Eddy Test was the common name for a test given throughout World War II and for several years thereafter, to identifying men with the capability and aptitude for being trained in the enlisted ranks as electronics maintenance technicians in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Developed by William C. Eddy, the official name was Radio Technician Selection Test (RTST, Nav Pers 16578), but this designation was rarely used. Passing the Eddy Test served as the passport to the Electronics Training Program, possibly the best technical training program then available in the armed services. Background Since 1924, the Radio Materiel School (RMS), located on the campus of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., had provided advanced maintenance training for selected men with a rating of electrician's mate or radioman in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Admission required years of experience as an apprentice (then called a "striker") and passing a very difficult examination. The RMS graduated about 100 men per year, usually with a rating of petty officer first class. (Entertainer Arthur Godfrey was a 1929 Coast Guard graduate.) As the 1940s began and the Navy prepared for the expected war, thousands of new ships, aircraft, submarines, and shore stations were being built, all needing electronics technicians. Also, there had been major advances in electronics, requiring technicians who had much better knowledge of theory. Thus, the existing RMS was inadequate and an entirely new training program was needed. With the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the urgency of a solution became highly critical. An ad hoc group in Washington, D.C., was developing a training plan and immediately began a crash effort. They were joined by William C. Eddy, a medically retired officer (deafness) and a recognized authority in electronics. (Eddy would shortly reenter active duty, and during the war years rise to the rank of captain). In a few days, a plan was developed for what would be commonly called the Electronics Training Program (ETP). A vital element of the ETP would be the selection of students. These would mainly come from volunteers and draftees who, unlike the RMS students from the Regular Navy, would not have experience as apprentices; therefore, a comprehensive classification examination was needed for admission. Eddy volunteered to lead the development of this examination – thus, the name Eddy Test. Application The ETP involved a Primary School (officially called EE &