From Frechet Differentials to Firing Tables

This monograph explores the history of the contribution to ballistics by the American mathematician Gilbert Ames Bliss during World War I. Drawing on the then-evolving calculus of variations, Bliss pioneered a novel technique for solving the problem of differential variations in ballistic trajectory. Called Bliss' adjoint method, this technique was both hailed and criticized at the time: it was seen as both a triumphant application of pure mathematics to an applied problem and as a complex intrusion of higher mathematics into the jobs of military personnel not particularly interested in these matters. Although he received much praise immediately after the War, the details of Bliss' work, its furthering of pure mathematical thought, and its absorption into mainstream ballistic work and instruction have never been adequately examined.