Chemical
Weapons Timeline
1924 1930
1931 1936
1937 1938
1939 1940
1941 1942
1943 1944
1945 1946
22 January 1930 Australia
ratifies the Geneva Protocol (1925) which
banned the use of poisonous or other gases.
1931
1938
October
1938 Military Board approaches Munitions Supply Board on the
possibility of manufacturing war gases locally
1939
April
1939 Military Board argue it is essential that Australia
develop a capacity to use gas defensively
26
June 1939
Minister of Defence
gives approval for investigations into the production of mustard gas
22
August 1939
First written consideration for
the importation of war gases
12
November 1940 War Cabinet agree Australia should be self sufficient
in gas supply
1941
6
January 1942
The Air Board approve the take
over of the disused 660 metre railway tunnel at
Glenbrook, NSW by the RAAF for the storage of bombs
16
February 1942 The Defence
Committee conclude enquires should be immediately made
to the UK
and US to ascertain if mustard gas in containers suitable for the Army and Air
Force could be supplied
March
1942 Kane Ammunition Depot (Geelong US) is
established
March
1942 Five nucleus Chemical Warfare
Companies, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) are raised
March
1942 Request made for a RAAF aircraft
to be fitted with the necessary devices for carrying out training in chemical
warfare
10
March 1942
Department of Defence
cables the High Commissioner in London
as to whether war gases can be supplied
24
March 1942
Response to Australia’s request from the UK that “immediate action was being taken to
supply Australia's
CW needs”
April
1942 The Chemical Adviser to the Army
proposed the establishment of a CW Experimental Research Station in tropical Queensland or other
suitable locality
April 1942 The Chemical Defence
Board with the help of a group of service medical officers form the
physiological subcommittee
1
April 1942 No. 1 CR (RAAF) was formed at Marrangaroo
15
April 1942 Shipment of 870 tons of CW
for US forces initiated from San
Francisco
30
April 1942 The RAAF inspected the
disused Marangaroo tunnel and Air Board approval was
sought for its acquisition for storage purposes
May
1942 The first US CW stock to arrive is reported
5
May 1942 A directive issued by SPWA
HQ referred to full necessary action for defensive measures against gas and
provision for the offensive use as a retaliatory measure
26
May 1942
First known arrival of UK manufactured
CW stocks on the ship “Heuraki”
19
June 1942 Arrival of CW stocks on
ship “Glenhartney”
24
June 1942
Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Lossiebank”
29
June 1942 Contractors commenced on
No. 3 sub depot, Marangaroo
tunnel
July 1942 Moves made to establish a chemical warfare school for
all American forces in Australia
July
1942 The Bonegilla
gas school is reformed as LHQ
Gas School
7
July 1942 The Air Board approve the takeover of the disused railway tunnel at Picton, NSW for the storage of conventional bombs
25
July 1942 British CW Liaison Mission
visit Australia
August
1942 Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Nigerstrrom”
August
1942 British CW cadre arrive to train
selected personnel in the offensive use of the 5 inch sextuple rocket and the
4.2 inch mortar
9
August 1942 Arrangements for the
first intake of chemicals at Glenbrook were advised with material being
received from the Nigerstrrom
14
August 1942 The Picton
tunnel (RAAF) was taken over and an Officer in charge was appointed
11
August 1942 The first Army stocks arrive
at 1 BAD Albury from Williamstown
September
1942 The British CW Liaison mission advise against the establishment of the Australian Field
Experimental Station
19
October 1942 Orders for 25.5 pounds
and 27 pounds of locally manufactured mustard were delivered to the Gas School, Randwick
12
October, 1942 A CW section, M07, is
formed within the Directorate of Military Operations (Army)
November
1942 Chemical Warfare courses for
Armament Officers, Explosives Inspecting Officers and Equipment Officers were commenced
at the Armament School,
Hamilton
14
November 1942 The Combined Chiefs of
Staff approved that “Gas warfare will be undertaken by both the United States
and British Commonwealth Forces on the decision of a representative especially
designated for that purpose by its highest governmental authority (eg: General MacArthur)”
16
November 1942 Townsville 25 pounder trials commence. 662 chemical rounds fired
4
December 1942 The Air Board approved
the "suitability" of the Picton Tunnel for
the storage of CW munitions
5
December 1942 The Defence
Committee agreed to the establishment of the Experiental
and Research Committee of the Chemical Defence Board
with the functions of directing and coordinating chemical warfare trials and
research in Australia
8
January 1943 Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Idomeneus”
11
January 1943 Start of
25 pounder trials at Singleton where 138 rounds B4
and 342 Y4 were fired
20
January 1943 A direction from General
Headquarters was given to the Chief Chemical Officer, USASOS, SWPA that he prepare a Chemcial Warfare Plan
(CWP) for the SWPA theatre
26
January 1943
Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Taranaki”
February
1943 Virtually all of the CW items
which had been ordered in February 1942 from the UK
had arrived in Australia
February
1943 Training in the offensive employment of chemicals is described as
“entirely theoretical” and additional training was deemed necessary
February
1943 2/1 Australian Mobile Anti Gas
Laboratory renamed 2/1 Australian Chemical Warfare Laboratory
February
1943 Training in offensive chemical
warfare is included in the syllabus of all noncommissioned RAAF armament
personnel
2
February 1943
Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Birchbank”
3
February 1943 Conference held with
representatives of both the Australian and American services to discuss
proposed CW plan
21 February 1943
Start of Forbes 25 pounder trials where 276 Y4 and 53 B4 rounds were fired
