The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-17

use of them against civilians, are complicated devices. Navy rockets are a far cry from the bright col ored pasteboard Fourth of July "skyrockets" which small boys set off in the back yard.
 Since the art of producing rock cts in mass numbers is entirely new, the employees here have been taking intensive training courses. Often the officers teaching the courses only learned the subject matter themselves few days before.
 The rocket builders, including McANAD'S 1000 civilian employees, have had considerable experience in putting together other types of naval ammunition. AS J. c. Ed- wards, leading man in the 14-inch projectile loading plant said, they have developed a respect" for eX- ploSives.
 JitterS Unknown
 And despite the new emphasis on rockets, the McAlester depot is still called "the bullet factory" by the eX-farmer, ex-houSeWives and for mer schoolteacherS who man it's strange machines.
 Though they work with materials that would literally blow them alld the surrounding countryside sky high if mishandled, the depot work. CTS waste no time or energy with the jitters.
 Capt. Woodside, 8 week after an explosion at one of the thousands of magazines on the depot had killed II men, paid special tribute to the coolness and efficiency of the men and women handling the dan- gerous explosives here.
 They displayed not the slight est nervousness after terrible cat- astrophe in their midst" Capt. Woodside said. He formerly com- manded the battleship USS Colo. rado.
 Every precaution known to science is taken to prevent tragedies. and McANAD officers were proud of their safety record until the recent explosion occurred.
 Huge machines which pack eX- ploSives into projectiles are set in side concrete cells with armor-plate doors, and the assembly lines in tho various plants are divided into sec tions, so that an explosion if 1t oc- CUTS, is Localized"
 Perhaps the most dangerous job on the reservation is the handling of the black gunpoWder used. in several types of charges as primer material. This powder is quilted into small red silk cloths much as cotton is placed inide comforter.
 10 Women on Job
 Twelve persons, including It women, work in the black powder building. The building has lead floors and other special installa- tions to prevent sparks-for one spark would cause the entire estab- lishment to pillow high in the clouds instantly.
 Production of the two rocket parts-the motor" or propelling half, and the body-is undertaken in different plants. Loading the body of course, is a process much like the loading of other types of projectiles. The Navy uses wide variety Of explosives in its projec- tiles, some of them as yet unnamed.
 Mysterious new explosives which must be cooked" and then poured" into the projectiles arc handled in buildings here which look like huge kitchens-with 3O- foot concrete walls and earthen ramparts surrounding them.
 Persons who work in some of the depot's installations get a yellow stain On their hands which won't wash of.
 Though women are especially adept at weighing out small quan- titles of powder accurately, they don't like the yellow stain, officers of the depot conf1de.
 We have to apologize all the time" explained a woman worker, Mrs. Vera LaVoie. Personally l consider it badge of honor"