Powder and Propellants: Energetic Materials at Indian Head, Maryland, 1890-2001

by Rodney P. Carlisle

Revised and updated, this is the story of the U.S. Navy’s premier facility for research, development, testing, and evaluation of “energetic materials,” the chemical compounds used in gun and rocket propellants as well as in aircraft cockpit ejection seats. Initially charged to improve the penetrating power of warheads against steel armor, Indian Head became the proving grounds for testing guns, propellant powder, shells, mounts, and armor, notably the manufacture and testing of Jet Assist Takeoff (JATO), Zuni, Talos, and Polaris rockets and missiles.

First published in 1990 as a private publication for the Navy, Powder and Propellants is now available again as a revised and expanded second edition, with a new chapter on the institution’s last decade. Those interested in military history, technology, and government institutional history will find this book invaluable.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2002

About the author

Dr. Rodney P. Carlisle is a professor emeritus of Rutgers University. He received his AB degree from Harvard College and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He most recently served as general editor of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and Right (2005) and authored The Iraq War (2004).