Created in 1940 by the Chief of Ordnance of the War Department, this technical manual provides detailed information about propellants and military explosives. Compounds examined include smokeless powder, black powder, trinitrotoluene (TNT), ammonium picrate (Explosive D or Dunnite), nitrostarch, amatol (TNT + ammonium nitrate), lead azide, and others. Chapters include: manufacture and granulation of smokeless powder, inspection of smokeless powder, compound propellants and black powder.

Originally restricted, this text was declassified long ago. This high quality reprint has been slightly reformatted, with care taken to preserve the integrity of the original text.