Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts

Friday, July 9, 2021

TTC - EU-US Trade and Technology Council

2021 Why the Global Chip Shortage Is Hard to Overcome | WSJ > .
23-12-6 Biden's Inflation Reduction Act: impact on world | FT > .
23-8-29 Understanding the Limits of Innovation || Peter Zeihan >> .
23-7-25 Silicon Triangle | USA, Taiwan, Xina: Semiconductors - Hoover > . full > .
23-4-16 R-U Hybrid Warfare: P00paganda, cyber, hybrid methods - Perun > .
23-3-2 Xina Leads US in Key Technology Research: Report | Focus > .
23-2-7 Why Xina is losing the microchip war - Vox > .
23-1-28 West Strangles Xina's Semiconductor Ambitions - Update > .
23-1-23 Xina’s Two-Year Tech Crackdown Winds Up | WSJ > .
22-12-6 Biden's Pro-American Present for Europe - PZ > .
22-10-12 Biden Bans Xina's Access to Advanced Semiconductors | Zeihan - now > .
22-8-28 Chip War - XiXiP vs CHIPS and Science Act - Update > .


22-8-9 The CHIPS and Science Act (or Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act), also known as simply the CHIPS Act, is a U.S. federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022. The act provides billions of dollars in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.

It channeled more than $52 billion into researching semiconductors and other scientific research, with the primary aim of countering Xina. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 64–33 on July 27, 2022. On July 28, the $280 billion bill passed the House by a vote of 243–187–1.

The bill was considered amidst a global semiconductor shortage and intended to provide subsidies and tax credits to chip makers with operations in the United States. The Department of Commerce was granted the power to allocate funds based on companies' willingness to sustain research, build facilities, and train new workers.

The CHIPS Act includes $39 billion in tax benefits and other incentives to encourage American companies to build new chip manufacturing plants in the US. Companies are subjected to a ten-year ban prohibiting them from producing chips more advanced than 28-nanometers in Xina and Russia if they are awarded subsidies under the act.

America COMPETES Act of 2022 – original House version
United States Innovation and Competition Act – original Senate version

20-6-15 EU-US launch Trade and Technology Council to lead values-based global digital transformation:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Joe Biden of the United States have launched the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) at the US-EU Summit in Brussels on June 15, 2021.

The TTC will serve as a forum for the United States and European Union to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic, and technology issues and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations based on shared democratic values.

Main goals of the TTC
  • Expand and deepen bilateral trade and investment
  • Avoid new technical barriers to trade
  • Cooperate on key policies on technology, digital issues and supply chains
  • Support collaborative research
  • Cooperate on the development of compatible and international standards
  • Facilitate cooperation on regulatory policy and enforcement
  • Promote innovation and leadership by EU and US firms
This new Council will meet periodically at political level to steer the cooperation. It will be co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice-President and EU Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager; European Commission Executive Vice-President and EU Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis; US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken; US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo; and US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai. Other Members of the College and of US Departments will be invited as appropriate, ensuring focused discussions on specific issues in a whole-of-government approach.

In parallel, the EU and the US have set up a Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue that will focus on developing common approaches and strengthening the cooperation on competition policy and enforcement in the tech sectors.


Chip shortage addressed by US-EU tech alliance: Manufacturing more computer chips in Europe and the US will be one of the key focuses of a new technology alliance between the two. The Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was unveiled following talks between European commissioner Margrethe Vestager and US President Joe Biden. The group will also seek to set common standards for new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Both sides are concerned by the rise of China as a technology superpower.
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Friday, February 28, 2020

AI Weaponry

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24-4-5 Israel's Lavender System, AI Targeting, Battlefield Informatics - McBeth > .

Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS), AI algorithms,




Biden urged to back AI weapons to counter China and Russia threats: 

The US and its allies should reject calls for a global ban on AI-powered autonomous weapons systems, according to an official report commissioned for the American President and Congress. It says that artificial intelligence will "compress decision time frames" and require military responses humans cannot make quickly enough alone. And it warns Russia and China would be unlikely to keep to any such treaty. [Yup! WW2 demonstrated that belligerents take advantage of appeasers, and the CCP and Kremlin have repeatedly proved untrustworthy.]

Critics, such as Prof Noel Sharkey, spokesman for the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots, claim the proposals risk driving an "irresponsible" arms race, which could lead to the "proliferation of AI weapons making decisions about who to kill." [Unfortunately, China and Russia are as unlikely to honor the terms of a ban as Hitler and Stalin were likely to honor the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.]

The report counters that if autonomous weapons systems have been properly tested and are authorised for use by a human commander, then they should be consistent with International Humanitarian Law.

