When did the military start shipping ordinance by container?

[cefinkjr]

I can personally attest to the use of containers for military cargo of all types for shipping to Vietnam.  There were container ships (maybe the first this land-lubber had ever seen) waiting for the 4th Infantry Division in Quy Nhon harbor when we arrived in 1966.  We later escorted many container-loaded truck convoys to artillery firebases; those containers weren't all hauling beans or beer.

Many empty containers never got out of the country though.  They made very nice replacement houses in rural areas.

[wanswheel]

Boxcar (no-door convertible)

http://www.idahostoragecontainers.com/History_of_the_Conex.htm

[PNWRMNM]

jrbernier

The US military has been using 8x8x12 ft containers (CONEX - Container Express) since at least the Vietnam era. Stuff like ammo was shipped in special wood side box cars with sheet metal over the truck brakes. The ammo was transferred to the containers and loaded on a special ship as described in another post. I suspect containers are now used for most shipments.

 

The above contains three errors of fact.

 

First, ammo from small arms to and uncluding explosive projectiles and bombs, were shipped in the typical boxcars of the day, not in "special" cars. I have also seen a photo of bombs shipped in a gondola car. I think this was during WW II.

 

Second is "wood sided" which imples that wood side cars were required or preferred. That was never the case. There was a preference for relatively new cars since they were less likely to have bowed ends. Cars used to transport Class A Explosives had to be inspected and certified by carrier for sure, and shipper if I remember correctly. I believe this is still the case, but class nomenclature has changed and I do not have current Tariff/49 CFR to confirm.

 

Last item is "sheet metal over the truck brakes". After the Roseville CA bomb explosions of 1974, the FRA mandated "spark shields" be applied to cars with wood floors used to transport explosives. I do not recall if was limited to Class A, or extended to Class B and/or Class C. Since the requirement applied only to cars with wood floors, the easy and obvious solution was to supply only box cars with nailable steel floors, which were reasonably common by that time, for subject procucts.

 

Mac McCulloch

former Bureau of Explosives Inspector 

[usmc1401]

As of May 2015 the Army Ammunition plant in Hawthorne Nevada was still getting boxcars. Most does come in by truck.

[jrbernier]

The US military has been using 8x8x12 ft containers (CONEX - Container Express) since at least the Vietnam era. Stuff like ammo was shipped in special wood side box cars with sheet metal over the truck brakes. The ammo was transferred to the containers and loaded on a special ship as described in another post. I suspect containers are now used for most shipments.

[M636C]

JoeBlow wrote the following post 2 hours ago:

When did the military start shipping ordinance in containers instead of box cars?

Firstly, an "ordinance" is a local government regulation such as might cover parking of vehicles.

Armaments have a subset called "ordnance" which specifically refers to the barrel and breech of a large gun but is frequently expanded to include ammunition.

I think the answer regarding standard international shipping containers is "The Vietnam War". There is an interesting thread in the Classic Trains forum about the "Seatrain Texas" sailing to and from South Vietnam during that war with military supplies in containers.

M636C

[tree68]

Most likely when containers became a viable alternative.  

[JoeBlow]

When did the military start shipping ordinance in containers instead of box cars?