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Peer Review and Oversight of Aero Medical Research During World War II in America: the Committee on Aviation Medicine and its Sub‐committees
Author(s) -
Dean Jay B.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.617.2
Subject(s) - world war ii , aeronautics , aviation medicine , aviation , political science , military medicine , engineering , medicine , law , aerospace engineering
In anticipation of America's entry into WWII (8 Dec. 1941), a Committee on Aviation Medicine (CAM) was established in the fall of 1940 and charged with identifying the i) important physiological problems unique to flight and any ii) pre‐existing research facilities that could be used for hypobaric studies of animals and humans. iii) Most importantly, members of the CAM needed to identify physiologists who could adapt their research programs to the largely unexplored field of aviation medicine. Chaired by E.F. DuBois, the CAM oversaw a total of 37 research projects at 22 academic institutions during WWII, all funded by the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Members of the CAM's subcommittees were recruited largely from the ranks of the APS. Six major sub‐committees (1‐Acceleration, 2‐Oxygen & Anoxia, 3‐Decompression Sickness, 4‐Visual Problems, 5‐Clothing, and 6‐Motion Sickness) reviewed the scientific merit and progress of each project, and rendered decisions for either continuance or termination. The CAM and its performers worked closely with the major military centers of the Allies’ air forces (USAAF, USN, RAF, RCAF, RAAF) and America's aircraft industries to develop the protective flight gear and procedures for waging high altitude warfare in WWII.