A Brief History of SWAC

     In the 1940s, the National Bureau of Standards was experimenting with different computer technologies by funding the construction of actual computers built with the different technologies available. In 1948 it contracted for building the National Bureau of Standards Western Automatic Computer in the Institute for Numerical Analysis at UCLA under the direction of Dr, Harry Huskey. The long name was abbreviated to SWAC. The special technology used was the Williams tube for storage.

     SWAC was conceived in October of 1948, its construction was started in January, 1949, and it was dedicated in August 1950. It was housed in one of several temporary wooden buildings built during World War II on the north end of the campus about where the Dickson Art Center is located now. The building was small with a few offices, the main computer room and a classroom for lectures. It was ideal for fostering close interactions among the staff and users.

     SWAC became the property of the Numerical Analysis Research Project at UCLA in about 1954. The computer was moved to the School of Engineering building in 1960 and was actively used there until shut down in December, 1967.

     For a definitive history of SWAC, see Harry Huskey, "The National Bureau of Standards Western Antomatic Computer (SWAC)", IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 2, No. 2, April 1980, pp. 111-121.