MILITARY PROPELLANTS PRODUCTION FACILITY - FONTANA LIRI

The Military Propellants Production Facility of Fontana Liri originated from the need, at the end of the nineteenth century, to build a new military production plant in a location protected from external threats yet rich in water resources, intended to replace the previous facilities in Scafati and Fossano.

The decision by the specially appointed ministerial commission to identify Fontana Liri — and more specifically the area known as Madonna degli Zapponi — as the most suitable site was based on a comprehensive assessment, which concluded that the location met all strategic and industrial requirements.

The natural drop of the River Liri would ensure the establishment of an autonomous energy supply necessary to power the plants, whose construction began in November 1891.

Once construction works — which lasted approximately one year — were completed, skilled workers from the Precision Laboratory of Turin and from the decommissioned powder factories of Scafati and Fossano moved to Fontana Liri to oversee the installation of machinery, a preparatory step prior to the start of industrial operations.

Thus, when production of the well-known Model 1891 rifle, 6.5 mm calibre, began in 1894, while the Capua Pyrotechnic Establishment was responsible for the manufacture of powders, the Liri powder Factory handled the preparation of the metal components and primers, as well as the assembly of the cartridge.

The growth in manufacturing activity in a locality such as Fontana Liri soon became a genuine socio-economic driver, fostering the development of a substantial workforce of skilled labourers and supporting the expansion of the plants, which also benefited from a hydroelectric power station and steam boilers.

The strategic importance of the site was further confirmed by the establishment of a local Artillery Command, which in 1894 became the Artillery Directorate of the Powder Factory.

Production growth was also driven by continuous experimentation with chemical compositions and finished products, which were systematically tested at the ballistic level. For this reason, in 1898 a small-calibre firing line was constructed — in the area still known today as “Tirocannone” — although it soon proved inadequate and was replaced four years later by a fully equipped firing range.

In 1904, the facility was renamed the Royal Powder Factory on the Liri and expanded its research, development and experimentation of new products. Its efficiency was further confirmed in 1909 with the establishment of a High Technical-Scientific Supervisory Committee, structured into a chemical division, a mechanical division and an administrative service.

On the eve of the First World War, the workforce numbered just under 500 employees, all exempt from military mobilisation due to their specialised expertise, which was difficult to replace in wartime.

The quantitative and qualitative increases achieved during the conflict, however, proved excessive once peace was restored. Starting in 1919, there was a sharp reduction in production activities and personnel due to the inevitable decline in demand from the Armed Forces, which were already supplied with substantial quantities of surplus war material to be disposed of.

For this reason, during the 1920s, the Powder Factory’s activities were therefore largely limited to the reprocessing or disposal of materials originating from the war front.

The situation changed during the 1930s, when renewed national ambitions led to a significant renewal of ammunition stocks. Between 1936 and 1938 in particular, experimentation with new explosive components resumed with intensity in order to meet the various military commitments in which the Italian Armed Forces were engaged.

This support increased further with Italy’s entry into the Second World War, which led to a rise in orders and an expansion of production lines, requiring shift work to ensure uninterrupted production. Given the strategic importance of the site, adequate anti-aircraft defences were also installed, as frequent enemy bombing raids increasingly affected plant operations.

The situation became even more critical following the proclamation of the Armistice on 8 September 1943. German occupying forces swiftly seized the Powder Factory with the aim of dismantling the machinery and transferring it to northern Italy, which was under their strategic control. Subsequent Allied bombings further damaged what remained of the facilities.

Only after the front line had moved on was Fontana Liri able to resume industrial activity, including that of the destroyed and looted Powder Factory.

Reconstruction of the manufacturing complex began in the summer of 1944, and within a few months operations resumed, primarily focused on the detonation and neutralisation of unexploded ordnance.

The post-war period was characterised by ongoing changes, at times raising the prospect of closure, despite the high level of specialisation achieved in the production of propellants for artillery and small arms. It was precisely the excellence developed in this field that led the military administration to relaunch the Fontana Liri industrial site.

After undergoing two changes of name, in 1984 it became the Military Propellants Production Facility, thereby regaining a more prominent position within the auxiliary manufacturing structure of the Armed Forces. Since 2002, it has operated under the authority of the Defence Industries Agency (Agenzia Industrie Difesa).