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1942

Original USDA-ARS Experimental Watersheds
Society: ASABEMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: Drainage & WatershedEra: 1940sDateCreated: 1942Agricultural Engineering Building - Ohio State UniversityColumbusState: OHZip: 43210Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/original-usda-ars-experimental-watersheds-58.aspx, https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/12341/PDF

In the mid 1930's, the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) realized the importance of hydrologic processes on agricultural fields and watersheds and determining their impact on soil erosion, floods, water resources, and the agricultural economy. In response, the SCS Hydrologic Division established experimental watersheds in Coshocton, Ohio, Hastings, Nebraska, and Riesel, Texas, and operated them until 1954 when the watersheds were transferred to the newly created Agricultural Research Service (ARS). 

YearAdded:
2013
Image Caption: Active experimental watersheds and rain gauges at the USDA‐
ARS Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory near Riesel, Texas.
Era: 1940sDateCreated: 1942Baton Rouge RefineryBaton RougeState: LACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/fluidbedreactor.htmlCreator: Standard Oil Corporation of New Jersey [now Exxon Corporation]

The first commercial circulating fluid bed reactor, PCLA #1 (Powdered Catalyst Louisiana), went on stream on May 25, 1942, in the Baton Rouge Refinery of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil Corporation). This first use of powdered catalysts in continuous operation allowed the efficient cracking of heavy gas oils to meet the growing demand for high-octane fuels. Today, fluid bed reactors are in use worldwide for the manufacture of fuels, chemical intermediates and plastics.

The plaque commemorating the development reads:

YearAdded:
1998
Image Credit: Courtesy ACS/Keith LindblomImage Caption: National Historic Chemical Landmark plaque installed at the site of the PCLA #1 at ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Refinery.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: AerospaceEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1942Vandenberg AFBLompocState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/HistoricAerospaceSites/Creator: U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force

Vandenberg Air Force Base was the nation’s first space and ballistic missile operational and training base. Beginning with its first launch, a Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) on December 16, 1958, it has been the launch site of many of America’s military satellites and polar-orbiting satellites.

YearAdded:
2009
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/DVIDSHUB (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Delta IV Launch at Vandenberg Air Force BaseEra_date_from: 1942
SS Jeremiah O'Brien
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1942Pier 45 in Fishermans WharfSan FranciscoState: CACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-98-ss-jeremiah-o-brien-%281943%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f558ea74-61d6-4650-92f3-d980c237c373/98-SS-Jeremiah-O-Brien-1943.aspxCreator: New England Shipbuilding Corporation

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, an emergency cargo vessel of the type EC2-S-C1 better known as Liberty Ships, is one of two operative survivors of 2,751 ships, the largest fleet of single class ever built. The other is the SS John W. Brown, now in Baltimore (not operative at the time of the landmark designation). Between March 1941 and November 1945, eighteen US shipyards produced 2,751 ships. The design stressed minimum cost, rapidity of construction, and simplicity of operation. The original design and configuration have not been altered.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Sanfranman59 (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: SS Jeremiah O'Brien 1Era_date_from: 1942
Alaska Highway
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Roads & RailsEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1942Dawson Creek British ColumbiaDelta JunctionState: AKZip: 99737Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/alaska-highway/Creator: MacDonald, Thomas

The Alaska Highway, initially called the Alaskan-Canadian (Alcan) Military Highway, provided an essential transportation link to the Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. After the shock of Pearl Harbor, the Alaska Highway was a first step in America's defense strategy -- a vital military supply line during the war. Over ten thousand Army Engineers were rushed to the far Northwest.

YearAdded:
1995
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bruce McKay (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Driving on the Alaska Highway with a snowy mountain horizonEra_date_from: 1942
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Air and Space TransportationEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1942Air ZooKalamazooState: MIZip: 49002Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/air-and-space-transportation/-238-grumman-wildcat--sto-wing-wing-folding-mecha, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/2d64abc8-3fa3-4d29-92d4-40db4777e8b2/238-Grumman-Wildcat-Sto-Wing-Wing-folding-Mechanism.aspxCreator: Grumman, Leroy

The Wildcat's innovative "Sto-Wing" mechanism developed on the XF4F-4 prototype by Leroy (Roy) Grumman (1895-1982), a founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, was crucial to the U. S. Navy's success during World War II.

The idea of a folding wing was not new: as early as 1920, F.M. Osborne patented a high-wing monoplane with folding wings, but never produced this design. A 1928 plane with folding wings designed by W. Leonard Bonney crashed on its first flight.

YearAdded:
2006
Image Credit: Public Domain (US Navy)Image Caption: Grumman Wildcat “Sto-Wing” Wing-folding MechaEra_date_from: 1942
Subscribe to 1942

Innovations

The Wildcat's innovative "Sto-Wing" mechanism developed on the XF4F-4 prototype by Leroy (Roy) Grumman (1895-1982), a founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, was crucial to the U. S. Navy's success during World War II.

The idea of a folding wing was not new: as early as 1920…

Read More
Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway, initially called the Alaskan-Canadian (Alcan) Military Highway, provided an essential transportation link to the Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska…

Read More
SS Jeremiah O'Brien

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, an emergency cargo vessel of the type EC2-S-C1 better known as Liberty Ships, is one of two operative survivors of 2,751 ships, the largest fleet of single class ever built. The other is the SS John W. Brown, now in Baltimore (not operative at the time of the landmark…

Read More
Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base was the nation’s first space and ballistic missile operational and training base. Beginning with its first launch, a Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) on December 16, 1958, it has been the launch site of many of America’s military satellites and polar-…

Read More

The first commercial circulating fluid bed reactor, PCLA #1 (Powdered Catalyst Louisiana), went on stream on May 25, 1942, in the Baton Rouge Refinery of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil Corporation). This first use of powdered catalysts in continuous operation allowed the…

Read More
Original USDA-ARS Experimental Watersheds

In the mid 1930's, the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) realized the importance of hydrologic processes on agricultural fields and watersheds and determining their impact on soil erosion, floods, water resources, and the agricultural economy. In response, the SCS Hydrologic Division…

Read More

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