Prototype of ACE called ACE Test Assembly- Feb 1947
ACE was a huge project and needed a single nation effort. Unfortunately NPL alone wasn't capable of completing this project. It didn't have necessary manpower and hardware. The authorities did see ACE as deserving the highest priority among the larger projects in Mathematics Division and hence an agreement was reached with the Post Office Research Lab, Dollis Hill that they would undertake the development work these required. Dollis Hill offered to give it high priority, and they put Coombes and Chandler (formerly of the Bletchley Park Colossus team) onto this project.
At the same time Jim Wilkinson, joined the project in NPL on 1st May 1946 followed by Mike Woodger on 20th May. However NPL couldn't get much help from the Post Office. On 22nd October Darwin reported to the Executive Committee that assistance from the Post Office was not as great as expected.
Because of lack of hardware effort at NPL and no prospect of related work elsewhere a proposal was presented to build a prototype first by Harry D Huskey's (had worked on ENIAC) group who joined NPL on 4th Jan 1947. The project was described by Turing and Wilkinson on 19th Feb 1947. It was approved and work started on a much simpler ACE that came to be called the ACE Test Assembly.
The objective of this prototype was to build a computer that could successfully demonstrate the feasibility of Turing's grand project. On 18th March 1947, Dr H A Thomas of Radio Division was put in charge of getting a prototype ACE made in NPL' s workshops. Shortly afterwards the Post Office Contract was cancelled.
