Oct. 25, 1941

Officials broke ground for the Redstone Ordnance Plant in Huntsville. Located in Alabama due to the efforts of U.S. Congressman John J. Sparkman, the plant produced approximately 45.2 million units of grenades, bombs and chemical artillery ammunition during World War II. The plant was renamed Redstone Arsenal in 1943 and won the top Army-Navy “E” award five times during the war. The arsenal later developed the Jupiter C intermediate-range missile that propelled the first U.S. satellite into orbit. Today, the base is the largest employer in the Huntsville area, averaging a daily workforce of 36,000 to 40,000.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Women employed at the Redstone Ordnance Plant in Huntsville examine ammunition produced at the facility for the U.S. Army during World War II. By 1942, more than 40 percent of the employees at the facility were women. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of U.S. Army)

German rocket expert Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) was the first director of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. During World War II he developed V-2 ballistic missiles for Nazi Germany. Following the war, von Braun built rockets for U.S. military and NASA programs in Texas and Alabama. He headed the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Madison County, from 1958-1970. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)

A worker stacks containers for chemical weapons at the Gulf Chemical Warfare Depot (initially named Huntsville Chemical Warfare Depot), located on the campus that also housed the Huntsville Arsenal (now Redstone Arsenal). The facility was established primarily as a storage facility for chemical weapons and related equipment. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Redstone Arsenal)

Firefighters and emergency medical personnel are given the rundown on an Apache helicopter at the U.S. Army’s Aviation Technical Test Center at Redstone Arsenal. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Huntsville Times)

MGM-52C Lance, Redstone Arsenal. (U.S. Army, Wikipedia)

Hawk antiaircraft guided missiles were produced at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Madison County, after the 1962 activation of the U.S Army Missile Command. The weapon was first used by the Israeli Army in 1967. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Redstone Arsenal)

Wernher von Braun walking with President Kennedy at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal, May 19, 1963. (NASA, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Wikipedia)

The Marshall Space Flight Center — named for George C. Marshall, the U.S. Army’s World War II chief of staff and the creator of the Marshall Plan — is the heart of the U.S. space program. Located in Huntsville, Madison County, the center, along with Redstone Arsenal, has transformed the area into a high-density job center for engineers and physicists. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.