Technical Communication in World War II

Overview The origin of technical communication as a demonstrable skill set can be traced back to multiple historical artifacts, including Chaucer’s medieval manual Treatise on the Astrolabe, Aristotle’s summary of the Doctrines of Pythagoras, and Vitruvius's treatise on architecture De Architectura. Documents similar to these, which convey scientific or rhetorically dense material in concise language geared towards uninitiated audiences, are found among any society that possesses the need to define, disseminate, or advance technology. Though artifacts of technical communication can be found throughout history, World War II was a critical era in the history of technical communication, as it was during this time the title of “technical communicator” began being recognized as a formal profession. [8]

During World War II, technical communication not only played a significant role in advancing scientific knowledge, but it also ensured that new users were knowledgeable and competent when handling unfamiliar or dangerous technology. From this era rose a pivotal awareness of how professional writers could employ various rhetorical devices to not only communicate standardized information, but to keep users engaged with it. Technical communicators of the time engaged with subject-matter experts to write patents, proposals, public service announcements, and to generally report technical information.

Technological Expansion War is an influential motivating force for the development of scientific and technological innovation. Transformative advancements in fields such as weaponry, communications, medicine, and aerospace technology have been enabled by military funding to meet the demands of combat. Since the early 20th century, research and development in applied sciences have been considered pillars of a successful military. World War II drove efforts that saw the first mass production and stabilization of penicillin,[8] medical advancements in the prevention of malaria, the invention of radar, chemical development in the creation and defense of poisonous gases, the rapid development in aviation design, and the invention of the atomic bomb.

With the rapid expansion of technology came the necessity of standardization, as the applied sciences developed during wartime were complicated and required wide distribution. In tandem to the development and distribution of new technology was literature on procedure, training, and logistics.

The ENIAC Machine The University of Pennsylvania’s Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) machine was the first general purpose computer, built between 1943 and 1945. In 1946, after wartime efforts, the US government made the ENIAC available to civilians.

The cover page for the Description of the ENIAC and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines. The header is attributed to the Moore School of Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. The footer reads that the document is distributed by the Applied Mathematics Panel and the National Defense Research Committee. It is dated November 30, 1945. The word "Restricted" is printed at the bottom, and is crossed out with pen. Cover page for the Description of the ENIAC and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines [14] This is the table of contents from the "Description of the ENIAC and Comments on the Electronic Computing Machines". The Table of Contents includes: 1. The Introduction. 2. The Need for High Speed General Purpose Computing Machines. 3. Advantages of Electronic Digital Machines. 4. Description of the ENIAC. 5. Design Principles for High Speed Computing Machines. 6. Reliability and Checking. End of Table of Contents. The Appendix at the footer reads: A. Remarks on Arithmetic Operation of the ENIAC B. Remarks on Programming the ENIAC. C. General Constructional Data on the ENIAC. The table of contents from the Description of the ENIAC and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines [14] Description of the ENIAC and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines was a document distributed among the War Department, the Office of the Chief Ordnance, the Research and Development Command, and three separate specialists within an Applied Mathematics panel. This document serves as one of the first descriptive manuals about computing for non-specialized audiences. In this document, authors Eckert, Mauchly, Goldstine, and Brainerd established the need for “high speed general purpose computing machines,” then described and defined the ENIAC in terms accessible both to mathematicians and liaisons within the military.

In the preface of Description of the ENIAC and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines, the authors comment that the report is to be circulated within a small introductory group that have a specialized interest in computing, but that when it is warranted, “technical descriptions will be published in technical journals.”

While the specialists selected were studied in mathematics and battle operations, there was a presumption of unfamiliarity with the specific machinery discussed.

Penicillin Patents are a genre of technical communication that was affected greatly by policies put in place during this time period. To prevent war-related inventions from leaking to America's adversaries, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a secrecy program that halted the filings of 11,000 patent applications. [11] This significantly impeded discovery and slowed the commercialization of inventions after the war effort, temporarily restricting advancement in this genre of technical communication.

USPTO secrecy orders were issued and enforced predominantly in areas related to weaponry and communications. Patents relating to medicine were not as targeted, so the development and marketing of products such as penicillin were more forthcoming.

The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928 and the filing of its patent in 1945 [10] made the antibiotic, which had only been available for troops during the war, available to the general public. In addition, the patent set off a great post-war public information effort to generate public awareness. To promote the antibiotic’s life-saving benefits, Public Service Announcements were filmed through the Signal Corps and promotional posters were circulated.

Line edits made for the Method of Producing Penicillin patent. The page is addressed to "The Honorable, The Commissioner of Patents", Beneath that address is the heading "In the Specifications," which then lists, page by page, revisions for multiple lines in the patent. One edit for page 6 line 26 reads: "cancel 'fermentation' and insert 'incubation'". Another line edit for page 8 line 7 reads: "cancel 'or' and insert 'including'". Line edits made for the Method of Producing Penicillin patent. These edits condensed and streamlined the language to improve readability. [12] An excerpt of a script for a PSA on the manufacturing of penicillin. It is short, with no dialogue. It aims to depict the "detailed story on the manufacture of penicillin at the Reichel Labs in West Chester and Kimberton, PA." The film directions read "Close Up: hands of nurse prepare hypodermic needle with penicillin. M.S. Army nurse gives penicillin injection to soldier." An excerpt of a script for a PSA on the manufacturing of penicillin. This gave the public context for the production of the new antibiotic. [13] The Jet Engine The patent for the jet engine was filed by English engineer Frank Whittle in 1930. Germany was the first country to fly a jet engine plane in 1939, five days before the invasion of Poland. Jet engines equipped planes with more speed and power than propeller engines, but they were also more difficult to handle.

