Safety? What safety? They could have put it in San Diego and been 100% safe. The Japanese had zero plans to do anything to the US coast. Only American paranoia and seeing Japanese under the bed. I.e. "Battle of Los Angeles" when AA guns fired for hours at nothing.
And a ton more available space there in the Forties there than in San Fran or Los Angeles. Which seems like the more obvious but then again, there was mention of safety being inland.
I've been there as a truck driver delivering and taking shipments from there and the now inactive Pueblo Army Depot. The army Depot was very similar in size and inventory. At the Army Depot had one of the longest airport landing strips that was used for bomber training. At one warehouse there was a huge collection of Nazy propaganda art works, uniforms, SS militaria and other German artifacts. I was given a two hour tour of a brief viewing of the collection. It has all been dispersed. As kids we could go to a huge scrap yard and buy inactive hand grenades, shell casings and other military scrap. My cousins and brothers had been able to get full uniforms, mess kits, tents, ( shelter halves) boots, and everything an infantry man carried including Springfield . 303 rifles. We looked like a small infantry unit when we would "fight" on my uncle's farm/ranch. We would go on boy scout hikes, trips and events we had most of our camping equipment was WWII GI surplus. Wish I had kept all of my stuff.
@@williestyle35 Not sure if you are trolling, but the m1903 Springfield rifle was chambered in .303 It was the main rifle that the USA used in WWI. I believe it was still used as a backup store of weapons until after ww2 when the decommissioned stock was finally sold off. That, or OP got it confused with the M1 chambered in 30-06. either way, would give my left testicle for one of those original pieces!
@@joshguyer4593 yeah, but... The *M 1906* cartridge was developed in .30 - 06 caliber, starting in *1906* for use in the "Springfield" rifle (obviously). The Springfield rifles in service with the U S Army and Marine Corps would be modified and future rifles produced to the M 1903 (1906) rifle standard, using .30 - 06 (7.62 × 63 mm) ammunition. Going forward from the Occupation of Veracruz in 1914, to the Vietnam War (almost exclusively as a sniper rifle, or a limited "secondary" rifle role) that is how the rifle would be issued. The Marines started WWII with the .30 - 06 Springfield chambered M 1903 (1906) as their main rifle, by the end, they and nearly all ground and airborne soldiers carried the M 1 Rifle or the M 1 Carbine (M 2 in a very few cases). The U S Rifle, Caliber .30 , M 1903, "Springfield rifle" was only chambered for .30 - 30 Springfield ammunition until the .30 - 06 Springfield cartridge was fully supplied after it's adoption in 1906 (around 3 years in service for the .30 - 30 cartridge). I can't think of circumstances where any WWI or WWII soldiers would be using the .30 - .30 Springfield rifle, or cartridge in actual field service... And .303 is the notation for the British service cartridge ( 7.7 × 56 mm R). There was also the .30 - 30 *Winchester* cartridge, aka the .30 Winchester Center Fire (or .30 WCF). Most famously first marketed in use with the Winchester Model 1894 lever action rifle, still widely used in lever action rifles to this day.
I met the guy who ran the Yuma Arizona depo at the beginning of WW2. All the white English-speaking guys were gone to war. All he had were Spanish speaking Mexicans, and he was glad to have them. He color coded everything. So take these 105 shells to the red,red blue, green, yellow, black area, and enter it into inventory. Worked.
In 1977 I was stationed at Hill AFB in Ogden...it was a great assignment. I was in supply and worked in a huge warehouse. There wasn't a lot of military in my shop and the locals were not shy about stuffing me with treats on the holidays. The chow hall was also outstanding!!
@@wheezy1587 That is sad to hear! When I was there, it was outstanding! Chicken cor bon blue was my favorite, and roast beef was shaved right off the bone, my roommate's favorite. There was nothing between Ogden and SLC. The Kit Carson monument was in the middle of nowhere!
Clearfield, UT remains a Giant.... ENORMOUS Distribution Center City to this day!!! I work for a company that ships 1-2 sometimes 3 truckloads of frozen food there... EVERY DAY!! I personally loaded 2 of them yesterday.😊😎
Even more surprising, a good chunk of command facilities for the Pacific Theater were moved to Ft. Douglas, just down in Salt Lake City. When you consider the reasons though, it makes sense. Early in the war there was a great concern that the Japanese could attack costal facilities with carrier aircraft, so important facilities were moved far inland to be safe.
Before the war the railroads had already setup SLC/Ogden as the distribution point for anything going west, northwest and the southwest. And as previously pointed out, pretty inland, so pretty safe for a very large scale operation.
Crane, Indiana is another one. Whenever we (USMC) retired a serialized weapon that's where it went for further de-milling and disposal. The Naval Support Activity is part of the larger Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane, Indiana. It has a fairly wide mission now in support of US military equipment lifecycle support. Not just the Navy, but all branches.
