Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland (in Harford County). Part of the facility is a census-designated place (CDP), which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.

The Army's oldest active proving ground, it was established on October 20, 1917, six months after the United States entered World War I. The location allowed design and testing of ordnance materiel to take place near contemporary industrial and shipping centers. The first gun was fired there on January 2, 1918. APG was created as a successor to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, which was too small for some of the larger weapons being tested. At the peak of World War II, Aberdeen Proving Ground had billeting space for 2,348 officers and 24,189 enlisted personnel.

Aberdeen Proving Ground occupies 72,962 acres (114.0 sq mi; 295.3 km2). Its northernmost point is near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, where it enters the Chesapeake Bay. On the south it is bordered by the Gunpowder River. The installation lies on two peninsulas separated by the Bush River. The northeastern is known as the Aberdeen Area and the southwestern, the former Edgewood Arsenal, is called the Edgewood Area. Edgewood Chemical Activity is a chemical weapons depot located here. Elimination of the chemicals held here was put on an accelerated schedule after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and all chemical weapons were destroyed by February 2006.

Other parts of the proving ground not attached to the main installation include the Churchville Test Area in Harford County, and the Carroll Island and Graces Quarters in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Churchville Test Area is a test track with hills that provide steep natural grades and tight turns to stress engines, drivetrains, and suspensions for Army vehicles, including Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and HMMWVs.

The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Museum is located at APG.

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