Ammunitions Production

Along with weapons, Connecticut factories supplied the war with thousands of pounds of ammunition. One such factory was the Scovill Manufacturing Co. in Waterbury, Connecticut which created brass shells and time fuses during the war. Scovill Manufacturing Co. was originally a brass button manufacturer like many of the factories in Waterbury. Scovill started to diversify their production before the Civil War into creating daguerreotype plates for photographers as well as lamps and lanterns. During the Spanish-American War, Scovill acquired government contracts to produce cartridge shells and time fuses for military use which it would be contracted to manufacture again with the start of the First World War.

The time fuses being produced in the photo here were primarily used in artillery shells, fired by such weapons as the M1917 155-mm gun being manufactured by the Bullard Engineering Company in Bridgeport. These fuses would be placed in the base of the shell. When launched, the shell would travel across the battlefield into enemy lines, landing in the mud and dirt before detonating causing more damage to entrenchments. The fuses would also be used in hand grenades such as the Mk 1 and Mk II Grenades. The Mk I Grenade saw only a year of service before being recalled due to ignition issues. Luckily, this issue was not due to the parts produced by the Scovill Manufacturing Co. and they maintained their government contract for the rest of the war.