Editing Torpex (section)

==Development==
Torpex was developed at the [[Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills|Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey]], in the United Kingdom as a more powerful military alternative to TNT. [[RDX]] was developed in 1899. Though very stable and serving as the reference point by which the sensitivity of other explosives are judged, it was too expensive for most military applications and reserved for use in the most important products, such as torpedoes.{{sfn|Gannon|1996|p=183}} Aluminium powder was also added to the mix to further enhance the effect. Although both RDX and TNT have a negative [[oxygen balance]], the superheated aluminium component tends to contribute primarily by extending the expansion time of the explosive product gases.<ref name="Edri">{{cite journal |last1=Edri |first1=I. |last2=Feldgun |first2=V.R. |last3=Karinski |first3=Y.S. |last4=Yankelevsky |first4=D.Z. |title=Afterburning Aspects in an Internal TNT Explosion |journal=International Journal of Protective Structures |publisher=SAGE Publications |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2013 |issn=2041-4196 |doi=10.1260/2041-4196.4.1.97 |pages=97–116| s2cid=109491342 }}</ref> [[Beeswax]] was also added as a [[phlegmatized|phlegmatizing]] agent, to reduce sensitivity to shock and impact.{{sfn|Gannon|1996|p=183}} Later, beeswax was replaced with [[paraffin wax]], and [[calcium chloride]] was added as a moisture absorber to reduce the production of [[hydrogen]] gas under high humidity.{{sfn|Gannon|1996|p=183}}

The production of RDX in the USA skyrocketed following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] by the Japanese. In April 1942, 100 tons of Composition C (88% RDX and oil desensitizer), also known as [[C-4 (explosive)|C4]], was ordered by the Office of Strategic Services.{{sfn|Baxter|2018| pages=25–32}} By 8 May 1945 ([[Victory in Europe Day]]) the Holston Ordnance Works had been in full production of RDX with no end in sight. In July of that year government officials informed the plant to not exceed production quotas (as had been the practice to that point) since they knew that the atomic bomb was near completion.{{sfn|Baxter|2018| pages=135-138}}