Aircraft Safety & Transmedia Storytelling Transmedia storytelling is a technique employed by technical communicators in which mixed media is used across multiple platforms to engage an audience on a regular or serialized basis. When used effectively, it captures an audience's attention and imparts information in a meaningful and memorable way. This was a practice technical communicators employed when authoring training manuals and safety notices for new recruits during World War II.

Prior to entering World War II in 1941, the U.S. Army Forces recorded an average of 51 fatalities in pilot training per year. During the war, the yearly average of pilot training fatalities rose to 3,675.[4] This overwhelming increase in deadly and avoidable training accidents became a serious problem for the United States.

It became apparent that the existing literature regarding the evolving aircraft technology was insufficient in preparing the large number of pilots being recruited. Seeking to more effectively enforce safety procedures, the Navy enlisted various writers and cartoonists to create informative, engaging, and accessible literature on aircraft safety. These technical communicators developed and implemented rhetorical devices such as transmedia storytelling to make technical information more accessible.

A poster of a WW2 cartoon. A plane erupts from a huge dark cloud, cracked down the middle and distressed. The caption reads, "If you've got to go through thunderstorms stay near the cloud's base." [15] Dilbert training poster 526 A poster of a WW2 cartoon. A pilot depicted in profile sits in the cockpit of an old plane. His hands are clasped together in prayer, he is sweating nervously, looking upwards towards the sky. The caption reads, "When his radio went out and his gas supply was limited Dilbert wished he'd learned to use his chart board!" [15] Dilbert training poster 517 Robert C. Osborn was a cartoonist who created over 2,000 aircraft safety posters from 1942 to 1945. [7] In addition to instructional posters, the United States commissioned him, along with a team of educators and subject-matter experts, to create colorful and humorous training manuals. In investigating aircraft training practices, Osborn conducted interviews with subject-matter experts, toured training facilities, underwent flight training as a pilot himself, and attended missions. [2]

Osborn's extensive research afforded him a comprehensive technical knowledge of aircraft safety procedures, as well as an understanding of how the pilots retained safety information. Informed by the lived experiences of the men he studied, Osborn employed transmedia storytelling in the form of attention-grabbing and repetitive literature to communicate important technical information.

References [1] Doody, Aude; Follinger, Sabine; Taub, Liba (February 8, 2012). "Structures and Strategies in Ancient Greek and Roman Technical Writing: An Introduction" (PDF). Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. University Of Cambridge. 43 (2): 233–236. doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2011.12.021.

[2] Goodman, J. B. (1944). Dilbert, USN. Flying, 132. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=IObo37IFIXUC&pg=PA132#v=onepage&q=132&f=false

[3] Little, B. (2021, April 26). 6 World War II Innovations that changed everyday life. History.com. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.history.com/news/world-war-ii-innovations.

[4] Pierce, M. R. (2013). Earning their wings: Accidents and fatalities in the United States Army Air Forces during flight training in World War Two (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.

[5] Johnson-Eiola, J., & Selber, S. A. (Eds.). (2013). Solving Problems in Technical Communication. The University of Chicago Press.

[6] Kynell, T., & Moran, M. G. (1999). Three Keys to the Past: The History of Technical Communication (Attw Contemporary Studies in Technical Communication). Praeger. 183.

[7] Malone, E. A. (2019). “Don’t Be a Dilbert”: Transmedia Storytelling as Technical Communication during and after World War II. Technical Communication, 66(3), 209–229.

[8] O'Hara, Fredrick M. Jr. "A Brief History of Technical Communication" (PDF). Montana State University Billings.

[9] "Discovery and Development of Penicillin: International Historic Chemical Landmark". Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019.

[10] US 2442141, Moyer AJ, "Method for Production of Penicillin", issued 25 March 1948, assigned to US Agriculture

[11] Gross, D. P. (2019). The consequences of invention secrecy: Evidence from the USPTO patent secrecy program in World War II. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3329912

[12] Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, 2525002

Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office. (2005). Method of Producing Penicillin. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2525002.

[13] Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, 14190

Department of Defense. Moving Images Relating to Military Activities. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://catalog.archives.gov/id/14190.

[14] Images courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, 24519335

Eckert, Mauchly, Goldstine, & Brainerd. Description of the Eniac and Comments on Electronic Computing Machines. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24519335.

[15] Osborn, R. (n.d.). Dilbert training poster number 526. United States Navy Training Division. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from http://www.shipleybay.com/archives/Dilbert/Dilbert_R90/526.html.

Last updated by Lauren Punales 11/3/2021