
The United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) was a
research facility located at
Fort Belvoir,
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, Bo ...
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