This collection consists primarily of letters exchanged between Edison and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, along with related correspondence. Many of the typewritten letters are accompanied by drafts in Edison's hand. The items in this folder are from May and August 1917. They pertain to Edison's idea of a blinding enemy periscopes or range finders with a three-inch-gun shell containing black liquid or oleum instead of shrapnel. Details of the design of the shell, prepared by experimenter Bruce R. Silver, are included with Edison's report. Related material can be found in Reports 3, 7, 18, and 41.
This project is discussed on pp. 185-186 of Lloyd N. Scott's Naval Consulting Board of the United States. A transcription of Silver's description of the shell appears on those pages.
[X128C33A], Letter from Thomas Alva Edison to Josephus Daniels, May 1st, 1917 1917-05-01
[X128C33B], Letter from Thomas Alva Edison to Josephus Daniels, August 15th, 1917 1917-08-15
[X128C33C], Technical Note, Thomas Alva Edison, Bruce Robinson Silver, August 15th, 1917 1917-08-15