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US Army Ordnance Corps Museum - Aberdeen Proving Ground (United States) |
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Important note Photos provided on this website are not an endorsement of any political idea or of war. War is one of the most regrettable human activities. All photos on this page are copyrighted Marc Owens and may only be reproduced with her express permission. You may contact me here for any question or comment on this webpage. |
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The museum
In the performance of its work, the Calibre Board gathered all kinds of artillery equipment and subjected these items to a tactical evaluation. However, in order to obtain a technical evaluation the equipment was shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground for careful scrutinizing by weapons engineers. After the Calibre Board submitted its report, the Ordnance Department
established an office known as the Technical Staff, to implement its
recommendations. In order to stay abreast of all Ordnance developments,
the Technical Staff organized a repository at Aberdeen Proving Ground
to store and catalogue the various equipment being acquired from France
and other sources. As the collection grew, steps were taken to place
it in a large shop building at Aberdeen. Building 314 became the Museum's
home for the next 41 years. In 1940, when the limited National Emergency was declared and the Armed Forces were rapidly expanded, the Museum building had to be remodeled for classroom use and the collection was stored out of doors, where they quickly deteriorated. In 1942 most of these items were scrapped. In September 1942 a Foreign Material Section was established at Aberdeen to study and report on foreign equipment. During the war years enormous amounts of foreign equipment was forwarded to Aberdeen for evaluation. Later, this equipment became the nucleus for the current collection. Within a year after the termination of hostilities in 1945, the Foreign Material Branch was disestablished, however the Museum section survived and became known as the Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum. In the years between 1945 and 1950, important work was done by the Museum in the area of cataloguing Ordnance equipment. In addition, a number of impressive manuscripts were published. Notable among these were the reports prepared by Mr. Karl Kempf on the subject of Russian equipment. Mr. Kempf, who later served as curator during the years 1967-1971, was fluent in the German language and used captured German reports to prepare in-depth studies on Russian equipment. In 1950, Kempf's work became invaluable when U.S. forces in Korea were called upon to confront an enemy equipped by the Soviet Union. In 1967, as the buildup of U.S. forces for the commitment in Southeast Asia advanced at an alarming rate, facilities to house important Army agencies again became acutely short. As a result, the Museum's home, Building 314, once again had to be remodeled for subsequent use as a headquarters for the Army's Test and Evaluation Command. At that time, since it appeared that the Army might be forced to liquidate the collection in order to avoid the cost of maintaining it, a group of local citizens formed a tax-free foundation for the purpose of building and donating a new home for the Museum. Since 1973, when the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum "reopened" to the public, the Museum staff, in cooperation with other elements of the Ordnance Center and School, has continued to prepare and present new displays. These efforts have resulted in fabrication of meaningful and educational displays that illustrate the development evolution of Ordnance material. In addition to providing instruction to Army personnel, it is estimated in excess of 200,000 visitors arrive each year. As the Ordnance Museum prepares to meet its future challenges and expanding responsibilities, the staff will be ever conscious of its opportunity to tell the story of Ordnance and to add to the prestige of the U.S. Army. What is this museum about ? The museum has about 230 items on display in the field around the museum building. Most of these are examples of foreign countries weapons from WW II and I. Some are the only remaining examples left to see and study. Not shown in the photo are the Atomic Cannon and the German 11-inch railroad gun. The museum building has special displays, an extensive collection of small arms, library and a small theater. The foundation's goal is to construct a 300,000 square foot building adjoining the existing building to house and more effectively display the large weapons now deteriorating in the weather. These are the vehicles displayed on the Proving Ground:
The Museum is located in Aberdeen (Maryland) between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Maryland Ave. Gate Admission to the US Ordnance Corps Museum is free (donations are welcome). Recommendation for researchers (excerpt) I copied here sound information with great sense of humour available on the official website, this is worth mentioning it since it is the first time I see this on a Museum's website: "Be prepared to quit at closing time. Museum staffs have wives, children, dogs and other family and household responsibilities. Your
particular subject area may be endlessly fascinating to you, but
the staff has
is immersed
in it everyday, all day, and in some cases
for years. Mother doesn’t want to hear that she will be late for
her job because Dad is late. Dad doesn’t want to say he will be
late for dinner or that he missed his son’s baseball game because
a visitor/collector came in just before closing time looking for information. For a curator a visit from a good collector is like a day off". |
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Year
of Visit : September 2001 by Mark Owens |