A label on this nosecone reads “Front case for proximity fuze / 1948 / Shaw Insulator Co. / Made of Kel-F.” Kel-F is a polychlorotrifluoroethylene, a thermoplastic material discovered in Germany in 1934, and commercialized after World War II. The name Kel-F derived from “Kellogg” and “fluoropolymer.”
The Shaw Insulator Co. was established in New Jersey in the early 20th century, to manufacture Bakelite and other plastic insulators. In 1940, after developing machinery for manufacturing plastic containers for milk and other liquids, this firm was purchased by the Plax Corp. In 1943, Frank Henry Shaw received the John Wesley Hyatt award for outstanding achievement in the plastics industry, for his work in the development of transfer molding.
J. Harry Dubois, who became vice president of the Shaw Insulator Co. in 1944, donated this nosecone to the Smithsonian.
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