ROF Ranskill
Encyclopedia
The Royal Ordnance Factory
(ROF) Ranskill was a UK
Ministry of Supply, World War II
, Explosive ROF
. It was located adjacent to what is now known as the East Coast Main Line
railway at Ranskill
, Nottinghamshire
, just north of the town
of Retford
.
Its construction was approved in 1940 and it was built, with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents, as an almost self-contained, explosive factory producing Cordite
, with its own acids
plant. It was the last Cordite-producing ROF to be built in the UK in World War II and was the smallest of the three Cordite ROFs. It was connected to the railway line, with its own private sidings.
Cordite production first started in March 1942 and the site took 18 months to reach maximum production. It employed, at maximum production, some 4,000 people.
It ceased production in 1945, at the end of World War II, but was retained by the ROF organisation until 1975 on a care and maintenance basis, firstly under the administration of ROF Bishopton
and in the latter years by ROF Bridgwater
. Cocroft notes that an RDX
plant was installed there sometime in the 1950s. The production plant at ROF Ranskill was broken up from 1975 with useful spares for (presumably) the RDX plant being sent to ROF Bridgwater before the site was handed over to what was to later to become the Defence Estates
for disposal.
The site has been "landscaped" with very few buildings surviving; and has been used as a waste disposal
site for some time.
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
(ROF) Ranskill was a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ministry of Supply, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Explosive ROF
Explosive ROF
An Explosive ROF was a UK Government-owned Royal Ordnance Factory , which specialised in manufacturing explosives during and after World War II...
. It was located adjacent to what is now known as the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
railway at Ranskill
Ranskill
Ranskill is a village and civil parish in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire with its nearest town being Retford approximately 5 miles south...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, just north of the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Retford
Retford
Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the...
.
Its construction was approved in 1940 and it was built, with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents, as an almost self-contained, explosive factory producing Cordite
Cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...
, with its own acids
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
plant. It was the last Cordite-producing ROF to be built in the UK in World War II and was the smallest of the three Cordite ROFs. It was connected to the railway line, with its own private sidings.
Cordite production first started in March 1942 and the site took 18 months to reach maximum production. It employed, at maximum production, some 4,000 people.
It ceased production in 1945, at the end of World War II, but was retained by the ROF organisation until 1975 on a care and maintenance basis, firstly under the administration of ROF Bishopton
ROF Bishopton
The Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton was a UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It is sited adjacent to the town of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, in Scotland....
and in the latter years by ROF Bridgwater
ROF Bridgwater
Royal Ordnance Factory Bridgwater was a factory which produced high explosives for munitions. It was located between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, UK; but was always known as ROF Bridgwater, after the nearest town...
. Cocroft notes that an RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
plant was installed there sometime in the 1950s. The production plant at ROF Ranskill was broken up from 1975 with useful spares for (presumably) the RDX plant being sent to ROF Bridgwater before the site was handed over to what was to later to become the Defence Estates
Defence Estates
Defence Infrastructure Organisation is an operating arm of the Ministry of Defence , in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate. The organisation formed on 1 April 2011 after a reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence's bodies in charge of infrastructure. It...
for disposal.
The site has been "landscaped" with very few buildings surviving; and has been used as a waste disposal
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
site for some time.
See also
- Cocroft, Wayne (2000). "Dangerous Energy. The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture". Swindon: English Heritage. ISBN 978-1-85074-718-5.