| National Fireworks WW2 Incendiary Bomb Plant Mays Landing |
| While in operation the plant occupied a parcel of land 4.5 to 5 square miles, located along the railroad line, north of the intersection of Harding Highway and Bear's Head Road. The works, which contained about twenty buildings, produced bombs for use in aerial, land, and sea combat. The plant and operations were designed with emphasis on safety and secrecy. These aims were accomplished in part through the selection of a remote site location, physical separation of individual buildings and workers, and thorough inspections. The isolation of the site in the open space of the Pine Barrens served to limit the potential for incidental damage in the event of fire or explosion at the plant. Site isolation probably also served security aims. Buildings on site were deliberately separated to avoid chain reaction fires and explosions. The black powder storage houses were typically located half a block away from the filling and mixing "houses." Within these structures, individuals worked alone in small compartments. This procedure served two purposes: 1) it protected the personal safety of the work force; and 2) it impeded access to operational information about the plant as a whole. No more than one large glass jar of black powder was allowed at one time in a compartment. It is unclear exactly how much powder the jars contained, but the burden could not have been heavier than a woman could transport manually or with a handcart for a distance of half a block. While the overall safety efforts were effective, a former plant worker recalled that numerous fires broke out every day. The workers considered such incidents to be commonplace. Worker access to the plant was achieved in automobiles, which were parked in lots far removed from the plant buildings. Upon arriving for their shift, employees walked first to the "halfway house," a checkpoint located approximately halfway between the parking area and the plant site. There the workers would be searched for matches, lighters, and other items that were not allowed in the plant. Employees were also searched upon leaving the plant. The bombs were assembled in stages, and (as noted above) efforts were made to insure that the civilians working at the plant would never be completely informed about the total bomb manufacturing process. Individual employees were knowledgeable of their particular jobs only. Most of the tasks performed at the Mays Landing plant involved bomb assembly, the ingredients arriving at the plant in ready-made condition. After filling and before shipping, the individual bombs were packed into large spindle-shaped containers. Bombs were probably shipped out by rail. Apparently concerned with maintaining employee morale and productivity, the company employed a mediator to reconcile disputes between the employee union and the management. The mediator, Mr. Ralph Sorrentino, gave instruction in a course entitled "Harmonious Relationships" at the Mays Landing site. It appears that morale was high in general, and as former plant worker Ella Tuthill explained, the workers felt proud to be doing their part for "our boys" in Europe |
