World War II Testing Site
From the Skunk Ape haunting the woods to... a chemical weapons testing site? It was in 1993 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a report to Congress describing chemical weapons testing that had been conducted within the current boundaries of the Withlacoochee State Forest, a part of the Green Swamp, in the latter part of World War II.
According to Army Corps of Engineers records, on October 26, 1943; the United States War Department acquired 18,240 acres of public land for use as an Army Air Force air-to-ground gunnery range, known as the Lacoochee Bombing Range.
The first known tests conducted at the Lacoochee Bombing Range began on November 15, 1943, about the same time construction of the Bushnell Army Air Field was completed.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District said the tests were conducted to evaluate the action of mustard gas and and CNS Gas (which is a tear gas mace consisting of chloropicrin-chloroform mixture) in semitropical environments, and included test bombing in 18,000 acres of the swamp. These toxic chemical agents were dispersed in a variety of ways including with bombs, mortars, rockets, cluster bombs, spray tanks, and "Comings Candles."
According to Army Corps of Engineers records, on October 26, 1943; the United States War Department acquired 18,240 acres of public land for use as an Army Air Force air-to-ground gunnery range, known as the Lacoochee Bombing Range.
The first known tests conducted at the Lacoochee Bombing Range began on November 15, 1943, about the same time construction of the Bushnell Army Air Field was completed.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District said the tests were conducted to evaluate the action of mustard gas and and CNS Gas (which is a tear gas mace consisting of chloropicrin-chloroform mixture) in semitropical environments, and included test bombing in 18,000 acres of the swamp. These toxic chemical agents were dispersed in a variety of ways including with bombs, mortars, rockets, cluster bombs, spray tanks, and "Comings Candles."
The subsequent tests consisted of 358 experiments, but one major problem was losing bombs because of the dense forest and swampy lands, according to the Army Corps.
While it remains unclear when testing of persistent agents ceased, by October 1, 1945, tests had moved from chemical means to biological.
Reports show the final test at the Lacoochee Bombing Range took place between October 1, 1945 and December 1, 1945, and included the spraying of the biological agent DDT (which was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It was initially used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations) unspecified forested areas.
Removal operations by the Army in 1950 produced more than 250 undetonated, mustard-filled bombs (Which includes M-4 and M-89 Target ID bombs also filled with mustard gas), but local residents and foresters have reported finding other undetonated bombs since that time.
Now it was noted that there wasn't spraying in the Green Swamp, but they dropped bombs (of mustard gas) and artillery shells on pigs and goats to test the effects. Green Swamp is vital to the quality and quantity of Florida's water supply.
While it remains unclear when testing of persistent agents ceased, by October 1, 1945, tests had moved from chemical means to biological.
Reports show the final test at the Lacoochee Bombing Range took place between October 1, 1945 and December 1, 1945, and included the spraying of the biological agent DDT (which was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It was initially used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations) unspecified forested areas.
Removal operations by the Army in 1950 produced more than 250 undetonated, mustard-filled bombs (Which includes M-4 and M-89 Target ID bombs also filled with mustard gas), but local residents and foresters have reported finding other undetonated bombs since that time.
Now it was noted that there wasn't spraying in the Green Swamp, but they dropped bombs (of mustard gas) and artillery shells on pigs and goats to test the effects. Green Swamp is vital to the quality and quantity of Florida's water supply.