The Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Corps of Engineers 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), Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Lord ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The ERDL performed research and development related to earthmoving, industrial

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

and

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

, fuels handling, environmental control,

electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...

and

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

, direct

energy sources Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from Natural resource, natural resources. These activities include the production of Renewable energy, renewable, nuclear power, nuclear, and fossil fuel derive ...

detectors A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

and marine craft,

mine warfare Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices: *Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to disable or destroy vehicles * Minelaying, deployment of explosive mines at sea **Naval min ...

fortifications A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and obstacles,

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

and

deception Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Tort of ...

water purification Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...

, nuclear weapons effects,

materials A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their ge ...

, and

environmental testing Environmental testing is the measurement of the performance of equipment under specified environmental conditions. This can include the following: * High and low extreme temperatures * Temperature cycling * Sand and dust exposure * Salt spray * Hi ...

. It also prepared procurement data, packages including development of specifications of

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

procured in quantity; engineering studies and tests to determine performance and quality assurance data for standardization documents; evaluation of unsatisfactory equipment reports and development of equipment modifications; tests of preproduction models, production samples and production sampling techniques;

industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

for all items of

;

value engineering Value engineering (VE) is a systematic analysis of the functions of various components and materials to lower the cost of goods, products and services with a tolerable loss of performance or functionality. Value, as defined, is the ratio of func ...

; product reviews; training literature and maintenance packages; initial production of new equipment procured in quantity.

History

The Army established its first engineer board at Willets Point, New York, now Fort Totten, in 1870. Around the turn of the century, the engineer board was transferred to Washington Barracks, DC, where it was disbanded in 1920. It was replaced by the Board on Engineer Equipment, which was set up the following year in 1921, at Camp Humphreys, Virginia, now Fort Belvoir. This was the forerunner of the Engineer Board, which guided the research and development activities of the Corps of Engineers from 1933 to 1947. Initially, the Board occupied two temporary buildings near the present Wallace Theater. Its mission continued to expand, however, and the Engineer Board moved into the current facilities in 1942."A quick look at BRDEC, U.S. Army Belvoir RD & E Center"
U.S. Army Troop Command, ort Belvoir, Va.? 991?

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

883661611. Retrieved 26 March 2025 – via WorldCat.org. p. 5 "The Army established its first Engineer Board at Willets Point, NY, now Fort Totten, in 1870. Around the turn of the century, the Board was transferred to Washington Barracks, DC, where it was disbanded in 1920. It was replaced by the Board on Engineer Equipment, which was set up the following year, 1921, at Camp Humphries, VA, now Fort Belvoir. This was the forerunner of the Engineer Board, which guided the research and development activities of the Corps of Engineers from 1933 to 1947. Initially, the Board occupied two temporary buildings near the present Wallace Theater. Its mission continued to expand, however, and we moved into our current facilities in 1942. In 1947, the Board changed its name to the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories (ERDL). Twenty years later, in 1967, ERDL became the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center (MERDC) when its functions were transferred to AMC. We were renamed the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command (MERADCOM) in 1976. In 1983, MERADCOM became part of TROSCOM and were renamed the Belvoir Research and Development Center. Two years later, the word "Engineering" was added to our title to more accurately reflect our mission". The ERDL was formed in 1947, when the Army's Engineer Board's laboratory elements were redesignated to Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, 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 on 1 March 1947, in accordance with War Department General Order 26. The Engineer Board, continued to function as the directive and policy-making body for the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories. The change in name was made to clarify the status of the scientists and technicians who conducted research and development work at the installation. By 20 October 1947, all functions of the Engineer Board laboratory elements had been transferred to ERDL. Under the new set-up, the ERDL was under the administrative supervision of the Director of Research and Development of the Engineering Center, operated through the Engineer Board, and technical supervision remained with the Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE). On 1 August 1962, ERDL was released from assignment to OCE and transferred to the US Army Materiel Command (AMC), August 1, 1962, pursuant to

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. The DA is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized. It is led ...

General Order 46, dated 25 July 1962, and further assigned to the US Army Mobility Command (MOCOM) by

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General Order 5, dated 26 July 1962. In 1966, ERDL transferred from US Army Materiel Command to the US Army Mobility Equipment Command (MECOM).

Army Equipment Development milestones

Among other things, the ERDL was responsible for the creation of the ERDLator water treatment device in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ERDL woodland camouflage pattern in 1948, and the updated M1950 lensatic compass. The ERDL also established the first US Army research group dedicated to night vision systems in 1954, called the Research and Photometric Section.

Mobility Equipment Research & Development Center

In 1967, the ERDL was redesignated to Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center (MERDC) on 1 September 1967. MERDC also served as the Directorate of Research and Engineering for US Army Mobility Equipment Command (MECOM). The center performed research, development and evaluation necessary for the procurement and support of the major mobility items managed by the command. In it, five assigned commodity groups— materiel transportation and handling, troop support,

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

– and providing technical support and assistance to equipment users. Facilities available to MERDC included a test area of on the west side of Shirley Highway, a part of the Fort Belvoir complex. A major portion of this area was used for testing of detectors and sensors. In 1972, MERDC had a workforce of 1,300 employees, of which approximately 500 were scientists and engineers. In 1973, MERDC became an agency of the newly-formed US Army Troop Support Command (TROSCOM). MERDC remained part of TROSCOM until 1975, when the center began to report directly to

. In 1976, MERDC became the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command (MERADCOM) on 23 January 1976, having been given full command status.

Belvoir Research, Development & Engineering Center

On 1 March 1984, MERADCOM was disestablished. Its functions were divided between the newly established Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM) and Troop Support Command (TROSCOM). Around the same time, the Belvoir Research and Development Center was formed in its place. Shortly afterward, the word "engineering" was added to its name.

Sources

External links

* US Army Mobility Equipment Research and Development Plan (1981) - archive.org
Fort Belvoir history - themilitarystandard.com (unofficial) [Before 13 April 2016
/nowiki>">efore 13 April 2016">Fort Belvoir history - themilitarystandard.com (unofficial) [Before 13 April 2016
/nowiki>
A quick look at BRDEC, U.S. Army Belvoir RD & E Center booklet [Either in or after 1985^
- WorldCat.org]
The Center of high technology : Belvoir Research, Development and Engineering Center booklet [ca. ~1985 - 1989
- WorldCat.org">a. ~1985 - 1989">The Center of high technology : Belvoir Research, Development and Engineering Center booklet [ca. ~1985 - 1989
- WorldCat.org {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Army Engineer Research And Development Laboratory Fairfax County, Virginia Research installations of the United States Army Military installations in Virginia