THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL SITE

BELVOIR RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Remembering the Army's R&D Center at Fort Belvoir 

PAST COMMAND NAMES

• Engineering Board '42 (1)

• Engineer Research and Development Laboratory - ERDL  '47

• Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center - MERDC

• Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command  MERADCOM Est 1/76

• Belvoir Research and Development Center - BRDC

• Belvoir Research Development and Engineering Center - BRDEC

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL  

• 1976 MERDC Org Chart  [Courtesy of  Frank Paca]
• Old Boys Sensor Group

... The Engineer Board, responsible for the Corps' research and development activities, grew dramatically during the war years. In 1942, the organization moved from its original location off the Parade Ground to the southern end of Gunston Road. In 1947, the Engineer Board changed its name to the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories (ERDL) to more accurately convey its mission. source    Throughout the decade, the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories (ERDL) were involved in experimentation with a wide range of technical military applications. The laboratories developed and tested new techniques for electrical power generation; camouflage and deception; methods of handling materials and fuel; bridging; and mine detection. They experimented with portable map copying machines, fungicides for use in tropical environments, and heavy earth-moving equipment. The Castle reported on ERDUs development of prefabricated buildings for use in Arctic environments, and the subsequent testing of these structures in Greenland and Canada. During the 1960s, the primary focus of research at Fort Belvoir shifted to the development of Army vehicles.

Perhaps no structure on the post illustrates more graphically Fort Belvoir's research and development phase than the SM-1 (Stationary, Medium Power, First Prototype) Nuclear Plant. This facility was developed to generate electricity for commercial use, and to cut back the Department of Defense's dependency on fossil fuels. The SM-1 Plant, which represented the first national nuclear training facility for military personnel, became operational in 1957 and remained in operation until its decommissioning in 1973.
source 

ERDL's Research and Photometric Section was responsible for the development of night vision equipment source 

Click here for additional photos 

A  SAMPLING OF PUBLICATION FROM THE CENTER 

"Protection Afforded by Field Fortifications against Nuclear Weapons Effects, Project 50.6."FortBelvoir, VA.:ERDL.1557-TR.12/08/58.61 Pages.(A04) AD 860 801

A STUDY OF THE ENGINEERING ASPECTS OF EXPEDIENT GAMMA-SHIELDING MATERIALS  Creator/Author Hargrove, C.D. ; Grum, A.F. Publication Date 1960 Apr 07 OSTI Identifier 4026247 Report Number(s) ERDL-1622-TR;AD-238440; AD-238440 

Vibrational Spectra of Cyanuric Triazide S. J. Shearer and G. C. Turrell Department of Chemistry, Howard University, Washington, D. C. J. I. Bryant and R. L. Brooks III Basic Research Laboratory, USA ERDL, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (Received 24 April 1967) 

High reflectance coatings for the extreme ultra-violet t US DC  ... . As a result highly efficient reflectors are ... consisting of A1 + MgF2 + AI + MgF 2 on a glass substrate, produced by ERDL at Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Influence of Multiple Scattering of the Intensity and Polarization - GEORG H. HASS (64)  ERDL, Fort Belvoir, Va. 

A New Mission: Petroleum Distribution - (1) ERDL. file, EB 143 ; (2) Col James E. McNary 

Dr. Forrest (Jack) Agee   -   ... "Instruction Manual - Procedure for Detecting Superconductivity" Electrotechnology Laboratory Technical Note, MERDC, Ft. Belvoir, Va. (April 12, 1971). ...
www.afosr.af.mil/pages/afragee.htm

CANCELLATION ANALASIS   ... Center at Fort Belvoir, VA with the CBU-55 might satisfy the requirement. ...PA-10 has been satisfied by "the forthcoming MERDC CBU-55 Testing Report. ...
deploymentlink.osd.mil/current_issues/ shad/shad_chart/shad_cancel/DTC_73-12.html

Collecting the History of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells  ... In the mid-1960s, the US Army's Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center (MERDC) at Ft. Belvoir tested several molten carbonate cells made by ...
americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/mc/mcfcmain.htm

