Editing Vannevar Bush (section)

=== National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ===
On August 23, 1938, Bush was appointed to the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA), the predecessor of NASA.{{sfn|Zachary|1997|pp=83–85}} Its chairman [[Joseph Sweetman Ames]] became ill, and Bush, as vice chairman, soon had to act in his place. In December 1938, NACA asked for $11&nbsp;million to establish a new aeronautical research laboratory in [[Sunnyvale, California]], to supplement the existing [[Langley Research Center|Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory]]. The California location was chosen for its proximity to some of the largest aviation corporations. This decision was supported by the chief of the [[United States Army Air Corps]], [[Major General (United States)|Major General]] [[Henry H. Arnold]], and by the head of the navy's [[Bureau of Aeronautics]], [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Arthur Byron Cook|Arthur B. Cook]], who between them were planning to spend $225&nbsp;million on new aircraft in the year ahead. However, Congress was not convinced of its value, and Bush had to appear before the [[Senate Appropriations Committee]] on April 5, 1939. It was a frustrating experience for Bush, since he had never appeared before Congress before, and the senators were not swayed by his arguments. Further lobbying was required before funding for the new center, now known as the [[Ames Research Center]], was finally approved. By this time, war had broken out in Europe, and the inferiority of American aircraft engines was apparent,{{sfn|Zachary|1997|pp=98–99}} in particular the [[Allison V-1710]] which performed poorly at high altitudes and had to be removed from the [[P-51 Mustang]] in favor of the British [[Rolls-Royce Merlin]] engine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=wwuet |last=Evans |first=Ryan Thomas |title=Aviation at sunrise: shortcomings of the American Air Forces in North Africa during TORCH compared to the Royal Air Force on Malta, 1941–1942 |year=2010 |series=WWU Masters Thesis Collection |id=Paper 76 |publisher=[[Western Washington University]] |access-date=March 12, 2015 |pages=34–38}}</ref> The NACA asked for funding to build a third center in Ohio, which became the [[Glenn Research Center]]. Following Ames's retirement in October 1939, Bush became chairman of the NACA, with [[George J. Mead]] as his deputy.{{sfn|Zachary|1997|pp=98–99}} Bush remained a member of the NACA until November 1948.{{sfn|Roland|1985|p=427}}