Topic: Glass in Warfare

[Sklounion]

Hi,
We often view glass as an item of beauty, admire the form, the skill of the maker, and so forth.
In conversation with Glen, I, for the first time in my life, met the phrase "glass weaponry", when I asked why, rather than production going down at Inwald's Rudolfova Hut'. it more than trebled between 1939 and 1942, from 5,500 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes.
The answer was in items such as anti-personnel mines, and such items were made by both Inwald and Brockwitz to support the Nazi war effort. (It was described as utility glass).
So, although perhaps a less than tasteful area of discussion, was every country engaged in manufacturing such items, such as Davidson, and Moncrieff, orCorning and Westmoreland?
I think, perhaps a much over-looked subject, but of glass interest, nonetheless.
Regards,
Marcus

[David E]

Chance were the only optical glass manufacturer in the UK during WWI, and were responsible for revitalising the industry in 1914. Also plain lenses for instrumentation.

Germany, meanwhile, had come to dominate the optical industry worldwide from 1880 through Zeiss. I also know that Houze (USA) was producing instrument glass and lenses for items like goggles during WWI.

Items Chance produced for WWII was optical glass again, with Pilkington operating a 'shadow' factory, instrument, scientific and laboratory glass, and 'wired' glass (rolled plate reinforced with wire) and used for factory and station roofs).

None of this fits into your remit for 'weaponry' but were significant requirements to the respective war efforts.

[Leni]

I can't remember where I heard this, (maybe in publicity material?) but according to the Russian company who first developed the laser-produced 3d images in paperweights, Karina Creations (original and best, IMO), the technique was originally used to make gun sights for tanks!  At the end of the Cold War someone clever and artistic decided to re-use the computerised lasers to produce 3D pictures in a block of glass!   :clap:

[Frank]

Eisner is reported to have received a medal for his work on glass for radar as part of the war effort, still uncoroborated with only second hand reports from friends he drank with. Moncrieff started up laboratory glass production as the war cut of German and Bohemian supplies. It can be classed as weaponry due to it being needed for weapons research. Yet glass workers were shunted off to the trenches in WW1 leading to severe shortage of glass workers after that war.

I have a number of German documents illustrating WW2 glass production, but mostly decorative, pressed, cut and Nazi items of various types. Yet the 1945 post war report on the German Glass industry, in the Glass Study, gives little information directly about weapon use. However it does cover some of the impacts of Nazi control. A number of glass workers were held on suspicion of war crimes and some probably got convicted if they had nothing interesting to tell the allies. At least one was recommended to be released and later turns up in a US University continuing his glass research.

History does not have to be tasteful and probably much of this type of information has been suppressed to protect those that were of more use to the allies. The glass industry has done quite a good job of poisoning its workers, likely to a far greater impact than an glass weaponry.

[David E]

RADAR: Thanks for reminding me... Chance was the only UK company producing Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) 1939-45 that were necessary for RADAR to operate. This probably had the most significant impact on the war effort than any other weapon and, arguably, an item that significantly contributed to the Allies winning the war. Perhaps the most significant single item.

[alexander]

In the book "Hadelandsglass 1900-1950" (ISBN 82-8003-183-6) by Jens W. berg (ran HG 1951-1980) he writes that
the occupying german forces during WW2 ordered HG to make glass parts for landmines.

The management at the time pulled off the feat of convincing the powers that were that this was
technically undoable at HG's facilities. So the plans were eventually abandoned.

[Craigyboy]

Whitefriars were involved in the war effort during World War 1. There is a link below to the Whitefriars site where David Fletcher has described some of the things they did. It's mentioned in the 3rd paragraph of his post.

http://www.whitefriars.com/bb_orig/viewtopic.php?t=1316

Craig

[David E]

I suppose virtually all glassmakers were involved in the war effort, in one way or another, but the major ones would certainly have had more output.

To the best of my knowledge, Chance gave over a good proportion of their output for the war effort, whereas other smaller companies still continued producing their normal ware, for example utilitarian tableware.

However, quality and luxury goods were still being made, but mainly exported, and it was these exports that created revenue for the war effort.

[Heidimin]

Some interesting snippets on Phoenix during WWII:

War time produced its own vicissitudes. Gwen Watts (nee Boycott) records (letter in the "Bugle", 17th January 2002) that she knew Alec Wilfort's wife, Kathleen, very well as she worked alongside her in the sales office. She remembers Kathleen taking round the comforts box and that the proceeds were spent not only on parcels for the forces but also to buy wool from which the office staff would knit scarves, socks and gloves to put in the parcels.

Gwen also remembers that Kathleen "was married in my wedding dress. Clothes rationing was in force at the time and anything which could be borrowed for a one-off occasion, saved precious clothing coupons". This pulling together and helping out was, of course, not uncommon in war time, but it seems to have been in full swing in Phoenix and must have been one of things which contributed to Gwen's conclusion that :   

"It was a very happy atmosphere at Phoenix - we were like a big family - and I have some wonderful memories of my working years there amongst some of the nicest people I've known". 

By 1941 it seems that Phoenix had to stop ordinary production and convert to war work - work which, at the time was secret.
 
In a long interview in the Express and Star for 11th April 1964 Miss V (Freezie) Freestone, then the company's Sales Manager, was able to give details of one of their contributions to the war effort. The newly created radar system was breaking down because of poor insulation.

Colonel Jell considered the matter and came up with the idea of an improved insulator, made in glass, with corrugations which gave a greater surface area.   
This idea, he said, came from thinking of the serrated stomach of the shark which gives a large surface area in a small space. (How the gallant colonel came to be acquainted with the stomachs of sharks is not recorded). It took him 24 hours to perfect the design.
 
As it was top secret, the insulators were blown by only one man, the master craftsman, Ralph Brown. He worked 50 hours non stop, eating while he worked, to produce sufficient insulators; and so the radar stations were equipped before the Battle of Britain started. The company also blew the cathode ray tubes which were used for the new radar system. And they also pressed glass insulators for submarines, which were needed to avoid the corrosion from which the earlier versions had suffered.

More than 200 of the company's employees were called up but Freezie sent them all a weekly newsletter about the company and life on the home front.

Black Country Industries website http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/BCMC/phoenix/phoenix01.htm

The catalogue for the 1946 Britain Can Make It exhibition has various examples of "swords to ploughshares" stories: wartime production / technological developments being adapted for peacetime purposes. I know there were some glass companies in there - will see what I can dig out.

[Sklounion]

Thank you to all for your contributions. I was not certain about the suitability of the subject area, for discussion, particularly being a pacifist, but it is clearly an interesting topic, and I hope we can expand this further.
Regards,
Marcus