The plant was spread out over 2,000 acres and was essentially its own city with water, electric and sewer lines.
It went from hand-loading to assembly line operation during the war. Great speed and safety was stressed. It received the Army-Navy "E" Award for excellence in April 1944. The plant's peak day for production occurred on December 6, 1944 when it produced 213,143 rounds of anti-aircraft shells in just 24 hours.
A testing ground was established at the Wateree Pond in South Carolina. Test rounds were sent by truck and if acceptable, the whole batch was sent to the Navy by train.
With the war winding down and the Japanese Air Force practically gone, production was cut back starting in July 1945.
It then became a Navy communication depot.
The "Shell Plant" does not exist today.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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