Glass fibers used for camouflage

✍ Scribed by R.H.O.

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1943
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 59 KB
• Volume: 235
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(43)90651-9

✦ Synopsis

Glass Fibers Used for Camouflage.--Glass, ordinarily thought of as a substance used to reveal rather than conceal, today is helping to conceal America's vital war plants against the day when they may become the target of enemy bombers. Because they are light in weight, don't decay, are unaffected by water, fresh or salt, and will not burn, fine, flexible glass fibers thinner than a human hair are being used as the covering, or garnish, for the metal mesh camouflage nets which are employed to hide strategic war production plants and other possible bombing objectives from enemy raiders. The glass fibers, manufactured by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, are spread over chicken wire and painted with designs that blend with the surrounding terrain, whether it be cultivated fields or orchards, or the houses and gardens of a village or suburb. The fibers can be painted as often as necessary to keep the camouflage design in harmony with seasonal changes in the appearance of the surrounding country side. Since the combination of metal and glass is incombustible, the nets cannot be destroyed by incendiary bombs. While the camouflage nets must be light in weight, they must be strong enough to bear the burden of snow and ice. The nets cannot rest on the roof of a building, but must be supported by a framework, as part of the value of this system of camouflage lies in the effect of depth produced by openings left in the garnish. R. H. O.