EQUIPPING SPITFIRES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 304, 12 May 1941, Page 6

EQUIPPING SPITFIRES

PARTS MADE FROM POWDER BRITAIN'S GROWING INDUSTRY Shell nose caps are being made in plasties. (.J rent Britain's biggest baby industry is to-day devoting 7.1 peir cent of its plant, brains and energy to. turning out plastics lor the lighting forces. Out of a plain powder made from , phein.ol and formaldehyde giant I presses mould in hard-steel dies has | come a vast range of Avar material I —infantry equipment, small ship components, the controls and wing sections of the Spitfire fighters. Lightness, strength and lire resistance arc qualities -which make plastics particularly useful im aeroplane work. Despite these demands, the British plastics industry last year shipped abroad no less than £150,000 of its moulding powders. It did it by rationalising itself into a single economic unit for export trade and raw material distribution. Australia has been the biggest buyer. The main markets have, been within the Empire but South America is stead-ily-increasing her demands, particularly for articles, made from plastics such as crockery, door fitments and, similar domestic accessories. Morei and more plastics are coming into their own as a substituk* for the less strong metals: for example,, for cistern ball cocks, Laminated plastics, however, are of enormous strength as their use in the famous Spitfires demon- : s't rates.