The similarity of the differential equations of the transonic flowof a gas in two dimensions and of the flow of shallow water led to thechoice of the latter as on experimental method, to determine the pressuredistribution, lift and drag on wedges with total angles of 10o , 15 o and20 o. The wedges were towed through shallow water and the wave pattern wasdetermined by the measurement of water depth using a photographic technique.The results have been compared with theory and with wind tunnel experiments.For the 10 o and 15 o wedges the trends for a range of angles of incidenceagree with the predictions from transonic small disturbance theory, whereasthose for the largest wedge of 10 o semi-angle indicate that this angle istoo large to expect satisfactory experimental results. The trends are alsosimilar to those obtained by other workers in a wind tunnel.
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