Picric acid is, however, the main explosive used by the French, who had placed enormous contracts for this material with explosives manufacturers prior to the entry of the United States in the war. Because of our purchase of early large supplies of ammunition and guns from the French Government, to be largely paid for by picric acid, large contracts were entered into by our Government for this explosive, which was produced here in accordance with French specifications and subject to joint inspection by our officers and the French.
In November, 1917, we were turning out 600,000 pounds of picric acid monthly, and a year later this had been increased to a monthly production of 11,300,000 pounds; the average cost was 56 cents a pound.
To insure production quickly for the needs of the times, three Government picric-acid plants were authorized. One of these was located at Picron, near Little Rock, Ark., to be operated by the Davis Chemical Corporation; another was located at New Brunswick, Ga., to be operated by the Butterworth-Judson Corporation; and the third was located at Grand Rapids, Mich., for operation by the Semet-Solvay Co. All of these contracts were made on a cost-plus basis. Each of these plants was to have a capacity of 14,500,000 pounds of picric acid a month. The plant at Picron in Arkansas was the only one that had started production before the signing of the armistice.
Ammonium picrate, otherwise known as explosive D in our Army annals, is produced by the ammoniation of picric acid, and because it is more insensitive than picric acid and is less liable to form sensitive salts with metals it is used as the explosive charge for all armor-piercing projectiles.
Our average monthly production of ammonium picrate in May, 1917, was 53,000 pounds, and this had been increased without the erection of any Government plants to a monthly capacity in November, 1918, of 950,000 pounds. There was on hand at the time of the signing of the armistice 6,500,000 pounds of this explosive, the average cost of which was 64 cents a pound.
Tetryl, on account of its high cost and the lack of manufacturing facilities for its production, was not used except as a loading charge for boosters. It is more sensitive than T. N. T. and has a higher rate of detonation.
Only two companies, the du Pont Powder Co. and the Bethlehem Loading Co., manufactured tetryl. Expansion of these two plants increased the monthly capacity of 8,700 pounds in December, 1917, to 160,000 pounds in November, 1918, while its cost was reduced from $1.30 a pound to 90 cents a pound.
This increased capacity, however, was not in excess of our explosives requirements, and there was authorized by the Government the erection of a plant at Senter, Mich., that was to be operated by the Atlas Co., and which was to have a monthly capacity of 250,000 pounds. This plant had not reached production when the armistice was signed.
The Aetna Powder Co. at the time we entered the war was manufacturing for the Russian Government tetranitroaniline that was to be used in the loading of boosters and fuses. This company's plant at Nobleston, Pa., was destroyed by an explosion. Ordnance officers learned that this material was equal to tetryl as a military explosive. Consequently a contract was entered into with Dr. Bernhardt Jacques Flurschein, the holder of the patent rights, to have manufactured T. N. A. for our own uses. A Government plant was authorized for erection on the ground of the Calco Chemical Co., Bound Brook, N.J., to be operated by that concern. Production at this plant was to be on a cost-plus basis, the estimated cost of the material being 70 cents a pound. When the armistice was signed, about 8,000 pounds of T. N. A. had been produced, but none had been utilized.