Abstract
Nearly homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, generated in flows through grids of various forms in wind tunnels or by towing or oscillating grids in stationary samples of classical viscous fluids and the superfluid phases of helium, have played an essential role in studies of the still partly unresolved problem of turbulence in fluids. This review describes a selected class of complementary grid experiments performed with classical viscous fluids such as air or water and with the superfluid liquid phases of (4)He (He II) and (3)He-B, which led to a deeper understanding of the underlying physics of turbulent quantum flows. In particular, we discuss the pioneering experiments on generating and probing quantum turbulence by oscillating grids in He II in the zero temperature limit, performed by Peter McClintock's group in Lancaster.