Fuel Cell Project: Alkali Fuel Cells photo #1   ... Development Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., to generate precise power and to propel vehicles. ... A by-product of MERDC's research on hydrocarbon fuel cells, ...
americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/alk/alk1.htm 

Phys. Rev. C 2, 500 (1970): Benveniste et al.   ... Electromagnetic Effects Laboratory, US Army MERDC Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060. A. Mitchell; Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, ...
link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevC.2.500 - 

Land Mines & Demining in the 20th Century: A Bibliography ...Fort Belvoir, VA: Army Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command, ... ABSTRACT: This paper presents the methodology being used at MERDC to ...
library.nps.navy.mil/home/bibs/land20thtrd_h.htm - 89k - May 3, 2005 - 

Terry D Staley's M35A2  ... pattern is actually an example of the MERDC (Mobility Equipment Research & Development Command) 4-color camo pattern developed in 1975 at Fort Belvoir. ...
www.greensix.org/owners/terrydstaley/m35a2-tds.html - 5k - 

ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE & MARKINGS By: G. BRADFORD  ... color scheme was soon referred to as MERDC, since it was devised by the Mobility Equipment Research & Development Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. ...
www.afvnews.ca/camouflage/m113a1.html

Homeokinetics Bulletin 7  ... Systems to Perform Simple Military Tasks", Parts I, II., GTS reports to US Army MERDC, Ft. Belvoir, Contract DAAKOZ 74 C 0042, March, Sept., 1974. ...
www.trincoll.edu/depts/ecopsyc/ homeokinetics/nfbulls/bull7.html

DOCUMENT LIST FOR - Camouflage  ... MERDC Leads Major Effort in Camouflage Technology &nbsp1972 December- ...Research and Development Laboratory, Fort Belvoir &nbsp1948 August 20- ...
www.monmouth.army.mil/historian/ docssearch.php?title=Camouflage

Growth Rate of an Ice Crystal in Flowing Water and Salt Solutions   ... MERDC,. Fort. Belvoir, Virginia 22060. flow rates. The equation resulting from the theory has been verified. experimentally for growth in pure water ...
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/aic.690200320

Fuel cells for tactical battlefield power - IEEE Aerospace and ...  Equipment Research and Development Command (MERDC,. Fort Belvoir, VA) examined the possibility of developing a. range of tactical power systems using ...
ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel3/ 62/3472/00121939.pdf?arnumber=121939 

... MERDC,. Fort. Belvoir. Va.. under Contract. DAAK02-68-C-0377. The author is.with. IIT Research Institute,. Chicago,. Ill. 60616.
ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel6/ 8234/25504/01140129.pdf?arnumber=1140129

Summers Biography  ... Types," Final Report on USA MERDC Contract DAAK02-C-0006. ... Use of High Pressure Waterjets in Landmine Remediation", MURI Review Meeting, Ft. Belvoir, ...
campus.umr.edu/rockmech/people/summers/biography.html- 

Land Mines & Demining in the 20 Century: A Bibliography  ... Dennis, James A. “MERDC Demonstrates A Fuel Air Explosive mine Neutralization. Capabilities. ... Fort Belvoir, VA: Army Mobility Equipment Research and ...
www.demine.org/symposia/3rd-NPS-1998/land.pdf - 

Land Mines & Demining in the 20 Century: A Bibliography ... Dennis, James A. MERDC Demonstrates A Fuel Air Explosive mine Neutralization ... Belvoir Developing Countermine Technologies. Army Research, ...
www.demine.org/symposia/ 4th-NPS-2000/BIBLIOGR/LANDBIB.PDF - 

ADVANCED ENERGY CONVERSION ... A Status Report on. Fuel Cells. Rep. 2039. USA-MERDC,. Fort Belvoir, Va. 86. Kunz, HR, Gruver, GA 1974. The. Catalytic Activity of Platinum Supported ...
arjournals.annualreviews.org/ doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.eg.01.110176.002021 - 

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This web site contain non-vetted information that is un-official and for general use only.  The Authors are not qualified to provide legal advice  There are no formal or financial agreements with any persons or entities cited.  Some material is from copyrighted sources  It is for education only and must be source referenced. 

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