Much of the 750-page report focuses on how to counter China's ambition to be a world leader in AI by 2030. It says that senior military leaders have warned the US could "lose its military-technical superiority in the coming years" if China leapfrogs it by adopting AI-enabled systems more quickly - for example by using swarming drones to attack the US Navy.

The report predicts AI will transform "all aspects of military affairs", and talks of rival algorithms battling it out in the future. Although it warns that badly-designed AI systems could increase the risk of war, it adds that "defending against AI-capable adversaries without employing AI is an invitation to disaster". It does, however, draw the line at nuclear weapons, saying these should still require the explicit authorisation of the president. 

The report maintains that the White House should press Moscow and Beijing to issue public commitments of their own over this matter.

Not all the report's proposals focus on the military, suggesting that the US's non-defence spending on AI-related research and development be doubled to reach $32bn (£23bn) a year by 2026.

Other proposals include:
  • creating a new body to help the president guide the US's wider AI policies
  • relaxing immigration laws to help attract talent from abroad, including an effort to increase a "brain drain" from China
  • creating a new university to train digitally-talented civil servants
  • accelerating the adoption of new technologies by the US's intelligence agencies
The report also focuses on the US's need to restrict China's ability to manufacture state-of-the-art computer chips. It advises that the US must keep at least two generations ahead of China's micro-electronics manufacturing capabilities. To do this, it says the government needs to offer large tax credits to companies which build new chip fabrication plants on US soil.

President Biden has already ordered a review of the US semiconductor industry, and last week pledged support for a $37bn plan by Congress to boost local output.

The report contends that export restrictions need to be put in place to prevent China being able to import the photolithography machines required to make the most advanced types of chips with the smallest transistors. This, it says, will require the co-operation of the governments of the Netherlands and Japan, whose companies specialise in these tools.

China's semiconductor-makers have been seeking out second-hand photolithography equipment to do this, buying up as much as 90% of available stock, according to a report in Nikkei Asia. However, these older machines are not capable of producing the most advanced chips, which are prized for use in both the latest smartphones and other consumer gadgets, as well as military applications.

In addition, the report says US firms that export chips to China should be compelled to certify they are not used to "facilitate human rights abuses", and should submit quarterly reports to the Department of Commerce listing all chip sales to China. This follows allegations that chips from American firms Intel and Nvidia were used to conduct mass surveillance against China's Uighur ethnic minority in its Xinjiang region.
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Thursday, January 23, 2020

Future Battle? - Seabed Mining

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24-1-9 Deep Sea Mining: do we really need it? - Our Metallic Earth > .
Mining the deep sea: the true cost to the planet | Economist > .Lanthanides - REEs - Omnia per Scientiam >> .
Energy Challenges - Omnia per Scientiam >> .

To meet the world's growing demand for batteries, private companies have turned their attention to mining the ocean floor. But this practice could come at a greater cost to the planet than it's worth.

Terrestrial mining doesn’t have a perfect record, it comes with a long list of environmental and human rights abuses, including pollution and child labor. All this to dig up raw materials like nickel, manganese, and cobalt that are necessary for our lithium-ion batteries.

Some strategies for a carbon-free future depend on making these batteries in much larger numbers and using them as a power source for electric cars or a storage method for electricity generated by renewables. 

But another source of these materials could lie at the bottom of the ocean. Potato-sized lumps called polymetallic nodules are rich in manganese, copper, cobalt, nickel, and other precious metals; and they are found in abundance in some areas like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone that stretches from Hawaii to Mexico.

History’s Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/... .
"Regulations for ocean mining have never been formally established. The United Nations has given that task to an obscure organization known as the International Seabed Authority, which is housed in a pair of drab gray office buildings at the edge of Kingston Harbour, in Jamaica. Unlike most UN bodies, the ISA receives little oversight."

Treasure and Turmoil in the Deep Sea
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/op... .
"As a result of the mining, animals already living near their physiological limits would be eating mouthfuls of poisonous dirt for breakfast, respiring through clogged gills and squinting through a muddy haze to communicate."

Seabed mining is coming — bringing mineral riches and fears of epic extinctions
https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158... .
"The sea floor there boasts one of the world’s largest untapped collections of rare-earth elements. Some 4,000 metres below the ocean surface, the abyssal ooze of the CCZ holds trillions of polymetallic nodules — potato-sized deposits loaded with copper, nickel, manganese and other precious ores."

