Completed in 1936, this is a significant example of the research facilities created by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the parent agency of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was the first continuous-flow high-speed wind tunnel able to test large models and actual working parts of airplanes. It is also a landmark in wind-tunnel design for the "slotted throat" design added in 1950 that made it possible to obtain meaningful test results in the transonic range.

Image: Library of Congress, hhh.va1795

Information provided by the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service.