I have driven my company truck there a few times. I picked up primers and bullets from an ammo manufacturer. I was in awe of the scale of the location. With train spurs /loading docks spanning into the horizon. The company owner told me about the original war era purpose. Utah is rich with ww2 historical ties. I grew up in the shadows of the Geneva steel plant. Dougway proving grounds. Hill AFB. Camp Williams. BYU national guard armory. I hunted on carrington island (used for bomb run practice on the Great Salt Lake, the bomb craters and shrapnel shards are everywhere) kenecot copper mine, tinic mining district sent ungodly amounts of raw metals to mfgs of war production. A Crashed Boeing bomber on Mount Timpanogus still attracts climbers.
My father (USNA ’36) was stationed at the Navy Budget Office in Washington DC in 1944-45. He made an inspection visit to the Clearfield Supply Depot during that time. Travelled by the Union Pacific Railroad to Ogden.
Im an hvac technician (technically called a sheet metal worker in Canada) and the amount of metallurgical reseach done during ww2 was INSANE. Because of the shortage of Inconel, stainless steel production was massively expanded. Leading to the abbundance of use of stainless instead of Inconel in shops, laboratories, kitchens, factories, etc. A lot of 316 stainless was used to build those boats. It truly boggles the mind. 😱
Protected by Hill Air Force Base. Their F-35's fly directly over my house when they take off, and I Love it! There's also an Aerospace museum there. It's a great visit
Yeah, brings reflex smile most times. I live in a town the RAN had a technical training school. The town is halfway between Sydney and Melbourne travelling the more direct cross country route rather than the meandering coastal route. By air in a straight east west line, about 180 miles east to the sea.
My grandpa worked there as a diesel mechanic during the war. It is still used today as and industrial area. I worked there when younger for the local school district maintenance shops.
This answers questions I had about that area. I pick up new semi trailers at the Utility plant in Clearfield. It’s right in the heart of what is left of the depot area. I was wondering when I saw the layout of rail spurs and some of the buildings. Looked very much like a larger version of the Price Support Center in Granite City Illinois.
Lived near / next to US NAVY DEPOT in Mechanicsburg PA in Central PA near Harrisburg. I could hear taps in the evening at times. The BRAC commission tried to close it but the Navy DEPOT was allowed to stay open after it was connected to the NEW CUMBERLAND ARMY DEPOT via direct cable communication.
This reminds me of the US naval base in Idaho. They use it mainly for sub testing. But the waters I guess are so calm and deep there that they can test new tech for subs and other ships. If I remember correctly the Zummwalts small scale vessel was tested there. Apparently the Tumblehome hull design of them is really stable in high sea states.
Still there too as a large industrial park. Picked up many load there. Built during the war, clearances into some of the docks can make docking a trailer challenging.
@@BillyWilliams-d2e Its a secret underground river. One of my neighbors used to swear up and down one existed and went digging in his yard for it. I am not kidding.
As a contractor for the Navy, I got to visit another of these inland Navy installations: Naval Support Activity Crane. NSA Crane is basically located in a forest in southern Indiana with minimal numbers of people around for dozens of miles. But you don't want a lot of people living near what is effectively a giant ordnance pile.
The central pacific runs by the base, and the depo is centrally located to most industrial states. And can supply both coasts mor or less, in the same amount of time, and is fsr from any possible attack, and and the gulf of mexico. Makes perfect sence.
I think recent events in the Ukraine war demonstrate the wisdom of keeping your largest depots well away from areas that could be targeted by the enemy. That may have been what the defense department thought about when establishing a depot in Utah.
Makes sense to me, a lot less likely to be attacked the further inland it is. Railways and ppanes can be used to move equipment wherever needed whenever needed.
WE LIVED CLOSE TO OLATHE NAVAL AIR STATION , KANSAS WHICH WAS USED FOR NAVAL AND MARINE FLIGHT TRAINING, AND OUR DAD WORKED THERE AS AN CIVILIAN SERVICE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER! ITS NICKNAME WAS THE “PRAIRIE NAVY”, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE NOT LIVING CLOSE BY COULD NOT BELIEVE THE NAVY HAD AN NON WATER SIDE INSTALLATION!!
Makes sense. Relatively centrally located, supplies could be shifted by rail to either coast. Relatively low population means better opsec. Distance from coasts makes an air raid nearly impossible(at the time). Only its association with a navel force makes the location seem weird.
I’ve never spent much time contemplating military equipment and readiness. I’m just hoping that if we ever need to, we will kick ass in a big way 👍🏻🇺🇸.
This is now a light industrial and warehouse business park, and it continues to expand. If you've seen a "Utility" semi trailer on the highway or bought a "Lifetime" picnic table or basketball hoop it was probably made here. Some of the pioneering work done with carbon fiber windings was done here as well at Hercules.