21 February 1943 In a letter to the Australian Prime Minister dated,
Macarthur concurred that a decision for gas warfare would not be taken
independently, but only when agreement had been reached between the Prime
Minister and himself
20
March 1943 The Chemical Warfare Plan
(SWPA) is first issued
21
March 1943
Arrival of CW stocks on ship
“Empire Strength”
April
1943 1 Australian Chemical Warfare
Company RAE is disbanded and reformed as 101 Infantry Brigade Support Company
10 April 1943 Start of Grafton 25 pounder
trials where 1155 chemical rounds were fired
June 1943 105th Chemical Processing Company (US)
arrives in Australia
5
July 1943 The Defence
Committee approve in principle the proposal to
establish a small CW Experimental Field Station in Australia
13
July 1943 It was agreed that all
chemical ammunition (loading and unloading) was to be handled by trained
service personnel and that any other non chemical cargo that was stored with
the chemical would also to be handled by these personnel
31
July 1943 A decision was made by the
RAAF to store 40% of the CW stocks in a North Eastern Area site (a site in Queensland). Talmoi was subsequently used
3
August 1943 The site at 88 mile (Northern Territory) was
inspected and approved on the North
South Road after having been originally selected
from aerial photographs
11 August 1943
Start of 25 pounder trials at Humpty Doo
September
1943 LHQ Gas School, located at Bonegilla, Victoria
and First Australian
Army Gas
School, located at Cabarlah, Queensland
are amalgamated
September
1943 The Defence
Committee approve the establishment of a permanent
field CW experimental station at Proserpine, Queensland
27
September 1943 Arrival of CW stocks
on ship “Idomeneus”
October
1943 Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Trojan Star”
30
October 1943 No. 19 RC (RAAF) was
formed at Marangaroo
20
November 1943
Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Glenapp”
12
December 1943 The RAAF Armament
School moved from Hamilton
to Nhill and the Chemical
Warfare School
was established as a section of the Armament
School
17
December 1943
Arrival of CW stocks on ship
“Menelaus”
9
January 1944 Bowen inspected in
anticipation of its use by the Special Duties Flight Detachment of No. 1
Aircraft Performance Unit (RAAF)
10
January 1944
Arrival of CW stocks on ship
“Empire Glade”
28
January 1944 Work preparatory for the storage of CW stocks in the Clarence Tunnel
begins
February
1944 Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Nigerstrrom”
7
February 1944 The transfer of CW
stocks from No. 2 SubDepot,
Glenbrook to Clarence Tunnel begins
15 February 1944 The transfer of CW stocks to Clarence completed
18
February 1944 The US War department
approached the RAAF on whether it should obtain its requirements of gas weapons
and chemicals from American sources
6 March 1944
The advanced party of No. 19 RC moved from subdepot
No. 4 Clarence to its new location at Talmoi and by
13 March 1944 the unit had occupied the new site.
23
March 1944 Start of movement of
stocks to 88 mile
April
1944 Arrival of CW stocks on ship “Ajax”
2
April 1944 First movement of CW
stocks to 88 mile completed
17 April 1944
The transfer of stocks to No. 19 RC commenced.
1
May 1944 CW Plan states “The RAAF is
capable of full scale CW operating from Australian bases”
4
May 1944 A meeting was held with
representatives from the United States Army Services of Supply and the RAAF to
discuss a coordinated Anglo/American chemical warfare
procurement and supply program.
15
August 1944 CRU due to be formed on
this date
21
August 1944 Meeting held by RAAF as
to whether further supplies of CW should come from the US
October
1944 CW conference held at Oro Bay, Papua New Guinea
3
October 1944
Start of 25 pounder trials at Marakai Road (near Darwin)
25
September 1944 The Aust CW Research and Experimental Section is disbanded and reorganised as 1 Australian Field Experimental Station RAE
13
November 1944 The Australian Army
stated “No further deliveries of chemical ammunition were to be accepted and
all outstanding orders were to be cancelled. Only the types effective in SWPA
and ballistically acceptable were to be retained”
17
December 1944 Arrival of CW stocks on
ship 1944 “Ajax”
19
January 1945 In a War Cabinet Agendum
the Acting Minister of Air sought approval for the purchase of chemical warfare
weapons of US
design
February
1945 The possibility of hostile use
of gas had receded to a degree permitting of discontinuance of gas training
throughout the AMF (Army)
May
1945 An order was placed in Washington for US
weapons
May
1945 At the Air Armament and Gas School,
Nhill, Airfield Defence
Instructors Antigas Courses cease
3
October 1945 RAAF advise that mustard
gas ammunition would still be most likely destroyed by sea dumping but that
burning trials were being carried out
27
October 1945
Arrival of CW stocks on ship
“Fremantle”
18 October 1945 Start of burning trial at the
Australian Field Experimental Station, Proserpine
September 1945 At the Air Armament and Gas School,
Nhill, courses cease for Fitter Armourers
courses
20 November 1945 Burning of CW stocks at 1 BAD, Albury
commences
12 December
1945 Burning disposal of CW stocks at No. 19 Replenishing Centre commences
13
December 1945 The Army forwarded a
submission by the Chief of General Staff seeking endorsement by the Defence Committee that all chemical ammunition held by the
AMF should be disposed of
24
November 1945
Completed burning of mines at 1 BAD, Albury
24
December 1945 The CRU is disbanded
1946
8 February 1946 The destruction and disposal of 2,000 tons of gas
bombs (mustard and phosgene) was completed at Fenton Airfield
14 February 1946 Disposal of No. 1 CR CW stocks by burning commences at
Newnes
State Forest
19
February 1946 “All personnel from No.
19 RC posted and disbandment of the unit is complete”.
27
February 1946 The Defence
Committee agree that all chemical ammunition held by
the Army should be disposed of
14 March 1946 Disposal of No. 1 CR CW stocks by burning completed