POWERFUL EXPLOSIVE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 1, 27 September 1943, Page 4

POWERFUL EXPLOSIVE

More Deadly Than T.N.T.

(British Official Wireless.) (Received September 26, 7.10 p.m.) RUGBY, September 25. The Allied nations are using a powerful explosive called R.D.X, As an explosive, it is not uew, as it was known in the early part of the century, but the difficulty has been to make it on anything like a useful scale. Many chemists and scientists have tried to solve the problem, but none succeeded till the British War Office did so just before the present war. Just over 20 years ago the Armament Research Department began experiments and after 16 years got within measurable distance of success.. The final process of filling a shell was going forward when something went wrong. A group of men watching through mirrors from behind a blast wall saw what was happening and ran into the danger zone to correct it, but there was a tremendous explosion, which killed five of them. The progress made was not lost, ’and as a result of the experiments the Allies are now able to produce in ever-growing quantities an explosive more powerful than T.N.T. R.D.X. is being made in Canada and the United Stales, and in both countries great progress has been made, which enables (he explosive to be produced more simply ‘and more cheaply than anywhere else. All the United Nations will share in (lie benefits. .