Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-25
Aberdeen Tests Secret Arms
MoyIond Proving Ground Tries Out
Ordnance Experts Deadly Devices

at Aberdeen and Rommel doesn't
like it.
There is plenty of secret stuff
at Aberdeen, among this bomb dis
posal, but it isn't ready to be talked
about. Some day it will be and
when that time comes American
civilians will get an idea if they
don't already have it, of how big
our war happens to be, and what
is being done about winning It.
For the time being, the men at
Aberdeen are turning out the tools
of war, testing them, aid keeping
them going, training men to do the
maintenance job by thousands and
making living very unpleasant for
Jerry and HirOki-San. There hap
pens to be one particular secret the
Japs would like to know, but they
won't know. 1t has a lot to do with
recent American successes, but right
now 1t is strictly hush-hush stuff.
Completed Gun Returns.
What happens to a new gun COM
ing of the production lines in De-
troit or Toledo? First, of course,
it has been designed, and big
part Of the design came from the
highly trained brains of the ord
nance engineers at Aberdeen. The
day will come when a fiat car moves
across the rolling Maryland coun-
try the completed gun.
1t is moved out to the proving
ground, set up, and perhaps the
lanyard is pulled or the firing but
ton Is pushed by a woman. For
more than 500 dungaree-clad women
OF all ages work at Aberdeen, per-
hitting a man to carry a gun or man
tank. These women, called lab
oratory technicians, are trained at
Aberdeen, and actually do much
OF the maintenance and testing work.
II the gun fills specifications it is
regreased and put on a "ready-for-
use line. I saw plenty of head
aches-new ones, never tested in
battle. but ready for use-which q
fortnight hence may be blasting
away in Tunisia or six weeks hence
may be harassing the Nips in New
Guinea or somewhere else.
Aberdeen is that kind of place.
Unless you happen to be familiar
with the ordnance Of the American
Army you won't catch on. You will
be beWlldered by the amazing
amount of ordnance, heavy and
light in evidence, even if you aren't
shaken down to your toes by the
ear-splitting defamation of the stuff
under test. You'll see 14-inch rail-
way guns, and the major will tell
you, Those are old ones from the
last war. Pretty good, too. But
here is something better"
Block Busters "Sleep."
OF at one side you'll see a row
OF unpretentious brick buildings.
with some rectagonal-shaped OBJ
Jects lying in the grass. Those
are block busters 1900 pound
bombs" explained Maj. Harvey Riv-
kin, press relations officer. They
make quite fuss when they hit"
You can imagine they do.
This is the final laboratory where
we test everything in the ordnance
hne,' Maj. Rivkin explained. From
here it may go to any front, I
mean tanks and their guns and
everything that propels a shell or
a bullet
But that is only part of the ire
mendous show at Aberdeen. A little
more than 80 months ago it was
another Army post, where in more
or less desultory fashion, ordnance
was tested. Then there were only
a lew more than 300 officers in the
Army's ordnance Department. The
Garand rifle was under criticism.
1t has since been vastly improved
There was small program for train
Ing OF ordnance officers, even though
10 the scientific mind ordnance hap
pens to be thrilling branch of the
Army's Ordnance Department. The
ing ground for ordnance. There
are more like it now.
Today Aberdeen has an ordnance
ofncer school with CAPACITY of
thousands of candidates a wear. with
about 5000 officer students. MANY
more than the entire ordnance
branch had in 1899. And the pro-
gram is expanding.