We're taking a #WWIIWednesday trip to the Ballistics Labof the Indiana Ordnance Workstoday with this 1941 photograph. The Indiana Ordnance Works was built near Charlestown, Indiana by DuPont for the U.S. government. Construction began in 1940, and by 1941, the Works was manufacturing military explosives, propellants, and smokeless powder.
The Works continued to manufacture ordnance for military use throughout the ensuing decades, though it was operated by a variety of corporate entities. In 1964, its name was changed to the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. In 1992, it was deactivated, and the property was converted to other uses, including an industrial commerce center and a state park.
Hagley Library's collection of Indiana Ordnance Works, Ballistics Laboratory photograph (Accession 2001.209) consists of photographs of the Ballistics Lab of the Indiana Ordnance Works taken during World War II, including views of testing and test facilities, laboratories, machinery, and the men and women who worked in the lab. Click here to view the collection online in our Digital Archive.