Book Description

This fascinating monograph, filled with photographs, explores the history of the Picatinny Arsenal, first built in 1880 to house gunpowder. This gunpowder was sent to American military troops in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and other major conflicts. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Arsenal influenced the development of artillery, tank rounds and other major weaponry. Picatinny was the main provider of ammunition for the U.S. military during WWII. The Arsenal continued to develop major weapons such as the bazooka rocket, the C-4 explosive, and the "Atomic Annie" artillery shell. Currently, there are more than 5,000 scientists, engineers and other staff at Picatinny Arsenal using advanced technology to create weapons, ammunition, and to design related products and storage components. Agency website: http: //www.pica.army.mil/Picatinny/U.S. military and weapons historians and students studying the same, members of the military and civilians interested in the history and current use of Picatinny Arsenal (as well as the history of weapons and military weapons research and development), and current workers at the Arsenal interested in its history will enjoy this publication.Technologically savvy individuals will find the Picatinny perspective on munitions history enlightening as it presents problems and materials for future research. Many of the topics covered in this resource were part of past information requests to the facility (including their laboratory), and are now unveiled in this comprehensive memoir about the scientific and engineering developments of the Army's weapons during the twentieth (20th) century. Table of Contents: Introduction..........................................................................................1Chapter 1: Getting Started...................................................................6Chapter 2: Ways of War I...................................................................58Chapter 3: Ways of Peace.................................................................72Chapter 4: 1926................................................................................110Chapter 5: Phoenix...........................................................................153Chapter 6: Ways of War II................................................................198Chapter 7: Ways of Cold War...........................................................254Chapter 8: Naval Air Rocket Test Station.........................................294Chapter 9: Ways of Cold War II.........................................................311Coda..................................................................................................368Bibliography: Major Sources and Acknowledgments........................371Index..................................................................................................378