Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot

Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot. a former military facility on the Weymouth Back River. , The Weymouth Back River and the land surrounding the river are important ecological resources in Massachusetts. However, the river's economic history has left lasting markers on the landscape. The following narrative provides a brief history regarding the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, which used the river and neighboring land to produce, maintain, destroy and transport ammunition during World War I, World War II and the Korean War., In March 1903 Congress approved the Navy's recommendation to acquire land along the Weymouth Back River for an ammunition depot. Construction of the facility began in 1909. During World War I the depot was used for the production and storage of ammunition. Operations at the depot continued after the war; however, the focus shifted to producing practice ammunition, maintaining service ammunition and disposing of ammunition that was no longer needed., Due to the depot's proximity to several shipyards, production increased rapidly during World War II. The depot was tasked with supplying ammunition for Allied fleet convoys to Britain and Russia, the anti-submarine warfare forces and the newly armed merchant ships. In addition, production of training ammunition for land and aerial units continued., After the war, the depot's mission changed to maintaining all types of ammunition items in the Navy's inventory, as well as, several items in the British and French Inventories. By March 1950, the backlog of ammunition items cleared and the depot was placed in a maintenance status., In June 1950, the Bureau of Ordinance reactivated the depot to produce ammunition in support of the Korean War. Deactivation of the depot began in early 1960, and all of the services and stocks of ammunition and components were moved to other naval facilities by 1961., After the depot's closure, the land was transferred to other government agencies, including the Town of Hingham and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, with most of the land being owned/managed by Town of Hingham as Bare Cove Park. , , Safely Enjoy the Weymouth Back River Access , Remnants from the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, including munitions have been reported at Weymouth Back River Accessand surrounding areas. While such encounters are rare, visitors need to be aware that potentially hazardous munitions could remain due to past military use of the area. Accordingly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advises visitors not to pick up, handle or examine any potential military debris and to follow the 3Rs of Explosive Safety. , Make Safety Your Priority , Follow the 3Rs of Explosive Safety Recognize when you may have encountered a munition and that munitions are dangerous. , Retreat do not approach, touch, move or disturb it, but carefully leave the area. , Report call 911and advise the police of what you saw and where you saw it. , ( photo captions ) , , Front gate of Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot. Source: Friends of Wompatuck State Park , , Production facility at the Naval Ammunition Depot. Source: National Archives Records Administration, Boston (Identifier 7318769) , , Employees working with the automatic 16-inch powder stacking machine. Source: National Archives Records Administration, Boston (Identifier 4688079) , , Small arms ammunition shell casing found at the former depot. , , Tip of a large caliber munition found at the former depot. , Contact Information , For information regarding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activities at the former Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, please contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Office at (redacted). , Additional information regarding Weymouth Back River Access is available from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife at https://www.mass.gov/how-to/masswildlife-lands-viewer and from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation at https://www.mass.gov/orgs/executive-office-of-energy-and-environmental-affairs . , Produced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Munitions photos provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.