U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center

German World War II 280 mm Krupp K5 railway gun, nicknamed "Leopold" and "Anzio Annie"

The U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center (Formerly known as the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum) is a museum that has re-located to Fort Lee, outside Petersburg, Virginia.[1] Its previous incarnation was the United States Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland which closed in September 2010.[2]

History

The mission of the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center is to acquire, preserve, and exhibit historically significant equipment, armaments and materiel that relate to the history of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and to document and present the evolution and development of U.S. military ordnance material dating from the American Colonial Period to the present day.

Established in 1919 and officially opened to the public in 1924, to exhibit captured enemy equipment and materiel, the Museum was located in Building 314 of the Aberdeen Proving Ground and operated by the U.S. Army until 1967. Co-location with APG provided convenient access to the equipment being delivered to APG for testing after World War I. In 1965 local citizens formed the tax-free Ordnance Museum Foundation, Inc. to establish and operate a museum of these military artifacts. The Foundation is not affiliated with the U.S. Army, nor the Department of Defense. The Foundation began operation of the Museum in the early 1970s, upon opening in Building 2601 on the Aberdeen Proving Ground (until its closing in September 2010) and operates the Ordnance Museum until this day.

In 2005 a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) law was passed by Congress. One of BRAC's requirements was the relocation of the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School headquarters, the Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School, and the Ordnance Museum to Fort Lee by the end 2011.[1] The transfer of artifacts from Aberdeen to Fort Lee began in August 2009.[1]

Hours and entry requirements

As of September 2015, the collection is under cover and not available for viewing, but the Fort Lee outdoor displays can be viewed.

Exhibits

Exterior exhibits at Fort Lee:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ordnance tanks, artillery arrive at Fort Lee". Fort Lee Public Affairs Office. August 5, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ "US Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground Photos". William Maloney. September 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
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