Naval Ordnance in Louisville KY repaired & built naval guns, like the 16 inch barrels from battleships. Also had the blueprints of all the weapons; even those from the earliest sailing ships.
There was an Army Depot in Ogden as well as a POW camp right next to it housing German and Italian prisoners. Northern Utah was highly agricultural and all or most of the young men were off fighting the war so a lot of the farmers would get POW's to work the farms, they were treated so well that after the war they were sent home, many of them saved up their money and came back.
Part ofnthis facility once was also the former headquarters of defunct roller coaster company Arrow Dynamics. This is history, that deserves, to be remembered.
In my second hometown tooele about two hours south of Ogden we also have a massive army depot just like this one although today a good chunk of the tooele depot is still active for the army
Hastings, Nebraska, made 40% of the navy's ww2 munitions. Grand Island had an army munitions plant, too. There are many rail lines out of those two cities that no longer exist. UP and BNSF still serve both, and amtrak serves Hastings on BNSF rail. I'd like to see the North Platte canteen get more attention.
There is also one near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which I always thought was a strange location. However, now that I’ve been informed of one in Utah it’s not that strange in Harrisburg.
Spokane had one too,I never realized it until recently but there’s very few pictures of it when it was a depot,spokane was known for massive railways and there’s a big two rail line right through the warehouse complex to load everything but those probably haven’t been used in decades
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Part of it was converted into a Job Corps Center trade school for underprivileged teens looking for another chance. Clearfield Job Corps
Fun story - my grandfather became a Boeing employee in the early 1950s. His first job was to “organize, package, and dispatch” a large room full of leftover nuts, bolts, screws, and washers, that were randomly in boxes, unlabeled and unorganized. In three days. an essentially impossible task. so, he and the one other individual assigned to this work thought quickly, and wrapped everything up, taped it shut, and sent it all to "Boeing Main Warehouse, C/O Penrod Butterfield, Everett Wa. Both men were congratulated for completing this task on time. Legend has it theres an angry warehouse manager in Everett that wants to have strong words with Penrod, should he ever show his face.
We have 2 in my area of Pennsylvania. One serves submarines only, and the other supplies all other ships. The Navy is the largest employer in our area.
In a way, having large supplies makes some sense. It would be very hard for an enemy attack to make it all the way to Utah undetected. At least, any force larger than 2 or 3 ppl.
I lived there for a year and went to school. The building remain and the theater, is haunted. We also went in the tunnels beneath what your seeing. So very cool and I had the best time while there. It's funny now I'm looking at joining the NAVY.
Let's not forget Igloo, SD. They had the largest storage of ordinance as well.... I used to live there. Very unique place. The igloos are now converted homes.
Actually, Savannah Depot in Savannah, IL was the largest in the country. They are still cleaning up the environmental damage from when it was closed. Some of the warehouses are used by civilians now but most of the old base is off limits due to pollution and unexploded/located ordnance.
Ogden makes a lot of sense. Centrally located, and right on the rail network. Not a massive distance from either coast. It was served by two major railroads at this time also.
San Jose and Sacramento are out of range of WWII carrier airplanes at sea. Ogden is unnecessary overkill, probably Utah had a Senator on an important committee...
Railroads, and out of reach of long-range bombers. That's why Hastings, Nebraska, had the largest navel munitions plant during ww2, making 40% of the navy's munitions. And the army had a munitions plant in Grand Island. The CBQ ran through Hastings and up the Republican Valley into Colorado. The UP mainline runs the Platte and South Platte into Colorado, then on through Wyoming into Ogden. The now-bnsf line that goes northwest from GI and into South Dakota near the Wyoming line was an option in case of a problem with the tracks. It intersected another line in Crawford. That line could be reached by going east from GI, then north through Norfolk. UP and BNSF still operate lines up the North Platte valley. The CBQ also had a connecting line to the UP from Hastings to Kearney. And a line southwest out of Minden, that allowed a direct shot to the now-abandoned line that ran to Colby, then on to Denver. In those days, moving materiel required the railroads, trucks and cargo planes couldn't do the job. Volunteers served meals to about 6 million troops over 5 years at the North Platte canteen. There was a factory in Conneautville, Pennsylvania, that made bomber parts. Many of the ventilation windows in the roof were still painted black when I was in it 15 years ago. Also, right on the railroad.
There was also two major army depots. An army Air Force Depot. The reason it was picked is it's almost the exact same distance to Seattle LA or San Diego from Utah. I live in Clearfield!
Nope. The government comes in, condemns the land in the name of national security, hands the owner a pittance and tells them to get off the government land. Grandpa showed me where he used to live before being forced off.
