inventive tive Live suggestions follow fonow a definite pattern in volume with each new phase of the war or introduction of new weapons by the enemy For example when the submarine menace was at its height the council council council coun coun- cil was receiving an average of letters a day describing how torpedo torpedo torpedo tor tor- tor- tor nets could be used to keep the tin fish from blasting the sides of merchant ships Now that the submarine submarine submarine sub sub- marine menace has been licked such suggestions are rare Right I Inow now suggestions for the robot bombs are on the upswing I I Can tanks be equipped with ex ex- plosive plosive-a plosive absorbing rollers to lessen the effectiveness of minefields but none as yet has furnished the complete solution When the soldiers and marines first began landing on Pacific beaches in the face of heavy enemy fire there were scores of suggestions that infantrymen be equipped with shields This This' idea had to be discarded discarded discarded dis dis- carded the council says because the weight of such a shield if it were to prove capable of stopping a I military projectile would be too too great for a fully-equipped fully infantryman infantry infantry- I man to handle Ideas from Soldiers I ISome Some of the suggestions ns too I come from men at the fighting fronts and in army camps A lieutenant-colonel lieutenant on duty in Italy wrote in with an idea for equipping tanks to blow up enemy mines without without without with with- out danger to the tank His suggestion was equipping a heavy tank with a gigantic explosive absorbing absorbing absorbing ab ab- ab- ab roller to be pushed ahead of the vehicle as it waded through the mine field An army sergeant Lauren N. N Elkins Elkins Elkins El- El kins Jr figured out an improved design for a field kitchen tested it himself on maneuvers found out it worked and submitted his idea to the council Within 24 hours it had won acceptance of the army quartermaster corps and test models models models mod mod- els were constructed Along with the new type field kitchen Sergeant Elkins submitted an idea for a shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping case for the kitchen which broke down into two benches and a table Another invention which has saved scores of lives is a simple signaling mirror which can be di directed directed directed di- di straight into the eyes of pilots searching for crews of sunken ships or airmen down at sea This mirror cheap light and easy to construct has been known to send a shaft of sunlight into the eyes of a pilot up to 10 miles away 36 times in a single minute And there is no trick to focusing it Value of Milkweed Floss From the floss of the common milkweed the researches of a civilian scientist filled one of the most pressing of military needs at atthe atthe atthe the outset of the war Supplies of kapok used in the heavy jackets of high altitude fliers and in life belts had been shut off by the advancing Japanese This scientist showed that milkweed floss could do the job better better better bet bet- ter and that it could be used too for insulating and soundproofing Many of the ideas adopted the councils council's records show have served to speed up quick repairs in the field to get planes and guns back into the faster than they could have been readied previously But not all of the inventive and mechanical problems of the armed forces have been solved Many new ideas still are urgently needed even evenin evenin evenI in fields where considerable improvements improvements improvements im im- im- im have been made since the start of the war For example there is I a crying need for some means of controlling fires in tanks until the personnel have had time to evacuate At present present present pres pres- ent the councils council's records show that carbon dioxide under pressure in a I Ismall small metal meta container is being used with some success But the carbon dioxide treatment doesn't serve to i prevent the live oxygen-carrying oxygen ammunition from exploding within the tank as the fire soars past the burning point of TNT An improvement improvement improvement improve improve- ment over this method would be widely welcomed if adapted to the peculiar needs of the tank where interior space is so limited Tanks Need Improvements The cramped quarters of the pres pres- ent-day ent tank make it a fertile field for improvements The operators operator's vision is extremely limited when the tank is up buttoned for battle He can see only ahead Performance of gyroscopic compasses and other instruments on the control panel could be stepped up Improvements already have been made through in ideas submitted to the council the tanks to methods of ventilating reduce the extreme heat under must must operate At M which its crew suspended roof-suspended unit that a present proof bullet takes in air through a II enclosure is in use in many types But the field for improving the comfort comfort comfort com com- fort and fighting ability of the men who man the tanks has by no means been exhausted Another invention the council its hands on is a would like to put mask which voice transmitting gas v would permit its wearers wearer's voice tobe to tobe tobe be heard clearly At present the new type masks are using a flexible dia dia- dia Others combine the features features fea features fea- fea microphone and a tures of a lip portable transmitter But the field is still wide-open wide for improves improve ment Keenly needed too as a protection protection protection of inflating inflating inflating tion to fliers is a means ing carbon dioxide life rafts more speedily at high altitudes Fliers forced to bail out in cold North Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic areas at feet find that their carbon dioxide supply has been burned to dry ice by temperatures temperatures temperatures tempera tempera- tures ranging as low as 60 below Inthe Inthe In Inthe the rapid parachute descent the carbon carbon carbon car car- bon dioxide doesn't have time to resume resume resume re re- re- re sume its gaseous state and shock of the icy water if the life raft isn't immediately available is often fatal in far northern latitudes Range finders too are important factors in directing artillery fire at enemy positions Delicate optical instruments instruments in in- in they are subjected to hard usage in the field and reflect sudden temperature changes A method of providing more sturdy construction and at the same time tima reducing the width without reducing ing the accuracy of operation is a areal areal areal real need Right now the council is particularly interested in homely homel ideas that might aid in destroying or removing obstacles to landing op 4 Sw Z br pi irla 4 r A r This signalling mirror can cnn be directed directed directed di di- into the eyes of pilots who are searching for crews of sunken ships or airmen down at sea that have proved so costly in lives in the far Pacific and on the beaches in Normandy A simple idea from a mechanic or a farmer might develop a technique that would preserve the lives of the men who must go out ahead of the main landing parties and clear the way Japs Clever Too The council cited the report from that men clad only in in bathing suits and armed with rifles and detonating charges had to swim to the obstacles off oft shore and blast them individually from the path of the oncoming troops The Japanese too have shown themselves ingenious in adapting simple decoy devices to bat front battle front e-front use in attempting to confuse or mislead mislead mislead mis mis- lead attacking forces One Japanese sniper had rigged up an sized over-sized puppet show to harass American landing forces He concealed six dummies in trees surrounding his position and attached attached attached at at- them to his own station with ropes When his shots attracted American fire in his direction he would jerk the cord let one of the dummies fall faU from a tree Each time the American troops were confident they had eliminated his sniping post Then hed he'd heed wait his chance and open fire again Some ideas along that line developed developed developed de de- de- de by Yankee ingenuity from close experience from hunting and fishing from work around farm machinery or from bench and lathe the council believes might go a long way in saving the lives of our fighting fighting fight fight- ing men and give them opportunity to develop tae tactics tics of surprise that could come in handy in many a close encounter The American people have responded responded re re- re- re tremendously to the need for wartime inventions of all sorts orts and character the council believes but there are still hundreds of ways way in which American know how can be applied to the problems of a mechanized mechanized me me- war |