The original material was developed by the British during World War II, and was used in the Gammon bomb.
Research on a replacement for C-3 was begun prior to 1950, but the new generation of Composition C (C-4) did not begin pilot production until 1956.
The most important later innovation of C-3 introduced the non-explosive plasticiser butyl phthalate instead of this mixture of nitro compounds.
This reduced the toxicity while increasing the concentration of RDX and improving safety of use and storage.
It also opened the way to begin study of new non-explosive low-toxicity plasticisers (esters of dicarboxylic acid) and binder (branched polymers).