Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Visibility Laboratory

The Visibility Laboratory originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1939. Its mission was to apply optics to problems of camouflage and misdirection with respect to an anticipated aerial bombardment of Boston, and its early work was supported by the WPA. When the War began, National Defense Research Committee funding was secured, and the work of the Laboratory centered on investigations of target locations and the location of downed pilots. After the War, the Laboratory received funds from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force, and its investigations were increasingly focused on the Pacific. In 1962, the Visibility Laboratory became part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Laboratory moved to Point Loma in San Diego, California. Its research interests included radiative transfer, atmospheric optical turbulence, scattering and absorption phenomena and other physical aspects of the environment. The Laboratory was closed on July 31, 1987.

From the description of Films, 1965. 1965. (University of California, San Diego). WorldCat record id: 42414440

Established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1939 to apply optics to problems of camouflage. During the war, the laboratory received National Defense Research Council funds to study camouflage, target location, and the visibility of downed pilots. After the war, the labortory received support from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force, and in 1952 the laboratory was moved to California and became part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. From 1952 until the laboratory ceased operation in 1987, it was supported by the Navy, the Air Force, and NASA.

From the description of Records, 1939-1986 (University of California, San Diego). WorldCat record id: 83383160