The Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot

During World War II Nebraska was very much involved in the war effort. Besides sending so many of our young men to fight in the Armed Forces, there was the SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. Eleven other airfields were scattered across the state, including the one at McCook. Nebraska, was home to a number of Prisoner of War Camps, including one at Indianola. Another facility, so very important to the war effort was the Naval Ammunition Depot at Hastings.

The United States military commanders chose Hastings to be the site of the Ammunition Depot for several reasons. 1. It was in almost the exact center of the United States, and so was considered safe from enemy air attacks. 2. It was at the hub of three railroads, making transportation convenient, into and out of the facility. 3. There was an ample supply of underground water. 4. There was an abundant and dependable supply of cheap electricity, from the Tri-County dams' project. 4. There was an adequate source of skilled and unskilled laborers, who were known to be good workers.

In June 1942, just six months after Pearl Harbor, Sen. Norris and Congressman Carl Curtis announced the proposed construction of a mammoth ammunition project, the largest of its kind in the U.S. Government agents had to buy up some 49,000 acres of farmland South and East of Hastings from 232 owners. (Note: There was a great deal of animosity toward the government by a good many of those 232 farmers, over the high-handed way that the land was "purchased" from them. Some of that ill feeling exists to the present day.)

At the time Adams County, still suffering from the drought and Depression years of the '30s, had an unemployment rate of nearly 40 percent. The promise of 60-hour work weeks, at 74 cents per hour was very appealing. (At the time, a typical sales clerk in Hastings was being paid 25 cents per hour.) Before very long, the local work force had been absorbed in the project and people were streaming in from all parts of Nebraska and adjoining states to fill those jobs at the Ammo Depot.

In less than a year, Hastings grew from a population of 15,000 to over 23,000. There was a critical shortage of housing. Every available garage, attic, and spare room was turned into housing for incoming workers and their families. Two huge trailer villages were created, one covering over 20 acres.

In July 1943, the first shells began rolling off the Hastings assembly lines, to supply naval war ships of the Pacific fleet. It was said that Hastings produced 40 percent of the munitions used by the Navy and Marine Corps in World War II. Among the items that were produced at the Hastings facility were bombs, mines, rockets, 40 mm shells, and 16-inch projectiles. A certain "Yellow-D" powder was used on some of the loading lines, which stained the workers hands -- an identification badge of honor.

At its peak period, in 1945, the Hasting NAD (Naval Ammunition Depot) employed 125 officers and 1,800 enlisted men, plus 6,692 civilian workers, plus another 2,000 construction workers, all working in a sprawling complex of 2,200 structures, valued at over $71 M (1942 dollars), making, storing, and shipping highly volatile munitions. The NAD contained more than 200 miles of railroad track, and 274 miles of roads. Most conspicuous from the highway, were the 10 miles of igloos, the rounded, earth covered storage structures that contained the various high powered munitions.

Considering the nature of the product, and the haste that was demanded, the safety record at the NAD was exceptional. Yet there were four major accidents, all four occurring in 1944.

In January, a 6-inch shell was being gauged when it exploded in a black powder room, killing three soldiers from the Negro Ordnance Battalion. Three streets in the NAD were named in their honor.

In April, an explosion occurred in a bomb and mine loading area. 100,000 pounds of explosives blew up in a blast that killed five persons. The initial explosion occurred in a box car that was being loaded from a storage shed with mines and depth charges. The blast was felt as far away as Omaha and central Kansas. A blinding sheet of flame lighted up the entire sky. Store fronts were blown out in Harvard, Fairfield, Clay Center, and Glenvil. Five workers were killed. Streets at the NAD were also named in their honor.

In June, a detonator accidently exploded in the 60 mm building, decapitating a civilian worker.

In September, the largest accident occurred, when the south transfer depot of the railway line blew up, leaving a crater 550' long, 220' wide and 50' deep. The blast was felt as far away as Western Iowa and Central Kansas. Nine service men were killed, and another 53 were seriously injured. All the towns surrounding the NAD suffered damage. A roof on the schoolhouse at Harvard collapsed, injuring 10 school children. The earthen barricades in front of the storage igloos (filled with explosives) held, preventing even more wide-spread damage.

Because of wartime restrictions on all news relating to National Defense, newspaper accounts of the day, describing these tragedies, are very sketchy. The Navy Department has yet to release its own records concerning these incidents, even after more than 60 years.

When the war in Europe ended, in the spring of 1945, the work week at NAD was reduced from 60 to 54 hours. Later, in August, with the surrender of the Japanese, the work week was further reduced to 40 hours, and the work force dwindled to just over 3,000. By 1949 there were just 1,189 workers employed at the Depot.

During the Korean War, in the early '50s, the Hastings NAD was once again pressed into service, but never did reach nearly the capacity of World War II days. In 1958, the order came for disestablishment of the facility -- to be completed by June of 1968.

Dividing the NAD into parts became quite a process. 1. Some 10,000 acres near Clay Center were turned over to the Department of Agriculture for a Meat Research Center. 2. 640 acres, containing the administrative offices and 28 buildings became Central Community College. 3. Other surplus land was sold to various businesses, in what is now known as Hastings Industrial Park.

When the decision was made to shut down the NAD there was surprisingly little opposition from the people of Hastings. The sentiment seemed to be that the NAD had served its purpose and it was time for Hastings to pursue its own identity. The facility remains a big part of Hastings (and Nebraska) history -- a reminder of a time when the NAD played a big part in the winning of World War II.

Source: Walt Miller, Hastings NAD historian; Adams County Historical Society