Free Torpedo Factory Exhibit Reveals Alexandria’s Wartime History Nov. 11

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A locally built Mark 14 torpedo anchors a Veterans Day exhibit about the people who made and tested the Navy’s weapons.

Workers watch Navy officers inspect an aerial torpedo at the Alexandria Naval Torpedo Station in the 1940s. — The station commandant inspects a Mark 13 aerial torpedo made in Alexandria, circa 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The green torpedo on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center was built in Alexandria in 1944. On Veterans Day, a free exhibit opens around it, telling the stories of the people who once worked in the same building making torpedoes for the U.S. Navy.

Historic Alexandria announced that new panels and graphics will go up in the art center’s main hall Wednesday, Nov. 11. The exhibit follows the last surviving building of Alexandria’s Naval Torpedo Station through its years as a factory, a federal records center and an arts space.

During World War II, the station employed more than 5,000 people and produced nearly 10,000 torpedoes, according to the city’s online exhibit. Test crews took torpedoes to Piney Point, Maryland. The bright green finish made test units easier to find and recover in the water.

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City artwork for Alexandria’s Naval Torpedo Station exhibit. — Exhibit artwork courtesy of the City of Alexandria.

Plan your visit: The exhibit opens Wednesday, Nov. 11, on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St. Admission is free. You can also explore the exhibit online.