21-7-1 First seabed mines may be step closer to reality: 

The tiny Pacific nation of Nauru has created shockwaves by demanding that the rules for deep sea mining are agreed in the next two years. Environmental groups warn that [regulations concerning seabed mining] will lead to a destructive rush on the mineral-rich seabed "nodules" that are sought by the mining companies. But United Nations officials overseeing deep sea mining say no venture underwater can start for years.

[Partnered with DeepGreen], Nauru, an island state in the Pacific Ocean, has called on the International Seabed Authority - a UN body that oversees the ocean floor - to speed up the regulations that will govern deep sea mining. Nauru has activated a seemingly obscure sub-clause in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that allows countries to pull a 'two-year trigger' if they feel negotiations are going too slowly. Nauru, which is partnered with a mining company, DeepGreen, argues that it has "a duty to the international community" to make this move to help achieve "regulatory certainty". It says that it stands to lose most from climate change so it wants to encourage access to the small rocks known as nodules that lie on the sea bed.

[The nodules] are rich in cobalt and other valuable metals that could be useful for batteries and renewable energy systems in the transition away from fossil fuels. The nodules, a habitat for countless forms of life, are estimated to have formed over several million years so any recovery from mining will be incredibly slow. Scientists say they're far from gaining a complete understanding of the ecosystems in the abyssal plains - but already know they're far more vibrant and complex than previously thought.

Still unknown are the impacts of giant machines' stirring up plumes of sediment that are likely to drift over vast distances underwater. Researching this question is a difficult and slow task - and is unlikely to be fully answered within the two-year period initiated by Nauru.

DSM - Deep Sea Mining ↠
Future Battle? - Seabed Mining ..
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Radio Research Station at Ditton Park, Slough

The Radio Research Station at Ditton Park, Slough

Unique record of the Earth’s ionosphere – the electrified region of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, was painstakingly recorded from 1933 onwards at the Radio Research Station near Slough.

Scientists at the RRS were monitoring the ionosphere as it was then vital for long-distance radio communications. Shortwave radio is reflected by the ionosphere and allows the signal to be transmitted long distances over the horizon.

They had noted that the density of the ionosphere was extremely variable and had set up the monitoring station in order to look for patterns in this variability. Much of this is due to changes in solar activity.

The ionosphere is created when x-rays and extreme ultraviolet light from the sun are absorbed by our atmosphere, electrifying it. We now know, thanks to a fleet of spacecraft monitoring the sun, that not all of this variability can be explained by solar activity. Attention is increasingly turning to sources from the lower atmosphere and the ground.

But where to find ground events capable of leaving a signature at the edge of space? The answer lies in the past. World War Two witnessed an explosive arms race, which culminated, in its most extreme form, in the atomic bomb.

But most destructive energy still came from conventional weapons. Allied aircraft dropped over 2.75m tons of TNT, the equivalent of 185 Hiroshimas.

The RAF’s four-engined Lancaster bomber with its 11-ton payload could deliver more explosive energy than any other aircraft in World War II. The American Liberator could carry six tons, the Luftwaffe’s Heinkel 111 four.

Individual British bombs also grew more deadly. In 1944, two six-ton “Tallboys” capsized the German Tirpitz battleship, and the 11-ton “Grand Slam” could start landslides. Such seismic events were, of course, few and far between. Most of Bomber Command’s effort was targeted not at specific installations, but whole cities.

Here, too, the scale of ordnance was devastating. The RAF and US Air Force dropped 42,500 tons of high explosive on Berlin alone, plus 26,000 tons of incendiary bombs.

So-called “blockbuster” bombs – two, four or even six-ton barrels of boosted TNT – fused to explode a few hundred feet up, would blow off roof tiles and shatter windows within 500 metres.

Direct hits pulverised whole apartment blocks. Aircraft flying a mile above the blasts could have parts blown off and the pressure wave could even collapse the lungs of those caught within it.

Subsequent incendiaries would then penetrate structures, designed to set off a firestorm. This only fully succeeded twice – in Hamburg in August 1943 and Dresden in February 1945 – when tens of thousands perished.

The strategic bombing war documents numerous other area bombing raids, each of which involved hundreds of aircraft and up to 2,000 tons of high explosive.

The German authorities’ punctilious recording of the times and payloads of raids, coupled with RAF Bomber Command mission logs, made it possible to construct a database of possible ground events which might have produced shockwaves capable of being detected in the ionosphere.

Ionospheric records from the Radio Research Station are now archived by the UK Solar System Data Centre at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. The record shown below is for 08:30 on September 8, 1940, the morning after the start of the London Blitz when 700 tons were dropped by the Luftwaffe.

