America's Munitions 1917-1918United States. War Department
History
America's Munitions 1917-1918
United States. War Department
United States. Army -- Supplies and stores; Weapons; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Equipment and supplies
The three bag-loading plants the Government constructed at Woodbury,
Tullytown, and Seven Pines were built to load bags that were to be
used in firing guns from 155-millimeter caliber up to a caliber of 10
inches. The estimated average capacity of each plant was 20,000 bags a
day, but as a matter of fact a maximum capacity of 40,000 bags a day at
each plant had been reached before the signing of the armistice. Two
shifts a day were used at these plants most of the time. In each shift
there were approximately 3,500 operatives, most of them women.
At each of these plants, which are located in comparatively isolated
points, because of the dangerous work, special housing facilities had
to be constructed. For example, at Tullytown there were 70 bungalows,
13 residences for officers and executive heads, and six 98-room
dormitories, while at Woodbury 19 great dormitories were built to house
workers.
The number of buildings at Tullytown is 215. They range from
guardhouses to electrical generating stations for power and light.
Besides this construction there are between 22 and 30 miles of railroad
track laid at each of these points. The extremely dangerous nature
of the work makes it necessary to store not more than 400,000 pounds
of explosives in a single building, and where powder is stored the
buildings are at least 350 feet apart.
Up to the time of the signing of the armistice there were loaded
into small-arms ammunition 19,741,500 pounds of powder; there were
assembled into fixed ammunition approximately 33,000,000 pounds of
smokeless powder; and there were assembled into bags, properly packed
for shipment, approximately 32,300,000 pounds of smokeless powder.
HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
When Europe was plunged into the great war in August, 1914, the
American production of trinitrotoluol for commercial purposes amounted
to approximately 600,000 pounds a month of varying grades of purity.
This quantity was almost entirely consumed in the making of explosives
for blasting purposes. When we entered the war this production had been
increased to 1,000,000 pounds a month, exclusive of that which was
being used here commercially. Under pressure of our own war-time needs
the production of this highly important explosive chemical had been run
up to 16,000,000 pounds a month at the termination of hostilities in
November, 1918.
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