Editing David Taylor Model Basin

{{More citations needed|date=June 2012}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = David W. Taylor Model Basin
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = David Taylor Model Basin - exterior view, c. 1946.jpg
| caption      =
| location     = Bounded by MacArthur Blvd. and Clara Barton Pkwy., [[Bethesda, Maryland]]
| coordinates  = {{Coord|38|58|27|N|77|11|22|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Maryland#USA
| built        = {{Start date|1938}}
| builder      = Turner Construction Co.
| architecture = [[Art Deco]]
| added        = 17 October 1985
| area         = {{Convert|32|acre}}
| refnum       = 85003231<ref>{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}

The '''David W. Taylor Model Basin''' ('''DTMB''') is one of the largest [[ship model basin]]s—test facilities for the development of ship design—in the world. DTMB is a field activity of the [[Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center]].

==History==
In 1896, [[David Watson Taylor]] designed and supervised construction of the [[Washington Navy Yard]]'s Experimental Model Basin which was at that time the best facility in the world.  That facility was a significant design testing capability before, during, and after [[World War I]].  Inadequacies in that facility led the navy to look for a new model capability.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-936.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: David Taylor Model Basin |date=July 1984 |access-date=1 January 2016 |first=David K. |last=Allison |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust }}</ref>

The new navy modeling facility—named for David Taylor—was built in 1939 in today's community of [[Carderock, Maryland|Carderock]] just west of [[Bethesda, Maryland]] in [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]]. The Carderock facility contains multiple test basins (towing tanks for models) designed for a variety of testing capabilities.  DTMB has strongly influenced naval architecture for 70 years.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

==Technical capabilities==
Three adjoining sections comprise the Shallow Water Basin: deep water, shallow water, and a {{mono|J}}-shaped [[turning basin]] used for steering maneuvers.  Its carriage can provide speeds up to 18 [[knot (unit)|knots]].

The Deep Water Basin wavemaker located along the side, and a [[wave]] absorbing beach at the other. The wavemaker consists of 216 electro-mechanical panels called wave boards.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New MASK Unveiled - Magazines|url=https://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MarineTechnology/201403/content/new-mask-unveiled-465342|access-date=27 December 2021|website=magazines.marinelink.com}}</ref> This capability allows modeling of regular or irregular sea states. Located behind a movable section of the beach is a fitting out [[dry dock]]. Its carriage can provide speeds up to 20 knots.

The High-Speed Basin comprises two adjoining sections: a deep water section and a shallow water section. Wavemaking capability exists in this basin, and there are three large underwater viewing windows at different elevations which are set into the wall about mid-length. The high-speed carriages can provide complex motions for the model at speeds up to 50 knots.

==Computing==
The David Taylor Model Basin was an early adopter of computers, and an active site for computer technology.  Represented by [[Betty Holberton]], it was one of three government agencies present at the 1959 meeting where the computer language [[COBOL]] was created.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sammet |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Sammet |title=The Early History of COBOL |journal=ACM SIGPLAN Notices |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=121–161 |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |date=1978 |url=http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1198367 |doi=10.1145/960118.808378 |s2cid=10743643 |access-date=4 April 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last                 = Carlisle
| first                = Rodney
| title                 = Where the Fleet Begins: A History of the David Taylor Research Center 
| publisher             = Dept. of the Navy
| publication-date      = 1998
| pages                 = 689
| isbn                  = 978-0160494420
}}
* {{cite book
| last                 = Conn
| first                = Virginia
| title                 = The David Taylor Model Basin: A Brief History 
| publisher             = Naval Historical Foundation
| publication-date      = 1971
| pages                 = 28
| asin                  = B000710GA6
}}
* {{cite web
 |url=http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/communities/history/landmarks/5528.pdf 
 |title=A Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark 
 |access-date=4 January 2011 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314074018/http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/communities/history/landmarks/5528.pdf 
 |archive-date=14 March 2012 
}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.dt.navy.mil/our_capabilities/facilities/5001/5001.html
 |title       = David Taylor Model Basin
 |access-date  = 4 January 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100410121949/http://www.dt.navy.mil/our_capabilities/facilities/5001/5001.html
 |archive-date = 10 April 2010
}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/sha-wat-bas/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |title       = Facility Data Sheet -Shallow Water Basin
 |access-date  = 4 January 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090408084207/http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/sha-wat-bas/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |archive-date = 8 April 2009
}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/dee-wat-bas/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |title       = Facility Data Sheet - Deep Water Basin
 |access-date  = 4 January 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080628190832/http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/dee-wat-bas/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |archive-date = 28 June 2008
}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/hig-spe-bas/tow-car-3/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |title       = Facility Data Sheet - High Speed Basin
 |access-date  = 4 January 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080628175000/http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/hig-spe-bas/tow-car-3/fac-dat-she/index.html
 |archive-date = 28 June 2008
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Carderock/Who-We-Are/West-Bethesda-Maryland/ Taylor Model Basin]
* [https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Carderock/ Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center]
* [https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/197-david-taylor-model-basin American Society of Mechanical Engineers]
* {{MHT url|id=938|title=David W. Taylor Model Basin, Montgomery County}}, at Maryland Historical Trust

{{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Art Deco architecture in Maryland]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bethesda, Maryland]]
[[Category:Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks]]
[[Category:Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland]]
[[Category:Ship design]]
[[Category:United States Navy installations]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1938]]
[[Category:Infrastructure completed in 1938]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Maryland]]