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Poudreries Réunies de Belgique SA (or PRB) was one of Belgium's oldest and largest manufacturers of munitions, once the second-largest Belgium armaments manufacturer. [1] The company indirectly started in 1778 in Wetteren as a gunpowder factory. By its 200th anniversary in 1979 it had 73 factories throughout the world, with the headquarters in ...
As smokeless powder and high explosives replaced gunpowder for most purposes, DuPont became the major manufacturer of United States gunpowder until discontinuing production in 1971. Subsequent production for use in pyrotechnics and antique firearms has been undertaken by smaller firms whose operations are often ended by the persistent hazard of ...
More than 2.75 million pounds of first-quality gunpowder (a majority of the powder used by the Confederacy) were produced before its closure in 1865. [5] By comparison, Union gunpowder manufacture was distributed among many mills, with the larger Hazard Powder Company of Connecticut producing 40% of the annual production of 8.4 million pounds. [6]
Gunpowder is a low explosive: it does not detonate, but rather deflagrates (burns quickly). This is an advantage in a propellant device, where one does not desire a shock that would shatter the gun and potentially harm the operator; however, it is a drawback when an explosion is desired.
Earliest known written formula for gunpowder, from the Wujing Zongyao of 1044 AD.. Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been developed. Popularly listed as one of the "Four Great Inventions" of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century).
In April 2023 Eurenco relocated its gunpowder plant from Sweden to France. [10] In May 2023 Eurenco restarted a nitrocellulose plant in Bergerac. [11] In October 2023 Eurenco opened an American joint venture subsidiary in Texas. [12] In March 2024 Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu visited the Eurenco plant to decorate employees. [13]
The earliest gunpowder recipe and primitive weaponry date to China's Song dynasty and the oldest extant guns appear in the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. However, historian Tonio Andrade notes that there is a surprising scarcity of reliable evidence of firearms in Iran or Central Asia prior to the late 14th century.
Oriental Powder Company was a gunpowder manufacturer with mills located on the Presumpscot River in Gorham and Windham, Maine. The company was one of the four largest suppliers to Union forces through the American Civil War .