N.Z. AMMUNITION

Grey River Argus, 18 December 1943, Page 2

N.Z. AMMUNITION

SMALL ARMS OUTPUT I Sixfold Increase AFTER TRANSFER OF FACTORY TO HAMILTON. P.A. WELLINGTON, Dec. 17. “With the continued improvement in the war situation in the Pacific and the recession from our shores of the more immediate threat of danger, is is possible for me to draw a corner of the veil which has, of necessity, shrouded our munitions undertakings in degrees of secrecy, and to disclose to the public something of the very interesting aspect of our munitions production,” stateq the Minister of Supply, and Munitions, Hon. D. G. Sullivan to-uay. “The production of small arms ammunition is a typical illustration of the extent to which this little country endeavoured, not only to contribute to the general war effort, but also to provide her own soldiers with the sinews of war. The fact that we had here plant and equipment capable of turning out'very, large quantities of this ammunition enabled us to build up substantial reserves against our possible need in those months of grave danger following on the attack on Fearl Harbour, and, even now, we are sending ammunition far afield for use against our common enemies.’’ The Minister pointed out that, with the advent of Japan into the war, Auckland City, where a well-known small arms factory and explosive, magazines are situated, became a vulnerable area, and tne Government was faced with the immediate necessity of transferring the factory and magazines to a comparatively sate location. It was decided to establish the factory at Hamilton,, and to disperse the magazines in rural areas. The Auckland factory has already been expanded considerably by the provision bv the Government of additional plant, but it was decided to organise a still greater expansion .of production. Orders for necessary plant and equipment were immediately placed, a considerable quantity of jt being manufactured in engineering shops of the Dominion. Mr. Sullivan said that it was most important that the new factory should be split into self-contained production units, so that in the event of one unit being put out of action for any reason, the output would only partly be affected. To permit of speedy building and cheap construction, and to allow, if the need arose, for each section to be externally sand-bagged against bomb blast, it was essential that each production unit should be broken up into a number .of separate buildings, and dispersed over a large area, rather than if should be a single large structure. This meant the erection of twentyfour factory buildings, and a com.pletelyl new arrangement of plant and machinery. Adequate camouflage from air observation was also necessary. Housing accommodation had to oa prepared for the employees. Plant and operational services, such as water, gas and electric power, had to be provided. And last, but by no means least, it was vitally important that the transfer of machinery etc. from Auckland should be effected with a minimum of interruption to production. , “How expeditiously the work was carried out will be apparent from the following progress dates, observed the Minister. “At the middle of January’. 1942, the War Cabinet approved of Hamilton as the new location, and the actual site was determined a few davs later. Plans of layout and buildings were readv and approved bv the end of February. Work on the site and buildings commenced immediate!v, and by June 22, construction had so far advanced that the tra.nnfer of the first section of plant from Auckland took place. On June 24, two days later, and onlv five months after the selection of the site, the first lots of ammunition were turned out of the new factory. Tn all, we lost the equivalent of only one week’s production, due to a system adopted of transferring the plant section bv section, and operation bv operation, as too new factory became ready. The decision, taken has heen more than •justified. The rated capacity of the Hamilton factory is doable that of the Auckland nlant. This capacity had, however, been surpassed by the output, which, for tne first twelve

months of operation, exceeded the estimate by more than ten per cent. The production in the twelve months of 1940 was seventeen million, whereas in the past twelve months seventyfive million rounds have' been produced. This, too, was only; part of the story, for the quanty of the ammunition produced had been steadily improved, until it has now reached the all services standards, which is the highest grade used by the services.”

Mr. Sullivan paid a high tribute to all of those who had played a part in making possible this remarkable achievement, which he had no hesitation saying would rank as one of the great industrial undertakings of the war in this country. He added: ,: 1 wish to . thank particularly, the management of the Colonial Ammunition Company, Limited, and the officers of the Housing Construction Department, the Army Department, and the Munitions Controller’s Office and the Hamilton builders associated in the scheme, all of whom, by the exercise of technical skill and organising ability, helped to complete this important task in record time with a negligible loss of vital production. I extend to the employees engaged at the factory my admiration and appreciation of their loyal co-operation and unremitting efforts. without which we could never na.Ve reached either the output or the duality now being obtained.” | z