Once again, a visit down in Sweden's bedrock.. (Visits 2006-2013)
To obtain precise information about when this facility was built is difficult, the only thing that seems quite certain is that Sweden's stockpiles of ammunition and gunpowder were empty at the outbreak of WW2, and the need for gunpowder in Sweden was great.
Svenska Kungliga Krigsmaterielverken (Royal Military equipment works) decided at some point in the beginning of WW2, based on the great need for gunpowder, to build at least one more gunpowder factory in addition to already existing plants Bofors , Gyttorp , Ã…kers gunpowder, and others. This new facility was built in a small town in western Dalarna . The plan was that they would make NC propellant , called smokeless powder .
Manufacture of gunpowder in this factory was 1940-45 , so the construction of the plant should have occurred in 1940 or perhaps a few years earlier .
A plant in two parts
Powder plant was divided into two parts. A plant above ground, Gun Powder Factory, and the mountain plant, NC factory which manufactured nitrocellulose pulp for further processing in the Powder Factory .
The active period
The production of gunpowder ran until October 3, 1945. After that they kept the plant in optimum condition for more than 10 years to allow a quick restart . After 1957, they put the entire plant in a more permanent " mothballed " but with some basic maintenance. The Cold War could be both colder, or at worst, quite coolly.
German reconnaissance aircraft during World War II
Proximity to the German occupied Norway made the German plan could sometimes be seen. Once the air defence have been directed against an overly intrusive German airplane , which was subsequently reported to have crashed . If the story is true , the incident reportedly have been silenced for Sweden would not be drawn into the war.
The factory inside the mountain
The NC factory inside the mountain , was constructed in the form of five "varieties" . In the drawings, from east to west figured , these are referred to City A - City E. The top three "resorts " or if you prefer , rock vaults, is about 70 meters long and around 12 meters wide.
The other smaller rock vaults containing service functions as electrical center , boiler, originally built for coal, later probably converted for operation with fuel oil, as well as laboratory and a smaller NC warehouse where the buffered NC mass before it was transported to the gunpowder factory in the valley .
Liquidation
1978 started a settlement work. Much of the equipment was taken away from NC plant in the mountain , mills and other small equipment are not left behind. It has also removed the acid tanks and other large containers / tanks . The large drying house is still there, just plug in the power and initiate the drying process! In addition there are various tiled vats left in Holländeriet , and the occasional gas mask , documents, and furniture in the laboratory.
Today?
During visit in 2006 , it felt as if time stood still. 2013 is much more destruction, and decay is fast...
All images, 200 of them larger, you can find HERE!
/B
All images, 200 of them larger, you can find HERE!
To obtain precise information about when this facility was built is difficult, the only thing that seems quite certain is that Sweden's stockpiles of ammunition and gunpowder were empty at the outbreak of WW2, and the need for gunpowder in Sweden was great.
Svenska Kungliga Krigsmaterielverken (Royal Military equipment works) decided at some point in the beginning of WW2, based on the great need for gunpowder, to build at least one more gunpowder factory in addition to already existing plants Bofors , Gyttorp , Ã…kers gunpowder, and others. This new facility was built in a small town in western Dalarna . The plan was that they would make NC propellant , called smokeless powder .
Manufacture of gunpowder in this factory was 1940-45 , so the construction of the plant should have occurred in 1940 or perhaps a few years earlier .
A plant in two parts
Powder plant was divided into two parts. A plant above ground, Gun Powder Factory, and the mountain plant, NC factory which manufactured nitrocellulose pulp for further processing in the Powder Factory .
The active period
The production of gunpowder ran until October 3, 1945. After that they kept the plant in optimum condition for more than 10 years to allow a quick restart . After 1957, they put the entire plant in a more permanent " mothballed " but with some basic maintenance. The Cold War could be both colder, or at worst, quite coolly.
German reconnaissance aircraft during World War II
Proximity to the German occupied Norway made the German plan could sometimes be seen. Once the air defence have been directed against an overly intrusive German airplane , which was subsequently reported to have crashed . If the story is true , the incident reportedly have been silenced for Sweden would not be drawn into the war.
The factory inside the mountain
The NC factory inside the mountain , was constructed in the form of five "varieties" . In the drawings, from east to west figured , these are referred to City A - City E. The top three "resorts " or if you prefer , rock vaults, is about 70 meters long and around 12 meters wide.
The other smaller rock vaults containing service functions as electrical center , boiler, originally built for coal, later probably converted for operation with fuel oil, as well as laboratory and a smaller NC warehouse where the buffered NC mass before it was transported to the gunpowder factory in the valley .
Liquidation
1978 started a settlement work. Much of the equipment was taken away from NC plant in the mountain , mills and other small equipment are not left behind. It has also removed the acid tanks and other large containers / tanks . The large drying house is still there, just plug in the power and initiate the drying process! In addition there are various tiled vats left in Holländeriet , and the occasional gas mask , documents, and furniture in the laboratory.
Today?
During visit in 2006 , it felt as if time stood still. 2013 is much more destruction, and decay is fast...
All images, 200 of them larger, you can find HERE!
/B
All images, 200 of them larger, you can find HERE!
