Holston Army Ammunition Plant - History

History

Holston Ordnance Works was established in July 1942 and stopped production in 1945. It was reactivated in 1949 during the Cold War and continues today. The installation was renamed Holston Army Ammunition Plant in the early 1960s. Holston Defense Corporation operated the facility from 1949 through 1999 under a series of cost reimbursement contracts with the U. S. Army.

The plant was constructed 1942-1944 for use by the government contractor, Tennessee Eastman Corporation, a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak. During World War II, it manufactured Composition B, a very powerful explosive mixture of RDX and TNT. The facility was placed in standby status after World War II, producing only fertilizer, until it was reactivated in 1949 under the Holston Defense Corporation, a new subsidiary of Eastman Kodak.

During the Korean War, the plant continued to manufacture Composition B as well as rework its stockpiled Composition B. New production lines were built during 1951-1954 in order to produce for the war. However, after the Korean War it was reduced to a one-line operation. It did not resume large-scale production until the mid-1960s when it was again modernized to produce large amounts of Composition B for the Vietnam War.

After 1973, production was again reduced to a much smaller amount, but the plant also began producing “special-order” explosives and propellants for the Armed Services, including the Navy’s Trident missile program. It also handles and stores material for the national defense stockpile.

As of 1988, the plant produced all of the RDX/HMX consumed in the USA, and 90 percent of that used by all of the nations friendly to the USA.