This collection, digitized here in its entirety, consists of photographs depicting the facilities, machinery, and operations of the Aeronautical Materials Laboratory, part of the Naval Air Material Center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The photographs document the production and testing of assorted plastics, rubbers, coatings, and primers used in the construction of naval aircraft, with an emphasis on machinery used to evaluate the effects of weathering and various environmental conditions. The majority of photographs are drawn from a 1949 report on compounding rubber, though the entire collection spans 1949 to 1968. The photographs were collected by J. (Joseph) Hartley Bowen, Jr., who served as the Supervisory Chemist at the Aeronautical Materials Laboratory during this period.
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Banbury Mixer in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory
- Circa 1949
View of the Banbury Mixer used in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The mixer is a Farrel-Birmingham Co. size B Banbury Mixer with a 25 H.P. motor and four-speed…
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Banbury charging operation
- Circa 1949
View of a worker inserting rubber stock into the Banbury Mixer at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mixer was used to break down and mix rubber…
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Calender sheeting operation
- Circa 1949
View of two engineers, Stanley Bilker (background) and Ralph Harper (foreground), operating the calender sheeting machine at the the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. The…
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Closing operation on hydraulic press
- Circa 1949
View of a worker closing the hydraulic press in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This unit is a 200-ton capacity Williams-White Moline machine equipped with three…
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Colloid Mill
- Circa 1949
Charlotte experimental colloid mill used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Latex and Chemical Laboratory for the preparation of finely divided dispersions and emulsions. This photograph was included in a 1949…
- Creator Of Work Naval Air Experimental Station, United States. Navy
- Subject Colloids, Scientific apparatus and instruments
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Cutting operation for cross blending of ingredients
- Circa 1949
View of a worker cutting rubber stock from the mixing mill at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mill was used to mix rubber stocks or warm mixed…
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Dumping of mixed stock from Banbury Mixer
- Circa 1949
View of a worker dumping mixed rubber stock from the Banbury Mixer at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mixer was used to break down and mix rubber…
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Dynamic Test Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station
- Circa 1949
General view of the Dynamic Test Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station showing forced vibration machines and other equipment used to test rubber articles produced at the Station under simulated service…
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Electronically controlled constant rate of load tensile machine
- Circa 1949
General view of an electronically-controlled constant rate of load tensile machine used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Physical Properties Laboratory. Tensile machines are commonly used to subject materials…
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Engineers calendering experimental stocks of rubber
- Circa 1949
View of two engineers, Stanley Bilker (background) and Ralph Harper (foreground), operating the calender sheeting machine at the the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. The…
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Extrusion of a half-inch diameter hose on tuber
- Circa 1949
View of a worker holding a piece of rubber tubing as it is extruded from the tuber machine in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. This tuber, a variable speed H.P. Royle…
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Final blending by passing stock through rolls endwise
- Circa 1949
View of a worker passing rubber stock through the mixing mill at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mill was used to mix rubber stocks or warm mixed…
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Goodrich Flexometer
- Circa 1949
General view of the Goodrich Flexometer used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Dynamic Test Laboratory. The flexometer was used to determine the heat build-up and hysteresis characteristics of rubber specimens…
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Hydraulic Press in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory
- Circa 1949
General view of the hydraulic press in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This unit is a 200-ton capacity Williams-White Moline machine equipped with three 24" x 24"…
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Incorporation of ingredients with rubber stock
- Circa 1949
View of chemist adding unidentified ingredients to rubber stock in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The primary purpose of the laboratory was the production of…
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Latex and Chemical Laboratory
- Circa 1949
General view of the Latex and Chemical Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. An assortment of laboratory glassware, apparatus, and instruments used for various phases of experimental and developmental work…
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Latex mixers and stirrers
- Circa 1949
Assorted latex mixers and stirrers used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Latex and Chemical Laboratory to mechanically froth, foam, and mix latex. The machines depicted in the photograph are identified as follows…
- Creator Of Work Naval Air Experimental Station, United States. Navy
- Subject Scientific apparatus and instruments, Latex, Machinery
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Mixing Mill at the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory
- Circa 1949
View of the mixing mill used in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The mill is an Adamson 6" by 16" two-roll machine powered by a 7 1/2 H.P. motor with chain drive.…
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Mogul Mixer for sealants and adhesives
- Circa 1949
General view of the Mogul Experimental Mixer used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Sealants and Adhesives Laboratory. Equipped with "Z" type agitators and a tilting chamber fitted with a removable,…
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Molds and vulcanized rubber products
- Circa 1949
Set of standard test specimen molds and vulcanized rubber products produced and used in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This photograph was included in a 1949…
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Mooney Viscometer at the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory
- Circa 1949
General view of the Mooney Viscometer in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. At the laboratory, the viscometer was used to determine the plasticity and scorch rate of…
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Oxygen and Air Aging Bomb
- Circa 1949
General view of the Emerson Oxygen Aging apparatus, with two bombs, housed in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Oven and Accelerated Aging Room. Located inside a shelter within the aging room, this apparatus and…
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Physical Properties Laboratory
- Circa 1949
General view of the Physical Properties Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station showing assorted equipment used for the evaluation of rubber and rubber-like materials. Machinery and apparatus used in the…
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Plastometers, resiliometers, and other apparatus from the Naval Air Experimental Station
- Circa 1949
Plastometers, resiliometers, and other apparatus used to evaluate rubber and rubber-like materials in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Physical Properties Laboratory. The instruments visible in the photograph are…
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Portable Pyrometer and accessories
- Circa 1949
Portable Pyrometer and accessories used to take accurate temperature measurements of roll surfaces and platens in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This photograph…
- Creator Of Work Naval Air Experimental Station, United States. Navy
- Subject Scientific apparatus and instruments, Pyrometers
