CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory

United States Army Corps of Engineers research facility

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ3550727 ↗
Source-derived summary

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

The ERDL performed research and development related to earthmoving, industrial engines and turbines, fuels handling, environmental control, electric power and propulsion, direct energy sources, detectors, bridges and marine craft, mine warfare, fortifications and obstacles, camouflage and deception, water purification, nuclear weapons effects, materials, and environmental testing.

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.

The Engineer Board's laboratory elements were re-designated as Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, or ERDL, on 1 March 1947. The change in name was made to clarify the status of the scientists and technicians at the installation.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory” as united States Army Corps of Engineers research facility. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1870, 1920, 1921, 1933—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where United, States and Army can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as united States Army Corps of Engineers research facility. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3550727. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1870, 1920, 1921 and 1933.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory primary sources, United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory archive and United research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.