The passage shock wave end wall boundary layer interaction in a transonic compressor was investigated with a laser transit anemometer. A two stage transonic compressor designed without inlet guide vanes was used in this flow field investigation. Measurements of the flow velocity were made within the first stage rotor passage of this transonic compressor. Laser measurements were made in two blade passages at six axial locations from 10% of the axial blade chord in front of the leading edge to 30% of the axial blade chord into the blade passage. At three of these axial locations, laser traverses were taken at different radial immersions to investigate the flow behavior near the tip end wall. Twenty-six different locations were traversed circumferentially. The measurements reveal that the end wall boundary layer in this region is separated from the core flow by what appears to be a shear layer where the passage shock wave and all ordered flow seem to end abruptly. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata