Round-Shot to Rockets: A History of the Washington Navy Yard and U.S. Naval Gun Factory

Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute, 1949. First Edition. Hardcover. xx, 267, [1] pages. Discoloration inside boards. Small rough spot inside front flyleaf. DJ worn & stained: wear, tears, soiling, and chips. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrations. Tables. Appendix A: Commandants of the Navy Yard Since Its Organization in 1799. Appendix B: Vessels Build by the Washington Navy Yard. This volume is an account of 150 years of shipbuilding and ordnance development at the Washington Navy Yard. It is a history of what was once the largest naval ordnance plant in the world. Ordnance makes it possible for the Navy to accomplish its primary mission. Ordnance is, in a sense, the Navy's reason for being. The division of function between shipbuilding and the manufacture of naval ordnance existed at the Navy Yard from the very first. Because of the nature of this book, it was deemed appropriate to have forewords written by two outstanding naval officers who have been closely associated with naval ordnance and the Naval Gun Factory throughout their distinguished careers. Admiral Claude C. Block was Commandant of the Navy Yard as well as having served as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet. Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance during the crucial period immediately preceding the outbreak of World War II and during the first years of the conflict. He also commanded Gunfire Support Forces at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was in command of Joint Task Force One which conducted the Atomic Bomb Tests in Operation Crossroads at Bikini. The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U.S. Navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations, and is headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Reactors, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Naval History and Heritage Command, the National Museum of the United States Navy, the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, Marine Corps Institute, the United States Navy Band, and other more classified facilities. From its first years, the Washington Navy Yard became the navy's largest shipbuilding and shipfitting facility, with 22 vessels constructed there, ranging from small 70-foot (21 m) gunboats to the 246-foot (75 m) steam frigate USS Minnesota. The USS Constitution came to the Yard in 1812 to refit and prepare for combat action. During the War of 1812, the Navy Yard was important not only as a support facility but also as a vital strategic link in defense of the capital city. Sailors of Navy Yard were part of the hastily assembled American army, which, at Bladensburg, Maryland, opposed the British forces marching on Washington. Ordnance production continued as the Yard manufactured armament for the Great White Fleet and the World War I navy. The 14-inch (360 mm) naval railway guns used in France during World War I were manufactured at the Yard. By World War II, the Yard was the largest naval ordnance plant in the world. The weapons designed and built there were used in every war in which the United States fought until the 1960s. At its peak, the Yard consisted of 188 buildings on 126 acres of land and employed nearly 25,000 people. Small components for optical systems, parts of Little Boy, and enormous 16-inch (410 mm) battleship guns were all manufactured here. In December 1945, the Yard was renamed the U.S. Naval Gun Factory. Ordnance work continued for some years after World War II until finally phased out in 1961. The Washington Navy Yard was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976. Condition: Good / Fair.

Keywords: Guns, Naval, Navy Yard, Naval Ordnance, Weaponry, Military Technology, Railway Guns, Rockets, Ammunition, Cannon, Military Installations, Shipbuilding, Gun Factory

[Book #9254]

Price: $115.00

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