The United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) was a

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

research facility located at

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

History

The ERDL was formed in 1947 when the Army's Engineer Board was redesignated as the U.S. Engineer Research and Development Laboratory, or ERDL.Pennington, John, ''History of the U.S. Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories 1920-1970'', Ft. Belvoir, VA: Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories, AD-785 549, Nov. 1973

Army Equipment Development milestones

Among other things, the ERDL was responsible for the creation of the

ERDLator The ERDLator was a field water treatment device developed during World War II at the U.S. Army's United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Technically named the "Water Purification Unit, Van-Type, ...

water treatment device in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the ERDL woodland camouflage pattern in 1948, and the updated M1950 lensatic compass. The ERDL also established the first U.S. Army research group dedicated to

night vision system A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

s in 1954, called the Research and Photometric Section.Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate - Fort Belvoir, VA

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Army Engineer Research And Development Laboratory Fairfax County, Virginia Engineer Research and Development Laboratory Military installations in Virginia