My Grandparents lived in a small town in Nebraska that had a munitions plant built during the war. They stored the munitions in the farmers fields covered with grass. I always thought it was funny seeing the cows grazing on top of old bunkers covered with dirt to look like a hill.
Not only am I not surprised , but it makes total sense. You wouldn't put your most critical resource department near the water because it could get shelled by a ship. We're taken by an enemy in their first action on the on our soil. So utah sounds about right.
Still a thing. Live near a navy supply base in Pennsylvania. Just happens to be a central location with good road and rail access up and down the coast
There's a Naval Supply Base in Cumberland county Pennsylvania, which again is not near the sea, or even Lake Erie where the fledgling American Navy defeated the Royal Navy in 1813
There was criteria for ammo depots. They had to be in a dry area, near railroad tracks, far from populated areas, and far enough from the coast to be safe from air attacks by the Japanese.
You should do a video on the two major companies that now use most of these buildings today. Lifetime Products and NASA has used some of these buildings since the 50s for booster washout.
There were US Navy depots in the oddest of places. In Britain there was one at Ditton Priors in Shropshire, a landlocked county with fairly poor railway connections.
There are a bunch left, but they have been repurposed. The school district leases half a dozen or more of them for busses, cooking meals, maintenance and storage.
The federal government still owns a bunch of those buildings and leases them to the school district which uses them for maintenance, busses, and school lunch prep.
Ships are born near water. The equipment they need may not. Easier to build heavy equipment upriver (where the power source is located) and then hold onto it until actual need arises to transport it to the coast.
considering the railroad runs through Ogden and the relative safty of being inland this makes a ton of sense
Safety? What safety? They could have put it in San Diego and been 100% safe. The Japanese had zero plans to do anything to the US coast. Only American paranoia and seeing Japanese under the bed. I.e. "Battle of Los Angeles" when AA guns fired for hours at nothing.
And they supply east and west coast
And a ton more available space there in the Forties there than in San Fran or Los Angeles. Which seems like the more obvious but then again, there was mention of safety being inland.
And then this utuber informs all the nutjobs about the whereabouts of the location...
@@bernardgraf7187 you're assuming it's a secret and still in operation. it isn't, and no.
Definitely safe from U-boat attacks.
Actually, the concern was safe from Japanese carrier borne aircraft.
Crane
That's what they want you to think
Might seem to be a joke however being what it was it was smart to put it in a location that couldn't be reached by enemy bombers.
@@garys3010 yes, the placement was strategic.
I've been there as a truck driver delivering and taking shipments from there and the now inactive Pueblo Army Depot. The army Depot was very similar in size and inventory. At the Army Depot had one of the longest airport landing strips that was used for bomber training. At one warehouse there was a huge collection of Nazy propaganda art works, uniforms, SS militaria and other German artifacts. I was given a two hour tour of a brief viewing of the collection. It has all been dispersed. As kids we could go to a huge scrap yard and buy inactive hand grenades, shell casings and other military scrap. My cousins and brothers had been able to get full uniforms, mess kits, tents, ( shelter halves) boots, and everything an infantry man carried including Springfield . 303 rifles. We looked like a small infantry unit when we would "fight" on my uncle's farm/ranch. We would go on boy scout hikes, trips and events we had most of our camping equipment was WWII GI surplus. Wish I had kept all of my stuff.
What is a "Springfield . 303 rifle" ?
@@williestyle35 you don't know what a . 303 Springfield rifle is? Google it
@@williestyle35
Not sure if you are trolling, but the m1903 Springfield rifle was chambered in .303
It was the main rifle that the USA used in WWI. I believe it was still used as a backup store of weapons until after ww2 when the decommissioned stock was finally sold off. That, or OP got it confused with the M1 chambered in 30-06.
either way, would give my left testicle for one of those original pieces!
@@joshguyer4593 yeah, but... The *M 1906* cartridge was developed in .30 - 06 caliber, starting in *1906* for use in the "Springfield" rifle (obviously). The Springfield rifles in service with the U S Army and Marine Corps would be modified and future rifles produced to the M 1903 (1906) rifle standard, using .30 - 06 (7.62 × 63 mm) ammunition. Going forward from the Occupation of Veracruz in 1914, to the Vietnam War (almost exclusively as a sniper rifle, or a limited "secondary" rifle role) that is how the rifle would be issued. The Marines started WWII with the .30 - 06 Springfield chambered M 1903 (1906) as their main rifle, by the end, they and nearly all ground and airborne soldiers carried the M 1 Rifle or the M 1 Carbine (M 2 in a very few cases).
