The World War II Ordnance Department's Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) Industrial Facilities: Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, Historic Investigation.

This report presents the results of an examination of historical records related to the construction and operations of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant INAAP, Charlestown, Indiana. The project was undertaken by Geo-Marine, Inc. GMI, during June, July, and August 1994. Duane Peter, Senior Archeologist of GMI, served as Principal Investigator. Steve Gaither, Assistant ArchivistHistorian under Kimberly L. Kane, Archivist and EthnologistHistorian, conducted the research. The historical context was developed thorough research into the archives at INAAP, local libraries, and a series of oral history interviews. This report demonstrates that INAAP was a unique facility in the Ordnance Departments Government- Owned Contractor-Operated industrial program designed to provide munitions and materiel for European and American forces during World War II. The facility was the first in the program to be funded by Congress and was an important producer throughout the war. The facility initially was two separate entities Indiana Ordnance Works, which produced single-base smokeless powder and component chemicals used in its manufacture and Hoosier Ordnance Plant, a bag manufacturing and load, assembly, and pack facility. A third portion of the facility, which was to have produced double-base smokeless propellant, Indiana Ordnance Works Plant 2, was never completed. This report in addition discusses the direct and indirect effects construction and operations had on the small community of Charlestown, Indiana, which is located less than a kilometer from the present administration building.