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Former name | Ordnance Museum |
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| Established | 1905 |
| Location | Rock Island Arsenal Rock Island County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°31′01″N90°32′31″W / 41.516944°N 90.541944°W |
| Type | United States Army |
| Public transit access |  Quad Cities MetroLINK |
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum explores the history of Arsenal Island, its commands and the history of Army manufacturing at Rock Island Arsenal. It is the second oldest museum of the United States Army. [1]
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum opened on July 4, 1905 as The Ordnance Museum at Rock Island Arsenal. It is the second oldest U.S. Army Museum, just behind the West Point Museum, which opened in 1854.
The museum's origins date to an October 1, 1903 letter from U.S. Army Chief of Ordnance Major General William Crozier who notified the Rock Island Arsenal commander that fifteen boxes of ordnance materiel would shortly arrive for the purpose of preserving it in a Military Museum to be established at the Rock Island Arsenal. [2]
The boxes included an array of weapons and accouterments from foreign countries that had been forwarded to the Office of the Chief of Ordnance for study. In correspondence to Colonel Stanhope Blunt at Rock Island Arsenal, Major General Crozier directed that a suitable building be selected as a museum to display this ordnance materiel for research and for the interest of the general public.
The museum was first housed in Shop A (Building 102 today). In 1917 manufacturing space was needed to support the war effort during World War I, and the museum collection was placed in storage.
At the request of the local community, the museum reopened in its original location on July 4, 1919, and was given the title, The Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The museum’s focus remained on small arms and ordnance; however, aspects of Rock Island Arsenal history were included in the exhibits for the first time.
The museum closed again during World War II to free up manufacturing and warehousing space. It reopened in May of 1948 at its current location in Building 60. The museum was renamed the John M. Browning Memorial Museum on November 4, 1959, in “recognition of Mr. Browning’s contributions to ordnance technology and the armed forces.” During this time, the museum became known for its arms collection, a diverse collection of foreign, US, military, and civilian weapons.
On July 1, 1986, the museum was renamed the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The phrase “People, Processes, and Products” was coined to explain the important themes in the history of Rock Island Arsenal. While still known for its collection of small arms, the Museum refocused itself on the history of the island, its commands, and the products of the Arsenal.
Today, the Museum carries that legacy forward by focusing on the impact the Arsenal has made on the history of the U.S. military, the Quad Cities region, and its role in National Defense today as part of the U.S. Army Organic Industrial Base.
The museum reopened on June 29, 2023 following a $2.5 million renovation. [3] [4] [5]
The Rock Island Arsenal's collection includes more than 7,000 artifacts documenting the history of Arsenal Island from the local native inhabitants to current production at Rock Island Arsenal today.
Among the highlight artifacts in the collection are Serial No. 1 M1903 Springfield Rifle produced at Rock Island Arsenal, Serial No. 2 M1 Garand produced at Springfield Armory, experimental ordnance and weapons systems, and Mark VIII "Liberty" Tank produced at Rock Island Arsenal.
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum’s core exhibits explore the history of the island and the Arsenal from 1805 to the present. Visitors will discover the impact that Rock Island Arsenal has had on National Defense and the contributions of the Quad Cities to the U.S. Military. This story is told through more than 250 artifacts, hundreds of photos, and digital and physical interactives.
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury or armory are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist.
The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective-fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1957, replacing the M1 Garand rifle in service with the U.S. Army by 1958 and the U.S. Marine Corps by 1965. The M14 was used by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps for Basic and Advanced Individual Training from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.
The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until its closing in 1968. It was the first federal armory and one of the first factories in the United States dedicated to the manufacture of weapons. The site is preserved as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Western Massachusetts' only unit of the national park system. It features the world's largest collection of historic American firearms.
The Pedersen device was an experimental weapon attachment for the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle that allowed it to fire a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) pistol-type cartridge in semi-automatic mode. The attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert "their rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle" in approximately 15 seconds.
The Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, also known as the Main Building of the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock, or Headquarters Building of the Little Rock Barracks, is the home of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. It is also a part of the MacArthur Park Historic District, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Armscor Global Defense, Inc. is a firearms manufacturing company based in the Philippines. It is known for its inexpensive 1911-pattern pistols, revolvers, shotguns, sporting rifles, firearms parts and ammunition. Armscor, whose manufacturing facility is located in Marikina, produces about 200,000 firearms and some 420 million rounds of ammunition a year, where 80 percent of this is exported and sold to over 60 countries. The company was known as the Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) until 2017.
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises 946 acres (383 ha), located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island was previously used as the summer camp site for Sauk Native Americans, and the dispute over tribal ownership led to the Black Hawk War of 1832, after the primary leader of the Sauk, Black Hawk. It is now home of First Army headquarters, and the US Army's Center of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing.
William Crozier was a career United States Army officer in the Ordnance Corps and the 11th Chief of Ordnance.
The United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility artifacts are used to train and educate logistic soldiers. It re-located to Fort Gregg-Adams, outside Petersburg, Virginia. Its previous incarnation was the United States Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland which closed in September 2010.
The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army combat units with weapons and ammunition, including at times their procurement and maintenance. Along with the Quartermaster Corps and Transportation Corps, it forms a critical component of the U.S. Army logistics system.
Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington was a United States Army Brigadier General who served as the 10th Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps.
The 3-inch Gun, Model of 1902 was the U.S. Army’s first nickel steel, quick-firing field gun with a recoil mechanism. Like its predecessor the 3.2-inch gun M1897, it was a rifled breechloader.
During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifled musket was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. The Civil War brought many advances in firearms technology, most notably the widespread use of rifled barrels.
The M65 atomic cannon, often called Atomic Annie, was an artillery piece built by the United States and capable of firing a nuclear device. It was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War; and fielded between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea and on Okinawa.
Decius Wadsworth was a Colonel in the U.S. Army before and during the War of 1812. He graduated from Yale College in 1785 with Honors. He was a renowned military organizer, engineer and inventor. In 1812, he was selected to be the 1st Chief of Ordnance for the new United States Army Ordnance Department.
The Chief of Ordnance of the United States Army is a general officer who is responsible for the Army Ordnance Corps and serves as the Commandant of the U.S. Army Ordnance School at Fort Lee, Virginia. The Chief of Ordnance is primarily focused on the doctrine, training, and professional development of Ordnance officers and soldiers. The position was created simultaneously with the establishment of the Army Ordnance Department on May 14, 1812.
Major General Clark W. LeMasters Jr. is a serving general officer in the United States Army and serves as the 35th Commanding General of the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command. Previously, he served as the 36th Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army and Commandant of the United States Army Ordnance School at Fort Lee, Virginia.
Major General Clarence Charles Williams (1869–1958) was a career officer in the United States Army and served as the 12th Chief of Ordnance for the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps.
William Sullivan Peirce was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In World War I, he commanded the Springfield Armory. He attained the rank of brigadier general, and after the war served as the Army's Assistant Chief of Ordnance.
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