The U S Rifle, Caliber .30 , M 1903, "Springfield rifle" was only chambered for .30 - 30 Springfield ammunition until the .30 - 06 Springfield cartridge was fully supplied after it's adoption in 1906 (around 3 years in service for the .30 - 30 cartridge). I can't think of circumstances where any WWI or WWII soldiers would be using the .30 - .30 Springfield rifle, or cartridge in actual field service... And .303 is the notation for the British service cartridge ( 7.7 × 56 mm R). There was also the .30 - 30 *Winchester* cartridge, aka the .30 Winchester Center Fire (or .30 WCF). Most famously first marketed in use with the Winchester Model 1894 lever action rifle, still widely used in lever action rifles to this day.
@@williestyle35
Well, I'll be damned... I was under the impression that the m1906 was a .303... Thanks for setting the record strait!!!
I met the guy who ran the Yuma Arizona depo at the beginning of WW2. All the white English-speaking guys were gone to war.
All he had were Spanish speaking Mexicans, and he was glad to have them. He color coded everything. So take these 105 shells to the red,red blue, green, yellow, black area, and enter it into inventory. Worked.
In 1977 I was stationed at Hill AFB in Ogden...it was a great assignment. I was in supply and worked in a huge warehouse. There wasn't a lot of military in my shop and the locals were not shy about stuffing me with treats on the holidays. The chow hall was also outstanding!!
A country can't keep an all volunteer force with lousy food.
I was a student at Weber State then. What a great town it was.
@@douglaswesson2458 I recently did a Google Earth, and it sure has changed!!
i am currently stationed at hill, i regret to inform you it is now possibly the worst chow hall i have experienced during my service.
@@wheezy1587 That is sad to hear! When I was there, it was outstanding! Chicken cor bon blue was my favorite, and roast beef was shaved right off the bone, my roommate's favorite. There was nothing between Ogden and SLC. The Kit Carson monument was in the middle of nowhere!
Clearfield, UT remains a Giant.... ENORMOUS Distribution Center City to this day!!!
I work for a company that ships 1-2 sometimes 3 truckloads of frozen food there... EVERY DAY!!
I personally loaded 2 of them yesterday.😊😎
Even more surprising, a good chunk of command facilities for the Pacific Theater were moved to Ft. Douglas, just down in Salt Lake City. When you consider the reasons though, it makes sense. Early in the war there was a great concern that the Japanese could attack costal facilities with carrier aircraft, so important facilities were moved far inland to be safe.
Before the war the railroads had already setup SLC/Ogden as the distribution point for anything going west, northwest and the southwest. And as previously pointed out, pretty inland, so pretty safe for a very large scale operation.
I went to trade school in Clearfield, and got to tour some of the old warehouses
Crane, Indiana is another one. Whenever we (USMC) retired a serialized weapon that's where it went for further de-milling and disposal. The Naval Support Activity is part of the larger Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane, Indiana. It has a fairly wide mission now in support of US military equipment lifecycle support. Not just the Navy, but all branches.
It is also where they grow the lumber to keep Old Ironsides ready for World War VI in space.
Army ammunition
There's the Bluewater Navy, the Brownwater Navy, and the Cornfield Navy.
I have driven my company truck there a few times. I picked up primers and bullets from an ammo manufacturer. I was in awe of the scale of the location. With train spurs /loading docks spanning into the horizon. The company owner told me about the original war era purpose. Utah is rich with ww2 historical ties. I grew up in the shadows of the Geneva steel plant. Dougway proving grounds. Hill AFB. Camp Williams. BYU national guard armory. I hunted on carrington island (used for bomb run practice on the Great Salt Lake, the bomb craters and shrapnel shards are everywhere) kenecot copper mine, tinic mining district sent ungodly amounts of raw metals to mfgs of war production. A Crashed Boeing bomber on Mount Timpanogus still attracts climbers.
Utah is relatively sparsely populated. I wouldn't be surprised if cheap land was a big factor in the decision.
Back then the government had most of the land in the west.
It is also dry and away from the sea.
Sea air always corrode things
My father (USNA ’36) was stationed at the Navy Budget Office in Washington DC in 1944-45. He made an inspection visit to the Clearfield Supply Depot during that time. Travelled by the Union Pacific Railroad to Ogden.
Back in the days of 25th street in Ogden.
Land locked Farragut Naval Base in North Idaho was the 2nd largest Naval Training Center in the World during WWII.
RxR was our ticket.
Didn't know that. Interesting 😮
And Nuclear "school" was also (co) located at NTC Orlando, in Central Florida. lol, it was a victim of "base realignment" in the late 1990's
Farragut state park is a great place to camp now.
Im an hvac technician (technically called a sheet metal worker in Canada) and the amount of metallurgical reseach done during ww2 was INSANE.
Because of the shortage of Inconel, stainless steel production was massively expanded. Leading to the abbundance of use of stainless instead of Inconel in shops, laboratories, kitchens, factories, etc.
A lot of 316 stainless was used to build those boats. It truly boggles the mind. 😱
Protected by Hill Air Force Base. Their F-35's fly directly over my house when they take off, and I Love it!
