The High-Speed Basin comprises two adjoining sections: a deep water section and a shallow water section. Its carriage can provide speeds up to 20 knots. Located behind a movable section of the beach is a fitting out dry dock. This capability allows modeling of regular or irregular sea states.

The wavemaker consists of 216 electro-mechanical panels called wave boards. The Deep Water Basin wavemaker located along the side, and a wave absorbing beach at the other.

Its carriage can provide speeds up to 18 knots. Three adjoining sections comprise the Shallow Water Basin: deep water, shallow water, and a J-shaped turning basin used for steering maneuvers. DTMB has strongly influenced naval architecture for 70 years. The Carderock facility contains multiple test basins (towing tanks for models) designed for a variety of testing capabilities. The new navy modeling facility-named for David Taylor-was built in 1939 in today's community of Carderock just west of Bethesda, Maryland in Montgomery County. Inadequacies in that facility led the navy to look for a new model capability. That facility was a significant design testing capability before, during, and after World War I. In 1896, David Watson Taylor designed and supervised construction of the Washington Navy Yard's Experimental Model Basin which was at that time the best facility in the world. DTMB is a field activity of the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The David Taylor Model Basin ( DTMB) is one of the largest ship model basins-test facilities for the development of ship design-in the world.

US Experimental tank modern