Hence, the Minuteman ICBM program was a huge project and a major source of revenue for Hercules, Inc. Hercules, Inc., also produced the solid-fueled rocket motors for the two-stage Polaris missile system of intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) for the U.S. Navy in its 41 for Freedom series of 41 George Washington class ballistic missile submarines. In the first month of operation, its facility in Hazardville, New Jersey, exploded. A special formulation of dynamite was patented in 1874 by J.W. [2], Oscar C. Pfaus laid the groundwork on behalf of the Abwehr for Nazi connections with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in America and an agent, Karl Franz Rekowski, was then sent to the U.S. where he arranged for the IRA to carry out sabotage attacks. Radford, Virginia. Finally, Hercules Inc. was sold off to the Ashland Corporation in 2008,[14][15] and dissolved. By Bettridge. Three people were killed in an explosion in 1908, three in 1911, three more in 1913, two in 1914, two in 1927, five in 1920, and five in 1923, equaling up to 19 deaths. Beginning in 1959, Hercules, Inc., began to diversify into the production of large solid-fuel rocket motors, and it soon became a primary producer of these, especially for the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army - and to a lesser degree for the civilian National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [1] This was one of three explosions at the plant owned by the Hercules Powder Company – the others killed six people in 1934 and shattered windows across the town in 1989. In 1961, the company hired contractors C.H. Advertisement Hercules, Contra Costa County Hercules, a company town noted for the manufacture of dynamite, is located along San Pablo Bay. The Hercules Powder Plant was a blasting powder production facility that operated from 1924 to 1986.It was located near Dolonah Quarry, just northwest of Bessemer, near the present site of Alabama Splash Adventure.. Around 52 people were killed and 100 injured. Seventy of the buildings Two major explosions brought the plant into the headlines in 1934. These nuclear submarines carried 16 Polaris missiles apiece for a grand total of 656 missiles. None of the Honest John, Minuteman, Polaris, or Poseidon has ever been used in combat, and the threat of nuclear war has been sufficient to deter aggression and make it unnecessary to use nuclear weapons for defense. In the 1920s, Hercules entered the pine resin products business, a development which followed upon the faster clearing of forests for lumber and farmland around the time of the First World War. Hercules Powder became Hercules Inc. in 1966. Ventures produces specialty chemicals for a variety of markets, including adhesives and sealants, paints, inks, coatings, lubricants, rubber, plastics, and building and construction. For the computer graphics card manufacturer, see, Powders developed by Hercules Powder Company, Box/folder number, Ellis Leroy Hawk, Jr. polypropylene plant construction. These strap-on rockets were used on the Titan IIIC, Titan IIID, and Titan IIIE rockets, and on all of the Titan IV rockets that were ever produced. Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN.Chattanooga Tennessee Hamilton County, 1968. Publisher: Published by Utah State History; digitized by Backstage Library Works; hosted by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. In addition, the Polaris series consisted of the successively-improved Polaris A-1, Polaris A-2, and Polaris A-3 missiles. Circuit Court in 1911. The Titan IV-Centaur was used for special launches of heavy space probes into the Solar System, such as the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn which was launched in 1997. News reports at the time estimated at least fifteen buildings were destroyed along with twenty-five tons of explosives. It was split off into a separate company in 1912 after the federal courts broke up the E.I. In order to survive, this division needed to obtain new products. [8], Some of their products were used by the military in World War I. Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc. Of all of the missiles mentioned above, only a reduced number of the Minuteman missiles remain in service at Air Force Bases in the United States, with all of the others having been removed from deployment and scrapped, along with all of the Polaris and Poseidon submarines. HERCULES POWDER COMPANY EXPLOSION IN KENVIL KILLS SCORES. Mr. Brands is survived by his wife, Trina, and a small daughter. 5 out of 5 stars (52) 52 reviews $ 25.00. The mythological Hercules was known as a giant slayer. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2015_284.xml;query=bacchus, "27 DEAD, 25 MISSING, 200 HURT IN BLAST AT JERSEY PLANT", "'A look back — and ahead — at the Hercules plant", Alliant Techysystems Complete Deal for Hercules, Photographs from the Records & Ephemera of Hercules Incorporated, List of companies based in the Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hercules_Inc.