There's also an Aerospace museum there. It's a great visit
Same love the sound of the f35s also makes so much sense that the Freeport center was an old supply depot
I live in Utah. I worked at a steel mill that was established to produce steel ship plate for WW,2. It's now prime real estate for condos.
Yeah, brings reflex smile most times. I live in a town the RAN had a technical training school. The town is halfway between Sydney and Melbourne travelling the more direct cross country route rather than the meandering coastal route.
By air in a straight east west line, about 180 miles east to the sea.
My grandpa worked there as a diesel mechanic during the war. It is still used today as and industrial area. I worked there when younger for the local school district maintenance shops.
This answers questions I had about that area. I pick up new semi trailers at the Utility plant in Clearfield. It’s right in the heart of what is left of the depot area. I was wondering when I saw the layout of rail spurs and some of the buildings. Looked very much like a larger version of the Price Support Center in Granite City Illinois.
Lived near / next to US NAVY DEPOT in Mechanicsburg PA in Central PA near Harrisburg. I could hear taps in the evening at times. The BRAC commission tried to close it but the Navy DEPOT was allowed to stay open after it was connected to the NEW CUMBERLAND ARMY DEPOT via direct cable communication.
This reminds me of the US naval base in Idaho. They use it mainly for sub testing. But the waters I guess are so calm and deep there that they can test new tech for subs and other ships. If I remember correctly the Zummwalts small scale vessel was tested there. Apparently the Tumblehome hull design of them is really stable in high sea states.
Still there too as a large industrial park. Picked up many load there. Built during the war, clearances into some of the docks can make docking a trailer challenging.
Good rail connections, good road connections, inland so immune to shore bombardment. It makes a lot of sense.
My dad was in the Navy at a secret submarine base in Norman Oklahoma.
BUT....But...but.
Remember that Oklahoma has port with access to the Gulf of Mexico
@@BillyWilliams-d2e Its a secret underground river.
One of my neighbors used to swear up and down one existed and went digging in his yard for it.
I am not kidding.
@@BillyWilliams-d2e yep Tulsa has one, which I never really thought of.
There is one near Harrisburg Pa. It employees many people.
@SMR3663 New Cumberland Defense Logistics.
@@ltmundy1164 it's Huge
@@ltmundy1164 And Mechanicsburg Depot.
As a contractor for the Navy, I got to visit another of these inland Navy installations: Naval Support Activity Crane. NSA Crane is basically located in a forest in southern Indiana with minimal numbers of people around for dozens of miles. But you don't want a lot of people living near what is effectively a giant ordnance pile.
The central pacific runs by the base, and the depo is centrally located to most industrial states. And can supply both coasts mor or less, in the same amount of time, and is fsr from any possible attack, and and the gulf of mexico. Makes perfect sence.
I think recent events in the Ukraine war demonstrate the wisdom of keeping your largest depots well away from areas that could be targeted by the enemy. That may have been what the defense department thought about when establishing a depot in Utah.
Makes sense to me, a lot less likely to be attacked the further inland it is. Railways and ppanes can be used to move equipment wherever needed whenever needed.
Good to see you have expanded to these shorts, it is refreshing.
Makes perfect sense to me. I don't know just exactly where I would have selected, but it would have been inland for sure. 🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸
Holy crap. I didn’t know that. I drive right by this place.
WE LIVED CLOSE TO OLATHE NAVAL AIR STATION , KANSAS WHICH WAS USED FOR NAVAL AND MARINE FLIGHT TRAINING, AND OUR DAD WORKED THERE AS AN CIVILIAN SERVICE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER!
ITS NICKNAME WAS THE
“PRAIRIE NAVY”, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE NOT LIVING CLOSE BY COULD NOT BELIEVE THE NAVY HAD AN NON WATER SIDE INSTALLATION!!
I learned something new today. Thank you.
Makes sense. Relatively centrally located, supplies could be shifted by rail to either coast. Relatively low population means better opsec. Distance from coasts makes an air raid nearly impossible(at the time). Only its association with a navel force makes the location seem weird.
In the Caine Mutiny, Captain Queeg's next assignment after the trial was a naval supply depot in Omaha, Nebraska.
I’ve never spent much time contemplating military equipment and readiness. I’m just hoping that if we ever need to, we will kick ass in a big way 👍🏻🇺🇸.
This is now a light industrial and warehouse business park, and it continues to expand. If you've seen a "Utility" semi trailer on the highway or bought a "Lifetime" picnic table or basketball hoop it was probably made here. Some of the pioneering work done with carbon fiber windings was done here as well at Hercules.
Oh, that’s a minor plant for Utility. The bigger ones are in Arkansas and Virginia. I pull new trailers out of all of them.
