Rabinow and Ordnance : Jacob Rabinow

Rabinow began his career at the National Bureau of Standards in 1938 calibrating water current meters. After introducing several innovations to these routine calibrations, he was approached by his Division Chief, Hugh Dryden, in the Summer of 1941. Dryden handed him a book titled The Elements of Ordnance. After reading the book, Rabinow was asked by Dryden to design a pressure switch with the ability to be activated by air pressure at the front tip of a projectile but which would not activate if dropped accidentally. Rabinow’s successful design for such a switch served as his entrance into the exhilarating world of ordnance development.

Dryden moved Rabinow into a building that was a hive of bustling activity, introducing him with the words, “…this is Jake. He has some mechanical aptitude.” Rabinow initially worked designing safety mechanisms for proximity fuses. He went on to supervise and design most of the mechanical components of the fuse: the safety mechanisms, the power supply, and the general structure. Rabinow also became heavily involved in the Bat missile development. A few months after entering the strange and mysterious world of ordnance, Rabinow stopped Dryden in a corridor.

“Dr. Dryden,” he said, “I’m puzzled. Who is my boss, for whom do I work, what is the organization?”

“Jake,” he said, “don’t ask silly questions. I have no idea.”