Badger army ammunition plant

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Badger Army Ammunition Plant
Baraboo, Wisconsin

General view of Badger Army Ammunition Plant
Built 1942
In use WWII, Korea, Vietnam
Controlled by Department of the Army

The Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAAP or Badger) or Badger Ordnance Works (B.O.W.) is an excess, non-BRAC, US Army facility located in Baraboo, Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. Badger consists of 7,354 acres of land. Badger manufactured nitrocellulose based propellants for WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War Badger is currently the site of demolition and remediation projects being conducted in preparation for property transfer. This ammunition plant was the largest in the world when it was built during World War II.

Contents

[edit] The Construction of Badger

The site of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant was announced in 1941 and by 1 March 1942 the farmers had left their farms. Originally, 10,500 acres of land were acquired for the construction of Badger. Within the first 10 months of construction the first production area went into operation.

The Badger Army Ammunition Plant employed over 23,000 men and women over the 60 years Badger produced ammunition. Badger produced ammunition for WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

On 29 October 1941, US Representative William H. Stevenson announced the construction of a $65,000,000 powder and acid works to be built by Hercules Powder Company.

On 19 November 1941, despite protests from those living on the Sauk Prairie, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Badger and authorized the $65,000,000 necessary to build the plant. The plans originally called for production lines to make smokeless powder, diphenylamine, and sulfuric acid. In the end, Badger would include production lines to make smokeless powder, acid, sulfuric acid, rocket propellant, and Ball Powder.

Work on Badger began in March of 1942. Before, the works were built, a 75,000 foot fence was erected around approximatly 7,500 acres of the 10,500 acres aquired by the US Army. When the plant was finished it was complete with smokeless powder and rocket grain production facilities as well as housing for 12,000 construction workers and their families for six months, housing for 4,000-8,000 production workers and their families for the length of WWII, a school, a recreation center, a child care facility, a hospital, cafeterias, and transportation system. By December 1942, 24 miles of standard guage railroad was completed.

[edit] Badger During WWII

During WWII, Badger was managed by Hercules Powder Company. Badger produced rocket propellant, smokeless powder, and ethyl centralite (E.C.) powder. Smokeless Powder was patented a decade before WWII by DuPont and Hercules Powder Company had rights to make it at Badger. E.C. Powder was used in hand grenades, tear gas canisters, and blank cartridges. Badger also produced Acid and Oleum which is necessary for the production of these forms of ammunition. The Acid and Oleum produced at Badger were used onsite as well as shipped off-site to other army ammunition plants in the area.

On 10 May 1943, the first trainload of finished product left Badger; 60,000 pounds of .30 caliber smokeless powder was sent to the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant in Minnesota where it was turned into M-1 rifle cartridges.

After WWII, Badger was placed on stand-by and subsequently placed into excess federal property status. The Hercules Powder Company began the process of demolishing and burning contaminated buildings, scrapping equipment, and donating office furniture and supplies to area schools. This lead to some difficulties when Badger was reactivted for the Korean War.

Periods of Operation
Production Area Start Date End Date
Acid January 1943 August 1945
Oleum January 1943 August 1945
Smokeless Powder March 1943 July 1945
Rocket Propellant March 1945 September 1948
E.C. Powder July 1943 October 1945
Production
Ammunition Type Pounds
Smokeless Powder 257,968,900
Rocket Grain 13,394,700

[edit] Badger During the Korean War

In 1951, before the Korean War began, Olin Industries was awarded the contract to manage Badger;Olin Industries continued to operate Badger until 2004. Olin Industries had to get Badger into tip top running shape before production could begin. This included replacing machinery, office furniture and supplies, and building production areas such as the Ball Powder Plant. At this time, Olin Industries was the only manufacturer of Ball Powder in the entire United States. Ball Powder was introduced by [[Olin Corp.|Western Cartridge], a subsidiary of Olin Industries, in 1933; however, Ball Powder was not accepted by the US Army until 1944.

Ball Powder is a spherical grain shaped gun powder which is easy to store and transport in any climate; ideal for modern infantry. Ball Powder is fine grained, round, and shiny. It is black because it is coated in graphite powder. The amount of time it took to build the Ball Powder Plant at Badger was too long to enable any of the Ball Powder from Badger to be used in the Korean War. Therefore, it was put into storage for the next war; the stored Ball Powder was used during the Vietnam War.

Periods of Operation
Production Area Start Date End Date
Acid July 1951 November 1957
Oleum October 1952 October 1956
Smokeless Powder October 1951 December 1957
Rocket Propellant November 1951 October 1954
Rocket Propellant (2nd Run) March 1955 September 1955
Ball Powder September 1955 September 1956
Production
Ammunition Type Pounds
Ball Powder 5,758,600
Smokeless Powder 235,832,900
Rocket Mortar 35,845,200
Mortar 17,400

[edit] Badger During the "Cold War"

During the "Cold War" years between the Korean War and the Vietnam War Badger was held in stand-by status. It was believed that Badger would not be reactivated unless a war was immenent because the threat of a nuclear strike existed. Badger was important to the United States because it is located far from large cities, has a water source, reactivation costs would be small, and it had the greatest ammunition manufacturing capibilities in the United States; Badger had the capibility of producing most of the ammunition necessary for a land war. These qualities of Badger also made it a very likely target of a nuclear attack if it were to be reactivated. Therefore, Olin Industries maintained Badger on stand-by status until the United States announced its intent to send troops to Vietnam.