Naval Ordnance in Louisville KY repaired & built naval guns, like the 16 inch barrels from battleships. Also had the blueprints of all the weapons; even those from the earliest sailing ships.
There was an Army Depot in Ogden as well as a POW camp right next to it housing German and Italian prisoners. Northern Utah was highly agricultural and all or most of the young men were off fighting the war so a lot of the farmers would get POW's to work the farms, they were treated so well that after the war they were sent home, many of them saved up their money and came back.
Part ofnthis facility once was also the former headquarters of defunct roller coaster company Arrow Dynamics. This is history, that deserves, to be remembered.
In Memphis TN too. Right by the Airport.
In my second hometown tooele about two hours south of Ogden we also have a massive army depot just like this one although today a good chunk of the tooele depot is still active for the army
Hastings, Nebraska, made 40% of the navy's ww2 munitions.
Grand Island had an army munitions plant, too.
There are many rail lines out of those two cities that no longer exist. UP and BNSF still serve both, and amtrak serves Hastings on BNSF rail.
I'd like to see the North Platte canteen get more attention.
Thanks Professor!
Don’t fall asleep in his class!
Now they are Freeport Industrial Park. Companies like Lifetime were centered there.
There is also one near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which I always thought was a strange location. However, now that I’ve been informed of one in Utah it’s not that strange in Harrisburg.
Inland and safe from seaborne attack, still in easy transportation (rail) range of Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
We have 2. New Cumberland and Mechanicsburg. I live in the Harrisburg area.
Spokane had one too,I never realized it until recently but there’s very few pictures of it when it was a depot,spokane was known for massive railways and there’s a big two rail line right through the warehouse complex to load everything but those probably haven’t been used in decades
It was still being used by the Navy in the 80s for wearhouse storage. I spent 2 years in Clearfield
Many of the warehouses are still in use.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Part of it was converted into a Job Corps Center trade school for underprivileged teens looking for another chance. Clearfield Job Corps
Lot of landlocked Naval Supply Depots. Crane Naval Weapons Storage in Indiana houses the battleship projectiles if ever recalled
Fun story - my grandfather became a Boeing employee in the early 1950s. His first job was to “organize, package, and dispatch” a large room full of leftover nuts, bolts, screws, and washers, that were randomly in boxes, unlabeled and unorganized. In three days. an essentially impossible task. so, he and the one other individual assigned to this work thought quickly, and wrapped everything up, taped it shut, and sent it all to "Boeing Main Warehouse, C/O Penrod Butterfield, Everett Wa.
Both men were congratulated for completing this task on time.
Legend has it theres an angry warehouse manager in Everett that wants to have strong words with Penrod, should he ever show his face.
We have 2 in my area of Pennsylvania. One serves submarines only, and the other supplies all other ships. The Navy is the largest employer in our area.
In a way, having large supplies makes some sense. It would be very hard for an enemy attack to make it all the way to Utah undetected. At least, any force larger than 2
or 3 ppl.
Yes, Ogden was chosen because it was close to rail, but relatively safe from attack.
I lived there for a year and went to school. The building remain and the theater, is haunted. We also went in the tunnels beneath what your seeing. So very cool and I had the best time while there. It's funny now I'm looking at joining the NAVY.
Let's not forget Igloo, SD. They had the largest storage of ordinance as well.... I used to live there. Very unique place. The igloos are now converted homes.
Actually, Savannah Depot in Savannah, IL was the largest in the country. They are still cleaning up the environmental damage from when it was closed. Some of the warehouses are used by civilians now but most of the old base is off limits due to pollution and unexploded/located ordnance.
Major rail route to shift supplies to either coast as needed.
Slc area is also relatively central to the entire west coast. San Diego, San Francisco, and Bremerton (Seattle).
Ogden makes a lot of sense. Centrally located, and right on the rail network. Not a massive distance from either coast. It was served by two major railroads at this time also.
If you think about it, this location makes sense. It's out of the estimated range of Japanese carrier based aircraft.
San Jose and Sacramento are out of range of WWII carrier airplanes at sea. Ogden is unnecessary overkill, probably Utah had a Senator on an important committee...
Away from the sea and near rail lines is I think the crux of it.
Railroads, and out of reach of long-range bombers.
That's why Hastings, Nebraska, had the largest navel munitions plant during ww2, making 40% of the navy's munitions.
And the army had a munitions plant in Grand Island.
The CBQ ran through Hastings and up the Republican Valley into Colorado.
The UP mainline runs the Platte and South Platte into Colorado, then on through Wyoming into Ogden.
The now-bnsf line that goes northwest from GI and into South Dakota near the Wyoming line was an option in case of a problem with the tracks.
It intersected another line in Crawford. That line could be reached by going east from GI, then north through Norfolk.
UP and BNSF still operate lines up the North Platte valley.
