The Building
In March 1916, World War I was in progress. Although the United States had not yet entered the war, the country was assisting its allies with war supplies. Munitions, including shells, shell cases, shrapnel, and powder were shipped to Kingsland from over 100 different factories. At the foundry they were assembled for shipment to Russia. Since it was producing 3 000 000 shells per month, the factory was definitely a worthy objective for German saboteurs.
This building was used exclusively for cleaning out shells; it contained 48 workbenches. On the bench in front of each employee was a pan of gasoline and a small rotating machine operated by a belt. The cleaning process included several steps:
- The shells were dusted with a brush
- A cloth, moistened in the pan of gasoline, was wrapped around a foot-long piece of wood
- The shell was placed in the rotating machine and the wood was inserted into the shell as it turned
- A dry cloth was wrapped around the stick and the shell was dried in a similar manner.
Read more about this topic: Kingsland Explosion
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