In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare." Much of this work was done under the strictest secrecy. In June of 1941 The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure. OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more effective medical treatments, and more versatile vehicles.
NDRC projects