The CBQ also had a connecting line to the UP from Hastings to Kearney. And a line southwest out of Minden, that allowed a direct shot to the now-abandoned line that ran to Colby, then on to Denver.
In those days, moving materiel required the railroads, trucks and cargo planes couldn't do the job.
Volunteers served meals to about 6 million troops over 5 years at the North Platte canteen.
There was a factory in Conneautville, Pennsylvania, that made bomber parts. Many of the ventilation windows in the roof were still painted black when I was in it 15 years ago. Also, right on the railroad.
There is a huge USN depot near Harrisburg PA. Far from the dockyards so that if those are attacked, the supplies will not be destroyed
Strategic move to harden the ability to attack supply.
There was also two major army depots. An army Air Force Depot. The reason it was picked is it's almost the exact same distance to Seattle LA or San Diego from Utah. I live in Clearfield!
Land was probably cheap in Utah at the time. Plus it had rail and air connections
Nothing of size or consequence was shipped by air during WWII. The Senator from Utah probably sat on an appropriations committee. ..
Nope. The government comes in, condemns the land in the name of national security, hands the owner a pittance and tells them to get off the government land.
Grandpa showed me where he used to live before being forced off.
@@markpalmer.2988 was he farming at the time?
Range from vulnerable coasts can also be called armor.
I use to work in the Freeport center many years ago and can tell you for a fact them building are haunted af.
It’s deep inside the country and easier to truck and rail out.
Makes sense, difficult for adversaries to hit that far from the coast or borders..
My Grandparents lived in a small town in Nebraska that had a munitions plant built during the war. They stored the munitions in the farmers fields covered with grass. I always thought it was funny seeing the cows grazing on top of old bunkers covered with dirt to look like a hill.
It also makes sense, considering the coast is pretty densely populated
And the Army’s largest depot is in Hawthorne, NV in the middle of the desert!
Backups for the backups 😁👍
My grandfather was navy. He was stationed in Farragut Idaho. It’s a state park now
All of our ammunition plants were also in the middle of the country and supplies shipped to the coasts.
Also Hawthorne, Nevada was a major weapons storage depot close to ofallon Nas.
Not only am I not surprised , but it makes total sense. You wouldn't put your most critical resource department near the water because it could get shelled by a ship. We're taken by an enemy in their first action on the on our soil. So utah sounds about right.
I work there now! Funny to think it used to supply the Navy!
Those buildings remind me of the building. The lost ark was sent in the Raders of the Lost Ark movie.
Massive.
Still a thing. Live near a navy supply base in Pennsylvania. Just happens to be a central location with good road and rail access up and down the coast
There's a Naval Supply Base in Cumberland county Pennsylvania, which again is not near the sea, or even Lake Erie where the fledgling American Navy defeated the Royal Navy in 1813
My mother worked there during WWII
There was criteria for ammo depots. They had to be in a dry area, near railroad tracks, far from populated areas, and far enough from the coast to be safe from air attacks by the Japanese.
Had a huge depot in Central Pa. too. Mechanicsburg, I believe. Also not near the ocean.
Inland - Hot and Dry, good for storage
Coast - Humid and Salty, good for rust and mold
You should do a video on the two major companies that now use most of these buildings today. Lifetime Products and NASA has used some of these buildings since the 50s for booster washout.
perfect sense. drop sjit in a day to everywhere west of baton rouge. up to Seattle. 2 days to Pensacola or Anchorage
There were US Navy depots in the oddest of places. In Britain there was one at Ditton Priors in Shropshire, a landlocked county with fairly poor railway connections.
This looks like it was the inspiration for the video game Cyberpunk
The Army Ammunition Plant near McAllister Oklahoma was originally the Navy Ammunition Plant
When my grandfather joined the military in 1942, he was an auto mechanic, so they made him a radioman.
Depends on the Congressman, who's territory it's in.
Reason for placement is based on little else.
Link to full video! I've been so busy with work I just expanded my business and this makes me miss THG so much
They built one in York, PA too.
You should tell the story of the Hastings Armory in Hastings, Nebraska and the largest non-nuclear explosion of WW2.
Been there I was stationed at Hill Air Force Base right down the road, sadly, most of those buildings are gone
There are a bunch left, but they have been repurposed. The school district leases half a dozen or more of them for busses, cooking meals, maintenance and storage.
Also a large naval tank farm for fuel outside of Glenrock, Wyoming.
The federal government still owns a bunch of those buildings and leases them to the school district which uses them for maintenance, busses, and school lunch prep.
Hawthorne Nevada was a big supply depot too it's a dying town though with a dead lake these days. neat museum.
There is a naval depot in Oklahoma too.
Ships are born near water.
The equipment they need may not.
Easier to build heavy equipment upriver (where the power source is located) and then hold onto it until actual need arises to transport it to the coast.