Owens-Illinois Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana, Plant

Glass Body For

Land Mine Made at

Muncie Factory

One of America's secret weapons for use against both Nazis and Japs is a land mine made of glass. This was revealed today by Col. J. C. Shouvlin, ordnance chief of the Cincinnati ordnance district, who permitted publication of part of the dramatic story of the development and production of this weapon.

For many months, the story of the non-metallic mine was a closely held secret. Its design and mechanism remain even now a military secret.

The glass body of the mine is manufactured by the Insulux Products Division plant of Owens-Illinois Glass Company in Muncie, on machines designed for the manufacture of glass building blocks. Production quantity, also a closely guarded secret, is large.

Natural Choice.

Development of the glass body of the mine was accomplished through the combined efforts of the Cincinnati Ordnance District, under Colonel Shouvlin and engineers of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.

Early experiments in the development of non-metallic mines were with other non-metal materials. In order to produce large quantities, however, it was desirable to select a material that could be fabricated automatically. Glass was a natural choice.

Being completely non-metallic, the mine cannot be located by magnetic finders usually used or set off by electronic detonators.

Fortunate for the war effort was the fact that machines had been perfected in recent years for the automatic manufacture of glass block, used widely in building construction.