&oldid=997063624, Manufacturing companies established in 1912, Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2008, Defunct manufacturing companies based in Delaware, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 20:55. Hercules Powder Plant -Shot 1. ), formerly known as McCainville, advertises itself as the "Home of America's Oldest Continuously Operating Dynamite Plant" – the HERCULES POWDER Co. PLANT, founded 1871. that Hercules Inc., was close to going bankrupt after this failed purchase operation. Image. Hercules Powder Company ranked 65th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[9]. Hercules was named after the company’s major product, Hercules Black Powder. By the end of the 1990s, Hercules Inc., had sold off a significant number of its divisions that had not been profitable for the company. Use the guide. Type Rheuby, J.T Skelly, Norman Rood, Fred Stark, C.D. In addition, all of the missiles of the Minuteman I series were removed from service and replaced with the Minuteman II and Minuteman III series of more-advanced ICBMs. In 1882, thanks to their interlocking ownership interests with the California Powder Works by that time, the DuPont corporation and Laflin & Rand Powder Company acquired the rights to manufacture Hercules powder and incorporated the Hercules Powder Company for that purpose. The plant employs 425 people and has 300 buildings on the site. This has caused the price of shares of common stock in Hercules to rise above US$70. The company town that grew up around the facility became known as "Hercules", later (1900) incorporated as Hercules, California. Hercules was composed of two major divisions: the Paper Technologies and Ventures (PTV) division and the Aqualon division. Hercules, Inc., was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the Du Pont explosives monopoly by the U.S. [4] It remains unclear whether the explosion was an industrial accident, or was sabotage carried out by the IRA or a group of German Americans living in Sussex County. The early Polaris submarines that had been armed with the Polaris A-1 were upgraded to the Polaris A-2; and then all that had been armed with the Polaris A-2 were upgraded to the Polaris A-3. Hercules Powder and Chinese Labor. Questions about Mesothelioma and Hercules Powder (Explosives) "Birmingham" Chemical Plant are sure to come up. [1] Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc. An earlier Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 by DuPont and Laflin & Rand Powder Company. Hercules Powder Plant -Shot 1. One final 1990 publication that needs mention is Hercules Powder Co.'s annual Reloaders' Guide for Hercules Smokeless Powders, which is offered free through dealers. Panoramic views of the Hercules Powder Company's smokeless powder plant in Nitro, West Virginia. Description. "The mining industry in Utah would not have developed if it hadn't been for explosives. Partner Mountain West Digital Library. Louisiana. Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Staff. [21] One of its major solid-fuel rocket products was the third-stage engine for the three -stage solid-fueled Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the U.S. Air Force, of which 1,000 were made and deployed at Air Force Bases in several northern states during the 1960s. [22] In 1995 the aerospace division of Hercules, including its solid motor line, was acquired by the American defense contractor ATK. We update our guide on a regular basis - find the latest recipes in your favorite calibers here. The operating area and company town can be seen in this panoramic view. [4], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}40°52′19″N 74°38′13″W / 40.872°N 74.637°W / 40.872; -74.637, "Long-vacant Hercules plant site could get transit village, warehouses", "Ethnic Germans as an Instrument of German Intelligence Services in the USA, 1933-45", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hercules_Powder_plant_disaster&oldid=978312772, Industrial fires and explosions in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 September 2020, at 04:24. By the 1960s, the community was experiencing the first signs of a suburban transition. Saturn V rockets, the Titan IV was the largest and heaviest unmanned rocket available anywhere in the world, and especially in the Titan IV-Centaur version. [10], Richard F. Heck, recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, gained experience with transition metal chemistry while working at Hercules in 1957.[11]. The increasing surplus of wood pulp led the company to the idea of producing other things from it, namely, the various chemicals that were present in pine resin. Dissolved on June 30, 1904. [ 5 ] of today 's explosion, Mayor Dawson said: I. To the pulp and paper industry this was not successful Polaris A-3 missiles [ ]... N'T been for explosives had a paper Technology division ( PTD ) products! Manufacturing Company total of 656 missiles a launch in October 2005 of this Hercules. Stark, C.D Library, University of Utah were: major product, Inc.! Programs were implemented in addition hercules powder plant corporate buying its own shares included President H. 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