By combining data from 152 major bombing raids, it was possible to determine that the ionosphere was weakened, albeit only slightly, by these events.

https://theconversation.com/world-war-ii-bombing-raids-in-london-and-berlin-struck-the-edge-of-space-our-new-study-reveals-103951
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RDF

Scanning Chain Home Installations - The Last Zeppelin Raid 1939 - mfp > .


Radar is an object-detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna (often the same antenna is used for transmitting and receiving) and a receiver and processor to determine properties of the object(s). Radio waves (pulsed or continuous) from the transmitter reflect off the object and return to the receiver, giving information about the object's location and speed.

Radar was developed secretly for military use by several nations in the period before and during World War II. The term RADAR was coined in 1940 by the United States Navy as an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging. The term radar has since entered English and other languages as a common noun, losing all capitalization.

The modern uses of radar are highly diverse, including air and terrestrial traffic control, radar astronomy, air-defence systems, antimissile systems, marine radars to locate landmarks and other ships, aircraft anticollision systems, ocean surveillance systems, outer space surveillance and rendezvous systems, meteorological precipitation monitoring, altimetry and flight control systems, guided missile target locating systems, ground-penetrating radar for geological observations, and range-controlled radar for public health surveillance. High tech radar systems are associated with digital signal processing, machine learning and are capable of extracting useful information from very high noise levels.

Other systems similar to radar make use of other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. One example is "lidar", which uses ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light from lasers rather than radio waves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/radar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSajdavR6Yw >


RADAR
Naval (ASV) and airborne (AI) RADAR
https://youtu.be/uTE-jHVIKJU?t=26m39s .


RADAR - Kammhuber Line - German night air defense system
The Kammhuber Line was the Allied name given to the German night air defense system established in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers.
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When Germany organised its air defences into the Kammhuber Line, it was realised by the British (Bomber Command's Operational Research Section (BC-ORS)) that if the RAF bombers were to fly in a bomber stream they could overwhelm the night fighters who flew in individual cells directed to their targets by ground controllers. It was then a matter of calculating the statistical loss from collisions against the statistical loss from night fighters to calculate how close the bombers should fly to minimise RAF losses.

British intelligence soon discovered the nature of the Kammhuber Line and started studying ways to defeat it. At the time RAF Bomber Command sent in their planes one at a time to force the defenses to be spread as far apart as possible, meaning that any one aircraft had to deal with little concentrated flak. This also meant the Himmelbett centres were only dealing with perhaps one or two planes at a time, making their job much easier.

At the urging of R.V. Jones, Bomber Command reorganized their attacks into streams of bombers – the so-called Bomber stream, carefully positioned so the stream flew down the middle of a single cell. Data provided to the British scientists allowed them to calculate that the bomber stream would overwhelm the six potential interceptions per hour that the German "Tame Boar" (Zahme Sau) night fighters could manage in a Himmelbett zone. It was then a matter of calculating the statistical loss from collisions against the statistical loss from night fighters to calculate how close the bombers should fly to minimise RAF losses. The introduction of Gee radio navigation in 1942 allowed the RAF bombers to fly by a common route and at the same speed to and from the target, each aircraft being allotted a height band and a time slot in a bomber stream to minimize the risk of collision. The first use of the bomber stream was the first 1,000 bomber raid against Cologne on the night of 30/31 May 1942. This tactic was extremely effective, leading to fighting between Kammhuber and Erhard Milch, his boss.

Although the success rate of the Line dropped, the network of radars and plotting stations continued to prove their worth. Now when a raid started, night fighters from any base within range were directed into the stream, where it was hoped they would be able to find aircraft with their radar. At the same time a massive building program started to add hundreds of Würzburgs to the system, although the infrastructure needed was extensive. The boxes were initially the radius of the Würzburg radars, about 22 miles, but more powerful radar later on made the boxes up to 100 miles across. Eventually, the line of boxes was several deep, especially around larger towns and the Ruhr valley. Once again the system started to score increasing successes against the British raids.

The British were ready for this development, and as soon as the rates started to improve – for the Germans – they introduced "Window". Dropping strips of foil from a number of "lead" bombers, the German radar operators saw what appeared to be a stream entering their box, each packet of chaff appearing to be a bomber on their displays. Night fighters were then sent to attack this stream, only to find empty space. Just as the fighters reached the false stream, the "real" stream appeared hundreds of miles away, too far to be attacked. The first time this was used was during Operation Gomorrah (a week-long bombing campaign against Hamburg) and proved spectacularly effective. The German radar operators eventually learned to spot the lead bombers at the edge of the windowing, making it less effective. The British had held back from introducing Window for over a year lest the technique be adopted by the Germans and used against British cities.

