ROF Ranskill facts for kids

The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Ranskill was a special factory built in the United Kingdom during World War II. Its main job was to make a material called cordite, which was used as a propellant in guns and cannons. The factory was located near the village of Ranskill in Nottinghamshire, close to the main railway line.

Why it was Built

In 1939, as World War II began, the UK urgently needed to make more cordite. Cordite was a type of smokeless powder that helped fire bullets and shells from weapons. It had been used in the UK since 1889, replacing older gunpowder.

To build a new cordite factory, they needed a very specific place. For safety, it had to be far away from towns and busy areas in case of an explosion. It also needed good access for roads and trains, a supply of workers, and plenty of cooling water from a nearby river.

Experts found a good spot near Retford, between Lound and Ranskill. This area was perfect because it met all the safety and access needs. The factory itself covered about 450 acres of land.

To house the many workers who came from other areas, bungalows were built for married couples. Single workers stayed in special hostels. Roads and footpaths near the factory had to be closed to keep the public safe and away from the site. Most of the building materials arrived by train at Ranskill Station. Special railway lines were added to connect the factory directly to the main railway.

Cordite production at ROF Ranskill stopped in 1945. The site was then kept by the government for about 30 more years, but it wasn't making anything. Today, many of the old buildings are gone. Parts of the site have been used for waste disposal for many years.

Building the Factory and Making Cordite

The plan to build ROF Ranskill was approved in 1940. The factory was designed to be almost completely self-sufficient. This meant it could produce cordite and even make its own nitric acid, which was a key ingredient. It had its own railway lines connected to the national network.

ROF Ranskill was the last factory of its kind built in the UK during World War II to make cordite. It was also the smallest of the three main cordite factories, covering about 494 acres. The other two were ROF Bishopton and ROF Wrexham.

Making cordite at Ranskill began in March 1942. It took about 18 months for the factory to reach its full production level. At its busiest, around 4,000 people worked there. Once it was fully built, the factory could produce 300 tons of cordite each week. This cordite came in different sizes to fit the many types of military weapons used at the time.

After the War: Care and Maintenance

After World War II ended in 1945, the factory stopped making cordite. However, the site was not immediately closed down. Instead, it was kept on a "care and maintenance" basis until 1975. This meant the government looked after the site, keeping it ready in case it was needed again.

Later, in the 1950s, a plant to make another explosive called RDX was installed there. When the site was finally closed in 1975, useful parts from the RDX plant were sent to another factory. The land was then prepared for new uses.

In 1976, a group called the Reserve Training Corps used the site for a short time. Then, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the factory was cleaned up and taken apart. Large buildings and water tanks were knocked down. Old bunkers were flattened, and some land was returned to farming. Old gravel pits were turned into lakes, now called Danes Hill Lakes. The southern part of the site was planted with conifer trees. In the 1990s, a section of the northwest area became a landfill site for Nottinghamshire County Council.