Manufacturer catalog

Milan Army Ammunition Plant

Milan Army Ammunition Plant was a U.S. Army government-owned, contractor-operated ammunition installation in Milan, Tennessee, best known for load, assemble, and pack work, fuzes, 40mm ammunition, mortars, and cluster-bomb unit dispensers before its 2025 deactivation.

3 weapons

Milan Army Ammunition Plant began in 1941 as the Wolf Creek Ordnance Plant and Milan Ordnance Depot. Army history later records the 1943 merger into Milan Ordnance Center, the 1945 renaming to Milan Arsenal, and the 1963 shift to Milan Army Ammunition Plant.

For catalog readers, Milan matters because its production history covers fuzes, ammunition, mortars, 40mm rounds, cluster-bomb unit dispensers, and demilitarization work. This profile keeps the emphasis on the plant's industrial role and its place in the Army ammunition base.

ammunition productionload, assemble, packfuzescluster-munition componentsdemilitarization

Notable Systems

40mm ammunition

Army sources describe Milan producing 40mm tactical and training ammunition in its later years.

Sources: Army deactivation article

Cluster bomb unit dispensers

The Army deactivation article says Milan produced cluster bomb unit dispensers during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) era.

Sources: Army deactivation article

Fuzes and delay elements

The Army deactivation article describes Milan as a producer of fuzes, primers, delay elements, boosters, and related ammunition components.

Sources: Army deactivation article

Manufacturer History

  1. Construction and establishment

    Army and archival sources say the Wolf Creek Ordnance Plant and Milan Ordnance Depot were established in 1941 as the site came together in western Tennessee.

    Sources: Army deactivation article, Tennessee WWII survey

  2. Merged into Milan Ordnance Center

    The Army says the Wolf Creek and depot facilities were merged in 1943 into the Milan Ordnance Center.

    Sources: Army deactivation article

  3. Renamed Milan Arsenal

    The Army article says the installation was renamed Milan Arsenal in 1945 after the wartime merger.

    Sources: Army deactivation article

  4. Renamed Milan Army Ammunition Plant

    The site received the Milan Army Ammunition Plant name in 1963 as the Army's ammunition-production mission continued.

    Sources: Army deactivation article

  5. Production missions transferred to Iowa

    The Army says Milan's production missions moved to Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in 2013.

    Sources: Army deactivation article

  6. Formally deactivated

    The plant was formally deactivated in an Army ceremony on April 10, 2025, after its remaining role had shifted to stock divestiture and site transition.

    Sources: Army deactivation article

Website links
Official Milan pageArmy deactivation articleHistory of the Ammunition Industrial Base

Official Army sources now describe Milan as deactivated and in cleanup/divestiture status. Historic and archival sources use multiple names for the same installation, so aliases preserve that naming continuity across the record.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Army deactivation articlePublisher: The United States Army | Note: Supports Milan's 1941 establishment, 1943 merger, 1945 Milan Arsenal renaming, 1963 Milan Army Ammunition Plant renaming, production history, 2013 mission transfer, 2025 deactivation, and the plant's ammunition-production role. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Official Milan pagePublisher: U.S. Army Environmental Command | Note: Supports the current official Army page for Milan Army Ammunition Plant, the site's deactivation and cleanup context, and the fact that the Army still maintains a dedicated Milan information page. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Tennessee WWII surveyPublisher: State of Tennessee | Note: Supports the 1941 completion, early fuzes and ammunition production, and the Wolf Creek Ordnance Plant / Milan Ordnance Depot / Milan Ordnance Center / Milan Arsenal naming history. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • History of the Ammunition Industrial BasePublisher: U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command | Note: Supports Milan's place in the Army ammunition industrial base and the site's later 40mm ammunition and fuze capability references. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Milan Army Ammunition Plant 04.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain status for a Joint Munitions Command Public Affairs photo showing a Milan employee inspecting 40mm rounds at the plant. | Accessed: 2026-06-21

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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