Routing Plexiglas panel at Rohm and Haas facility

2023-01-10T15:34:24-05:00

General view of an unidentified employee using a router to smooth the edge of a curved Plexiglas panel designed for use as an aircraft windshield. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the edges of the panels are routed so they fit flush with the outer seams of the aircraft, thereby reducing wind resistance and drag. This photograph was likely taken at the Rohm and Haas Company plant located in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

The Rohm and Haas Company was founded in 1907 in Esslingen, Germany through the partnership of German chemist Otto Röhm and German businessman Otto Haas. In 1933, Röhm's experiments with the polymerization of methyl methacrylate led to the creation of a clear, solid plastic sheet, which he trademarked Plexiglas. During World War II, the demand for Plexiglas, which both Allied and Axis forces used for submarine periscopes and aircraft windshields, canopies, and gun turrets, helped transform Rohm and Haas into a major chemical firm.