[edit] Badger During the Vietnam War

Before the Vietnam War began, the army was testing the new M-16 rifle which used Ball Powder ammunition. DuPont and Olin Industries each developed Ball Powder that was compatable with the M-16 rifles used in the Vietnam War and were used interchangeably. Hercules Powder Company also developed a Ball Powder for the rifles; however, it was not selected by the rifle manufacturers or US Army.

Badger was not the only location where Olin Industries was able to make Ball Powder; the company had another, smaller, plant in East Alton, Illinois. It was believed that the East Alton plant would produce the Ball Powder necessary for the Vietnam War. However, when workers at the East Alton plant went on strike, the entire Vietnam operation was put into jeopardy. Therefore, Badger was reactivated on 3 January 1966 and Olin Industries prepared to make what would millions of pounds of ammunition.

By September 1966, Badger was producing and shipping Oleum to the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant near Chicago, Illinois.

Periods of Operation
Production Area Start Date End Date
Acid August 1966 June 1975
Oleum September 1966 June 1975
Smokeless Powder August 1967 August 1973
Rocket Propellant June 1967 June 1975
Ball Powder May 1966 May 1975
Production
Ammunition Type Pounds
Ball Powder 99,985,600
Smokeless Powder 302,151,100
5" Navy Gun 12,869,500
MK-43 Rocket Mortar 71,718,600

[edit] Post War Badger

Olin Industries continued to maintain Badger on stand-by status after the Vietnam War. In 1997, the US Army declared Badger to be excess to its needs. Until 2004, Olin Industries lead the clean-up of Badger. In 2004, SpecPro, Inc., an 8(a) Certified Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) and subsidiary of the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, was awarded to the contract to operate Badger. Since that time, SpecPro, Inc. has lead all maintenance, demolition, and remediation activities at Badger.

[edit] The Future of Badger

Badger will be split among six landowners:

The USDA Dairy Forage will continue grazing cattle and growing crops on the land it receives. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 2,233 acres.


The BIA will manage land for the Ho-Chunk Nation to graze bison and hold ceremonies on the land it receives. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 1,553 acres.


The NPS will manage land for the WDNR. The land will be used to expand Devil's Lake State Park and possibly make a hiking corridor connecting Devil's Lake State Park with the Wisconsin River. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 3,408 acres.


The Town of Sumpter will recieve the three historic cemeteries located on Badger. These cemeteries were aquired and maintained by the US Army during the initial land aquition in 1942. The three cemeteries are the Pioneer, Thoelke, and Miller cemeteries. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 3.6 acres.


  • Bluffview Sanitary District

The Bluffview Sanitary District will receive land relating to the sewage and water treatment system it currently shares with Badger. Bluffview, located accross US 12 from Badger, is former Badger employee housing which is now private residences. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 165 acres.


The WI DOT will recieve land allong the existing State Highway 78. The The WI DOT plans to expand and straighten State Highway 78 in 2009. The estimated acreage to be received is approximately 58.3 acres.

[edit] Vegetation

This area originally consisted of oak savanna and prairie habitat. After settlers populated the area, agriculture became predominant and few prairie and oak savanna remnants remained. Currently, the open spaces at Badger consist of some prairie remnants which are maintained each year through the use of prescribed fire and clearing.

[edit] Geology

Badger is located on the terminal moraine of the outwash plain of a glacier which stopped in this area during the Wisconsin Glaciation approximately 12,000 years ago. The bedrock in this area consists of quartzite, sandstone, shale, and limestone. Groundwater flow is influenced by the Baraboo Hills to the north and the Wisconsin River to the east.

[edit] Geography

Badger consists of 7,354 acres of land in Sauk County. Badger is bounded by Devil's Lake State Park and the Baraboo Hills to the north, the Town of Merrimac and the Wisconsin River to the East, the Town of Prairie Du Sac to the south, and the Town of Sumpter and the Bluffview community to the West.

[edit] Calendar of Public Events at Badger

This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events.
It may contain information of a tentative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.
  • Badger Inter-Governmental (BIG) Meeting; April 10; 5pm
  • Installation Action Plan (IAP) Workshop; April 10-11; 8am-5pm (tentative, may change)
  • Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) Meeting; June 18; 6:30pm

[edit] References and External links

The Badger Repositories are located at the Sauk City Public Library, Prairie du Sac Public Library, and at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The Badger Repositories include all available public information; including publications (i.e. Environews), RAB meeting minutes, groundwater monitoring data, and completed remediation projects or work plans.

Site Information

Community Groups

Published References

  • Goc, Michael J. Powder, People, and Place; Badger Ordnance Works and the Sauk Prairie, New Past Press, Inc. Friendship, WI, 2002

[edit] See Also

Conflicts

Companies/Contractors

Materials

Other AAPs Associated with Badger

Other Topics

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