A more sophisticated method for blinding the German radar was "Mandrel", a jamming signal broadcast from aircraft accompanying the bomber stream or later certain bombers themselves. This progressed into jamming techniques against individual German radar types and spoofing radars to see bomber streams that weren't there. The British also attacked the communications between ground stations and fighters, with Operation Corona, broadcasting false directions in authentic accents over the radio.

One other element was long-range nightfighters operating against the German nightfighters, using a system called "Serrate" to home in on the German nightfighter radar signals. At least three squadrons equipped with Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito were part of No. 100 Group RAF supporting Bomber Command with electronic countermeasures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research
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The Line was very effective at first, but was soon rendered useless by a simple change in tactics. The RAF directed all of its bombers to fly in a single stream, overwhelming the sectors, who could only intercept a single aircraft at a time. This led to a dramatic drop in interception rates compared to the raid size. The Line was eventually turned into a radar network, and the night fighters improved with their own radar sets to allow them to hunt on their own.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammhuber_Line

RDF – Plane Safety ‘38

Battle Stations - Radar - Documentary + Rare Bonus Footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRvcLNLe3VU
Under The Radar - Radar Technological Evolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSajdavR6Yw

Chain Home:

Early Radar Memories .
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/early-radar-memories.html
Stories of the Battle of Britain 1940 – Chain Home .
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/08/stories-of-the-battle-of-britain-1940-chain-home.html
“The Spies Who Lost the Battle of Britain” .
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/11/the-spies-who-lost-the-battle-of-britain.html
Aboukir’s High-Altitude Spitfire .
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/aboukirs-high-altitude-spitfire.html
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/deflating-british-radar-myths-of-world-war-ii.html

Filter Room
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/battle-of-britain/11865303/The-Battle-of-Britain-as-it-happened-on-September-15-1940-live.html .

Boffins Beat Belligerents >> .
RAF Uxbridge - WW2 command centre > .

RDF – Plane Safety ‘38 > .

RDF - New Forest
New Forest, WW2 ..

Early Radar Memories
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/early-radar-memories.html
Stories of the Battle of Britain 1940 – Chain Home
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/08/stories-of-the-battle-of-britain-1940-chain-home.html
“The Spies Who Lost the Battle of Britain”
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/11/the-spies-who-lost-the-battle-of-britain.html
Aboukir’s High-Altitude Spitfire
http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/aboukirs-high-altitude-spitfire.html


http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/deflating-british-radar-myths-of-world-war-ii.html




RAF Bawdsey > .

1940s: Radar, RAF High Speed Launch (HSL), AFS, 1941 Jowett pump, Austin 12 taxi, Austin K Fire Truck, WLA & David Brown VAK1 tractor, cavity magnetron & H2S, Daimler Scout Car (Dingo), Bren Gun, gas turbine = Whittle jet engine, Gloster Pioneer & Meteor, ejector seat, Aston Martin DB1 & DB2 & DBR1

https://www.youtube.com/user/EnginePorn/playlists?view=1&shelf_id=0&sort=dd .

Of zoos and fire-fighting, today and in wartime
https://web.archive.org/web/20110902160428/http://worldwarzoogardener1939.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/of-zoos-and-fire-fighting-today-and-in-wartime/

Britain's greatest machines - 1940s > .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWSMJFeBfj4&list=PLrWZd-gHTah5CuJVlQgNFmk5jeh0-7mNx
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Monday, August 26, 2019

Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS)


CC-ORS & optimal convoy size

Blackett's team at Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS) included two future Nobel prize winners and many other people who went on to be pre-eminent in their fields. They undertook a number of crucial analyses that aided the war effort. Britain introduced the convoy system to reduce shipping losses, but while the principle of using warships to accompany merchant ships was generally accepted, it was unclear whether it was better for convoys to be small or large. Convoys travel at the speed of the slowest member, so small convoys can travel faster. It was also argued that small convoys would be harder for German U-boats to detect. On the other hand, large convoys could deploy more warships against an attacker. Blackett's staff showed that the losses suffered by convoys depended largely on the number of escort vessels present, rather than the size of the convoy. Their conclusion was that a few large convoys are more defensible than many small ones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research .
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Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Operations Research

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Operational Research 'ORigin Story' - OR Society > .



Operations research, or operational research (OR) in British usage, is a discipline that deals with the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. Further, the term operational analysis is used in the British (and some British Commonwealth) military as an intrinsic part of capability development, management and assurance. In particular, operational analysis forms part of the Combined Operational Effectiveness and Investment Appraisals, which support British defense capability acquisition decision-making.

