Military System Reliability: Department of Defense Contributions

This report describes the Defense Department´s increasing concern regarding electronic equipment reliability during the period 1942-1959. It discusses the establishment of the joint Army-Navy Vacuum Tube Development Committee (VTDC) in June, 1943, and VTDC´s successor, the Panel on Electron Tubes (PET) in October, 1946. Also described is the formation of the Ad Hoc Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment in December, 1950, the Advisory Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment (AGREE) in August, 1952, the Advisory Group on Electron Tubes (AGET) in March, 1954, the Advisory Group on Electron Parts (AGEP) in June, 1954, and the Ad Hoc Committee for Guided Missile Reliability (ACGMR) in March, 1957. The interrelation of the tasks and findings of these organizations are discussed.