AOC CORPS MUSEUM

In 1926 approval was given to establish the AOC Corps museum by the Quarter Master General in India at the Fort William Arsenal. 19 Rifles from Greece, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Germany, France and the United States of America lying in the Kirkee Arsenal accompanied the order. Subsequently more exhibits were added from Rangoon, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Allahabad, Madras Arsenals and Agra depot. By 1930 the collection of the museum was considered formidable as every conceivable piece of small arms, cannon and other ordnance was part of the exhibits. In 1941 during the World War II the exhibits were packed and stored to make space for the storage of ordnance stores required for the war. After the war the Director of Ordnance Services, Maj Gen R S Lewis, OBE directed the corps museum to be shifted to the Indian Army Ordnance Corps Training Centre (now known as the College of Materials Management), Jabalpur. In February 1994, a major renovation of the museum was undertaken at a cost of Rs 15 Lacs on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the battle of Kangla Tongbi.

The Original Execution Order of Sepoy No 1446 Mangal Pandey of 34th Regiment Native Infantry. The incident took place on 29 March 1857 at Barrackpore. The General Court Martial began on 6 Apr and the sentence promulgated and executed on 8 Apr 1857.

 KANGLA TONGBI EPITAPH

Kangla Tongbi conjures up images of Honour and Glory for the Ordnance Corps. At this place, near milestone 8 on the Dimapur-Imphal road on 5-7 Apr in 1944, the personnel of 221 Advance Ordnance Depot laid down their lives to repulse several waves of Japanese attacks and succeeded in safe evacuation of ordnance stores to an alternate site. To commemorate the memory of those who sacrificed their lives, a Memorial was unveiled at Kangla Tongbi. In Dec 1976, the Memorial was shifted to its present location opposite the HQ Block and the Original Stone of the Memorial at Kangla Tongbi has been preserved here at the museum.
GATLING MACHINE GUN 1862 (USA)

One of the rarest pieces of ARMAMENT, probably the ONLY SERVICEABLE piece in the world. Designed by Dr. Richard Gatling, who practiced medicine. It has 10 barrels mounted on a rotating shaft. Maximum rate of fire is 3000 rds per minute.
 ARMOUR SET

This Armour Set belongs to 1120 AD and is the Oldest Exhibit Of The Museum.

COLUMBIAN PRINTING PRESS

The Press commonly called the "COLUMBIAN" Printing Press was manufactured in 1844 by a British firm 'CYLMER & DIXON'. It was the first mechanical printing press which was manufactured in bulk. This press was in use till as late as 1986 at COD KANPUR and is functional even today.

 BUGGY OF HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA HARI SINGH

This BUGGY was used for RAJ TILAK ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh in 1923. It is manufactured in France and made of only LEATHER and WOOD. During the ceremony the horse was bedecked with emeralds worth Rs Seven Lacs.

      CREST OF THE PLANNED BASE ORDNANCE DEPOT OF THE AZAD HIND FAUJ (1944-45)

MOTHER TERESA'S LETTER	WOODEN PLAQUE

The crest consists of Lotus flowers, a Peacock and two elephant trunks. The first crest during the British rule with no British influence.

RISING SUN

The ‘Rising Sun’. It decorated the banquet hall of Fort William Depot, Calcutta. It appears to be of Japanese origin.

WEIGHING BOOK

The Weighing book records history in a unique fashion. Part of the arms collection of Lord Warren Hasting the Governor General of the Bengal Presidency; this book has the record of the weight of all important personage who have visited Calcutta since 1835. The last entry was made on 05 January 1950.

STAR OF INDIA

The ‘Star of India’ decorated the banquet hall of Fort William Depot, Calcutta. It has the inscription ” Heavens Light Our Guide”.

JAPANESE CURRENCY

AOC Museum also holds Japanese currency notes presented by Sub Maj (Hony) D S Rathore, IAOC, a veteran of the battle of KANGLA TONGBI.He had collected these notes after the battle.

WEIGHING SCALE

A fully functional brass weighing scale made in London in early 1900’s. This weighing scale was used in RE&AA, at the Ammunition Sub Depot, Jabalpur, till as late as 1980’s.

 WOODEN PLAQUE

This wooden plaque was manufactured in 1773 and was captured during the Goa operations in 1961 The inscription in Latin means’ Chief Ordnance Officer of Ordnance Depot’.
 SHIKAR BOOK

The Shikar book has a unique piece of history and contains records of 74 expeditions from 1952 to 1959.

The first practical, controllable machine gun was the Gatling Gun produced in America in 1860. The museum prides itself to hold one of the very few serviceable pieces in the world as on date.
The Gardner machine gun was the immensely popular successor of the Gatling gun. It was a twin barrel hand operated gun invented in 1874.

Chinese 7.62 mm Machine gun with a mounting and shield. This gun was designed for dual role of conventional as well as anti aircraft firing.

ARTILLERY GUN SECTION

Bronze cannon 1610 AD: This brass cannon was cast by shri Raja Gajraj in 1610 AD. It is made of bronze and has intricate carvings including a back sight shaped as a ‘Shivlingam’(inset). The weight of the cannon is 450 Kgs and has two pairs of lifting handles at one third distance from both sides for easy lifting.

This 4.2 “ mortar was used to shower flower petals on visitors in Fort William. Very unique indeed!

AUTOGRAPH BOOK OF THE C-IN-C GEN BL MONTGOMERY

These are the extracts from the autograph book of the C-in-C Gen BL Montgomery The book is placed in the Corps Museum.