It is often considered to be a sub-field of applied mathematics.The terms management science and decision science are sometimes used as synonyms.

Employing techniques from other mathematical sciences, such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization, operations research arrives at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Because of its emphasis on human-technology interaction and because of its focus on practical applications, operations research has overlap with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations management, and draws on psychology and organization science. Operations research is often concerned with determining the extreme values of some real-world objective: the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost). Originating in military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown to concern problems in a variety of industries.
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Beginning in the 20th century, study of inventory management could be considered the origin of modern operations research with economic order quantity developed by Ford W. Harris in 1913. Operational research may have originated in the efforts of military planners during World War I (convoy theory and Lanchester's laws). Percy Bridgman brought operational research to bear on problems in physics in the 1920s and would later attempt to extend these to the social sciences.

Modern operational research originated at the Bawdsey Research Station in the UK in 1937 and was the result of an initiative of the station's superintendent, A. P. Rowe. Rowe conceived the idea as a means to analyse and improve the working of the UK's early warning radar system, Chain Home (CH). Initially, he analysed the operating of the radar equipment and its communication networks, expanding later to include the operating personnel's behaviour. This revealed unappreciated limitations of the CH network and allowed remedial action to be taken.
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In the World War II era, operational research was defined as "a scientific method of providing executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding the operations under their control". Other names for it included operational analysis (UK Ministry of Defence from 1962) and quantitative management.

During the Second World War close to 1,000 men and women in Britain were engaged in operational research. About 200 operational research scientists worked for the British Army.

Patrick Blackett worked for several different organizations during the war. Early in the war while working for the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) he set up a team known as the "Circus" which helped to reduce the number of anti-aircraft artillery rounds needed to shoot down an enemy aircraft from an average of over 20,000 at the start of the Battle of Britain to 4,000 in 1941.

In 1941, Blackett moved from the RAE to the Navy, after first working with RAF Coastal Command, in 1941 and then early in 1942 to the Admiralty. 

Blackett's team at Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS) included two future Nobel prize winners and many other people who went on to be pre-eminent in their fields. They undertook a number of crucial analyses that aided the war effort. Britain introduced the convoy system to reduce shipping losses, but while the principle of using warships to accompany merchant ships was generally accepted, it was unclear whether it was better for convoys to be small or large. Convoys travel at the speed of the slowest member, so small convoys can travel faster. It was also argued that small convoys would be harder for German U-boats to detect. On the other hand, large convoys could deploy more warships against an attacker. Blackett's staff showed that the losses suffered by convoys depended largely on the number of escort vessels present, rather than the size of the convoy. Their conclusion was that a few large convoys are more defensible than many small ones.

While performing an analysis of the methods used by RAF Coastal Command to hunt and destroy submarines, one of the analysts asked what colour the aircraft were. As most of them were from Bomber Command they were painted black for night-time operations. At the suggestion of CC-ORS a test was run to see if that was the best colour to camouflage the aircraft for daytime operations in the grey North Atlantic skies. Tests showed that aircraft painted white were on average not spotted until they were 20% closer than those painted black. This change indicated that 30% more submarines would be attacked and sunk for the same number of sightings. As a result of these findings Coastal Command changed their aircraft to using white undersurfaces.

Other work by the CC-ORS indicated that on average if the trigger depth of aerial-delivered depth charges (DCs) were changed from 100 feet to 25 feet, the kill ratios would go up. The reason was that if a U-boat saw an aircraft only shortly before it arrived over the target then at 100 feet the charges would do no damage (because the U-boat wouldn't have had time to descend as far as 100 feet), and if it saw the aircraft a long way from the target it had time to alter course under water so the chances of it being within the 20-foot kill zone of the charges was small. It was more efficient to attack those submarines close to the surface when the targets' locations were better known than to attempt their destruction at greater depths when their positions could only be guessed. Before the change of settings from 100 feet to 25 feet, 1% of submerged U-boats were sunk and 14% damaged. After the change, 7% were sunk and 11% damaged. (If submarines were caught on the surface, even if attacked shortly after submerging, the numbers rose to 11% sunk and 15% damaged). Blackett observed "there can be few cases where such a great operational gain had been obtained by such a small and simple change of tactics".


