Oral History Interview with Ralph Robinson, January 17, 1997 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ralph Robinson, January 17, 1997

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Robinson. Robinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas 1 September 1919. After graduating from high school in 1937, he began taking evening classes at the University of Houston and continued to do so through 1941. In 1940 he was hired by General Geophysical Company in Houston to work in the laboratory. In 1942 he began working with the Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC in the Terrestrial Magnetism Department. He recalls that the Defense Research Council was established to encourage various universities and scientists to coordinate research and develop devices of war. A special department and section was established for development of the proximity fuze. He tells of the intricacies of proximity sensitive objects and discusses in detail the development and testing of the proximity fuze and delivery mechanism. After the successful tests aboard the USS Cleveland utilizing the fuze against drone aircraft, it was introduced to the Pacific Fleet in 1943. The proximity fuze was first used in the European Theater during the invasion of Sicily. Robinson relates how the fuze was effectively used during the Battle of the Bulge and how the British used the fuze …
Date: January 17, 1997
Creator: Robinson, Ralph O.
System: The Portal to Texas History