Edgewood Arsenal procurement

Three suhposts fell in 1968 under the administrative control of Edgewood Arsenal. They were Pine Bluff Arsenal, Ark Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colo and Weldon Spring Army Chemical Plant, Mo. The first two specialized in various aspects of chemical testing, procurement, manufacture, and research, whereas the Weldon Spring facility was readied for the production of a chemical defoliant for use in Vietnam... 

The peacetime restrictive policy of the War Department had a marked effect on CWS procurement and supply activities. Manufacture of all toxics was completely discontinued and the plants at Edgewood Arsenal fell into a state of disrepair. The only toxics in existence in the U.S. Army from 1922 to 1937 were some leftovers from World War I that were held in... 

The most pressing manpower need of the procurement districts in the early part of the war was for inspectors. In the emergency period, as indicated above, newly hired inspectors were sent from the districts to Edgewood Arsenal for training. These employees upon their return to the districts helped train more recently hired inspectors. Once war got under way this method could not satisfy the greatly expanded need for inspectors. 

The actual writing of the specifications was done by the Technical Division at Edgewood Arsenal. All specifications were reviewed by a board made up of representatives of the Technical, Production, and Inspection Divisions of the arsenal. After the board had made a preliminary review of the specifications, the chiefs office sent them through the procurement district office to industrial firms experienced in the manufacture of the item. Final approval had to come from the Standards Division, Office of the Assistant Secretary of War. ... 

From the mid-thirties on, there was a changed conception in procurement planning for the mask. Both the Assistant Secretary and G-4 believed that more emphasis should be placed on contraaing with private industry in the event of an emergency and this attitude was reflected in the plans of the CWS. A CWS arsenal procurement plan of March 1935, for example, called for the Edgewood gas mask plant to work at full capacity until six months after mobilization, whereupon some nine private contractors would assume entire production of the mask. No mention whatever was... 

The amounts appropriated to the CWS were arrived at only after the most painstaking calculations. As previously, the CWS passed its estimates on to the General Staff, but in June 1940 Mr, Knudsen also become interested in the estimates. On 11 June Mr. Knudsen informed the Assistant Secretary of War that he wanted the answers to two questions "How much munitions productive capacity does this country need and how rapidly must it become available. That Mr. Knudsen did not confine his attention solely to the broad aspects of these questions is shown by the fact that on the very day he made his inquiry he personally received a reply from the Chief, CWS, listing quantities and unit prices of critical items as approved by the War Department for procurement and manufacture by CWS, as well as supplemental lists of critical and essential items. Six days later the Chief, CWS, in a memorandum to the Assistant Secretary of War, gave detailed data on the new arsenal and plant facilities that would be needed to meet the requirements of the PMP (1,000,000 men), and its augmentation to 4,000,000 men, and requested that the data be passed on to Commissioner Knudsen, who was evidently anxious to get the facts. The Chief, CWS, listed the rehabilitation of Edgewood Arsenal which he estimated would require 15 months to complete, a new 21,000,000 arsenal to require 18 months, and 5,000,000 worth of government owned plants in industry to require 15 months to complete. 

Procurement of such other special purpose masks as were not turned out solely by the CWS pilot plant at Edgewood Arsenal was generally accomplished through the Boston Procurement District. The headwound mask was produced in the district for a short time in 1944-45, with the Firestone Co. of Fall River making the final assembly. Facepieces for col-... 

Among the munitions filled with HC smoke mixture were 2-pound bombs, M8 grenades, rifle smoke grenades, M88 and M89 shells, canisters for 105-mm. and 155-mm. shells, 100-pound and 500-pound clusters, 2.35-inch rockets, and smoke pots. Virtually all the 2-pound bombs were loaded under private contract in the Pittsburgh and Chicago procurement districts. Rifle grenades, smoke shells, and canisters were loaded at CWS arsenals, particularly Huntsville and Pine Bluff. Edgewood Arsenal filled all 100- and 500-pound clusters. ... 

As the gas warfare needs of U.S. troops in France became known in Washington they were referred to the War Department bureau to which each seemed to relate. The basic requirement was a gas mask this item, because of its prophylactic nature, was assigned to the Medical Department for procurement and distribution. Training of individuals in use of the mask then became a Medical responsibility. The War Department assigned the responsibility for the manufacture and filling of gas shells to the Ordnance Department, which erected a new arsenal for this purpose at Edgewood, Maryland. Engineer troops were selected for the projection of chemical... 

Three of the CWS depots. Eastern, Midwest, and Gulf, were closely associated with Edgewood, Pine Bluff, and Huntsville Arsenals, respectively, and were faced with identical problems of personnel procurement. The outstanding need at depots, as at arsenals, was for skilled labor. Skilled workers were just not available, and it was necessary to train apprentices on the jobs. It took some time before a satisfactory staff of foremen was functioning at most of the depots. As at arsenals, many women were hired and trained to do jobs formerly handled by men, and many Negro workers were also brought in. 

Greater emphasis on maintenance of materiel was a feature of the campaign to bring procurement and distribution into balance. In the period between the wars the quantity of chemical warfare supplies was extremely limited and consequently maintenance was not much of a problem. Most CW supplies were stored at the Edgewood Depot, which had access to the shops at the arsenal to do required maintenance. In the field the CW sections in division and company headquarters were responsible for first and second echelon maintenance while repair shops near the posts or at Ordnance Department depots carried on the higher echelon repairs. The CW sections normally consisted of one officer and several enlisted men. 

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