Map of Kammhuber Line
Bomber Command's Operational Research Section (BC-ORS), analyzed a report of a survey carried out by RAF Bomber Command. For the survey, Bomber Command inspected all bombers returning from bombing raids over Germany over a particular period. All damage inflicted by German air defences was noted and the recommendation was given that armour be added in the most heavily damaged areas. This recommendation was not adopted because the fact that the aircraft returned with these areas damaged indicated these areas were not vital, and adding armour to non-vital areas where damage is acceptable negatively affects aircraft performance. Their suggestion to remove some of the crew so that an aircraft loss would result in fewer personnel losses, was also rejected by RAF command. Blackett's team made the logical recommendation that the armour be placed in the areas which were completely untouched by damage in the bombers which returned. They reasoned that the survey was biased, since it only included aircraft that returned to Britain. The untouched areas of returning aircraft were probably vital areas, which, if hit, would result in the loss of the aircraft. This story has been disputed, with a similar damage assessment study completed in the US by the Statistical Research Group at Columbia University and was the result of work done by Abraham Wald.

When Germany organized its air defences into the Kammhuber Line, it was realized by the British that if the RAF bombers were to fly in a bomber stream they could overwhelm the night fighters who flew in individual cells directed to their targets by ground controllers. It was then a matter of calculating the statistical loss from collisions against the statistical loss from night fighters to calculate how close the bombers should fly to minimize RAF losses.

The "exchange rate" ratio of output to input was a characteristic feature of operational research. By comparing the number of flying hours put in by Allied aircraft to the number of U-boat sightings in a given area, it was possible to redistribute aircraft to more productive patrol areas. Comparison of exchange rates established "effectiveness ratios" useful in planning. The ratio of 60 mines laid per ship sunk was common to several campaigns: German mines in British ports, British mines on German routes, and United States mines in Japanese routes.

Operational research doubled the on-target bomb rate of B-29s bombing Japan from the Marianas Islands by increasing the training ratio from 4 to 10 percent of flying hours; revealed that wolf-packs of three United States submarines were the most effective number to enable all members of the pack to engage targets discovered on their individual patrol stations; revealed that glossy enamel paint was more effective camouflage for night fighters than traditional dull camouflage paint finish, and the smooth paint finish increased airspeed by reducing skin friction.

On land, the operational research sections of the Army Operational Research Group (AORG) of the Ministry of Supply (MoS) were landed in Normandy in 1944, and they followed British forces in the advance across Europe. They analyzed, among other topics, the effectiveness of artillery, aerial bombing and anti-tank shooting.

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Tuesday, July 16, 2019

MoS - Ministry of Supply

Shell Mex House, The Strand
The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production, and the Admiralty retained responsibilities for supplying the Royal Navy. During the war years the MoS was based at Shell Mex House in The Strand, London. During WW2, the building was home both to the MoS, which co-ordinated the supply of equipment to the national armed forces, and the Petroleum Board, which handled the distribution of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940.

The Ministry of Supply also took over all army research establishments in 1939. The Ministry of Aircraft Production was abolished in 1946, and the MoS took over its responsibilities for aircraft, including the associated research establishments. In the same year it also took on increased responsibilities for atomic weapons, including the H-bomb development programme.

The Ministry of Supply was abolished in late 1959 and its responsibilities passed to the Ministry of Aviation, the War Office and the Air Ministry. The latter two ministries were subsequently merged with the Admiralty to form the Ministry of Defence.

The Ministry of Supply instigated the Rainbow Codes designation system. This assigned projects a two-word codename, the first word being a colour and the second a noun. As a result, secret weapon projects—including numerous nuclear weapons—were given lighthearted names such as Green Cheese, Blue Slug or Red Duster.

The Ministry of Supply was responsible for building and running the Royal Ordnance Factories which produced explosives and propellants; filled ammunition; and constructed guns and rifles. However, the Ministry of Works and/or private building contractors acted as agents during their construction. The Ministry was also responsible for the supply of tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, and had a Department of Tank Design where Edward Brisch worked from 1942. Tanks were, however, also designed and built by private arms companies, such as William Beardmore and Company and Vickers, as well as other engineering companies.

The Ministry of Supply also arranged for the construction of a large number of agency factories which were run on its behalf by private companies, such as Nobel Industries. These were similar to the Royal Ordnance Factories but were not part of the Royal Ordnance Factory organisation.


The M.S. (Ministry of Supply) Factory, Valley was a WW2 site in Rhydymwyn, Flintshire, Wales, that was used for the storage and production of mustard gas. It was later also used in the development of the UK's atomic bomb project. More recently, it became a bulk storage depot for emergency supplies.

The Ministry of Supply was also responsible for the labour force of these factories, although the Ministry of Labour did the recruitment. From the middle of the war onwards the Ministry of Supply was in direct competition with the Ministry of Aircraft Production for labour and the two organisations had to reach agreement. Towards the end of the war the Ministry of Supply released labour so that they could transfer to the Ministry of Aircraft Production.

