Editing RDX (section)

===UK===
In the [[United Kingdom]] (UK), RDX was manufactured from 1933 by the research department in a pilot plant at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, [[London]], a larger pilot plant being built at the [[Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills|RGPF Waltham Abbey]] just outside London in 1939.<ref name=cocroft/><ref name=Akhavan/> In 1939 a twin-unit industrial-scale plant was designed to be installed at a new {{convert|700|acre|ha|adj=on}} site, [[ROF Bridgwater]], away from [[London]] and production of RDX started at Bridgwater on one unit in August 1941.<ref name=cocroft/><ref name=hornby/> The ROF Bridgwater plant brought in ammonia and methanol as raw materials: the methanol was converted to formaldehyde and some of the ammonia converted to nitric acid, which was concentrated for RDX production.<ref name=sfb/> The rest of the ammonia was reacted with formaldehyde to produce hexamine. The hexamine plant was supplied by [[Imperial Chemical Industries]]. It incorporated some features based on data obtained from the United States (US).<ref name=sfb/> RDX was produced by continually adding hexamine and concentrated nitric acid to a cooled mixture of hexamine and nitric acid in the nitrator.<ref name=sfb/> The RDX was purified and processed for its intended use; recovery and reuse of some methanol and nitric acid also was carried out.<ref name=sfb/> The hexamine-nitration and RDX purification plants were duplicated (i.e. twin-unit) to provide some insurance against loss of production due to fire, explosion, or air attack.<ref name=cocroft/>

The United Kingdom and [[British Empire]] were fighting without allies against [[Nazi Germany]] until the middle of 1941 and had to be [[self-sufficient]]. At that time (1941), the UK had the capacity to produce {{convert|70|LT|tonne}} <!-- {{convert|71000|kg|lb}} -->(160,000&nbsp;lb) of RDX per week; both [[Canada]], an allied country and self-governing dominion within the British Empire, and the US were looked upon to supply ammunition and explosives, including RDX.<ref name=baxter-253-259>{{Harvtxt|Baxter III|1968|pp=253–239}}</ref> By 1942 the [[Royal Air Force]]'s annual requirement was forecast to be {{convert|52000|LT|tonne}} of RDX, much of which came from North America (Canada and the US).<ref name=hornby/>