The Dutch Defence Chemical Laboratory escaped the German occupation of the Netherlands. On 14 May 1940 archives and key personnel were moved to London. The 'Centraal Laboratorium, afdeling Londen' (Central Laboratory, London department) was established and fell under the supervision of the Dutch authorities on the one hand, and on the other hand under the Ministry of Supply which provided housing and materials.

From the beginning of WW2 the army research establishments were put under the control of the Ministry of Supply. It was through the MoS that the essential connections were made between military requirements and the scientists and engineers of the civil service, industry, and academia (many academics were recruited into the civil service on a temporary basis).
  • The Experimental Bridging Establishment, Christchurch (later to become part of MEXE)
  • The Experimental Demolition Establishment, Christchurch from 1942 (later to become part of MEXE)
  • The Experimental Tunnelling Establishment, Christchurch from 1942
  • The Fighting Vehicles Proving Establishment (FVPE), Chertsey, Surrey
  • The Projectile Development Establishment at Fort Halstead (moved to Aberporth, Cardiganshire, in 1940 where it remained until 1945)
  • The Telecommunications Research Establishment in Malvern, critical in the development of radar
  • The Wheeled Vehicle Experimental Establishment (WVEE), Farnborough 1942, then Chertsey from 1943
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.

The first site was at Farnborough Airfield ("RAE Farnborough") in Hampshire to which was added a second site RAE Bedford (Bedfordshire) in 1946.

The Fisher Aviation Company began to provide flights from fields at the eastern end of Somerford Road in Christchurch (Dorset) in 1930, and by 1933 the company had flown over 19,000 passengers. In 1934, they obtained permission to establish an aerodrome on the site which became known as Christchurch Airfield. During WW2 an Airspeed factory was built on the airfield, and began manufacturing aircraft for the RAF; the USAAF Ninth Air Force established a base there in 1944. A second aerodrome opened at Hurn in 1944 which became Bournemouth Airport. In 1940, with the German 6th Army at Cherbourg, Christchurch was fortified against an expected invasion: the construction of pillboxes, gun emplacements and tank traps in and around the town, made Christchurch an "anti-tank island". Between 1941 and 1942 Donald Bailey developed the Bailey bridge at the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment at Christchurch Barracks.

Christchurch is the most easterly coastal town of the administrative county of Dorset, and it lies within the historic county of Hampshire. The town abuts Bournemouth to the west and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) east of Poole, 20 miles (32 km) west of Southampton, 23 miles (37 km) south of Salisbury. The town centre lies between the rivers Avon and Stour which flow directly into Christchurch Harbour. The borough boundaries stretched to Hurn Forest in the north encompassing Bournemouth Airport and eastwards along the coast as far as Walkford. The River Stour forms a natural boundary to the west; the estuary and harbour form the southern boundary.

? https://www.google.com/search?q=Uk+ministry+of+supply+ww2&oq=Uk+ministry+of+supply+ww2 ?


The Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) was a British defence research unit. It was formed from the Experimental Bridging Establishment in 1946 and was amalgamated with the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment to form the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment in 1970. MEXE developed the MEXE method (a means of assessing the carrying capacity of arch bridges), the MEXE probe (a field tool to estimate the California bearing ratio of a soil) and the MEXE system (a means of estimating properties of a piece of unknown land by comparing it with known similar terrain).

The Military Engineering Experimental Establishment had its roots in the Experimental Bridging Company of the Royal Engineers (RE), formed from the last un-disbanded battalion of WW1 assault engineers, and under the command of a British Army major. This unit developed into the Experimental Bridging Establishment of 1925 under an RE superintendent (from 1933 a chief superintendent). This was reformed into the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) on 22 March 1946 under a chief superintendent (brigadier) after 5 April 1956 the commander was referred to as director and was sometimes a civilian.

MEXE was amalgamated with the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment on 1 April 1970 to form the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment based out of Chertsey, Surrey and Christchurch, Dorset and commanded by Brigadier RA Lindseell MC ADC. This was amalgamated further into the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment in the 1980s and then the Defence Research Agency on 1 April 1991. A further reorganization into the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency followed on 1 April 1995 before a split into the publicly owned Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the privatised QinetiQ in 2001.

The organisation worked to develop and test new techniques and equipment for use in the British Army. The latter including bridges, rafts, cranes, earthmoving equipment and road pavers. On 6 May 1969 MEXE was awarded the freedom of the borough of Christchurch. Whilst many regiments and corps of the army had been so honoured MEXE was the first experimental establishment to have received such.

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