Owens-Illinois Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana, Plant

Land Mine Made of Glass

Delicate hands on a somewhat indelicate subject would be one way to describe this photograph. Shown is a non-metallic land mine concerning which the War Department recently permitted an announcement. Being made of glass and other non-metallic substances, they cannot be detected or set-off by the usual magnetic devices used for this purpose. The mine is manufactured by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company's Insulux Products Division, the glass parts being fabricated on a machine formerly used in making glass building block.

One of America's secret weapons for use against both Nazis and Japs is a land mine made of glass.

This was revealed 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 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.

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-metallic 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.

The mine, known as the M-5, is for use against tanks, trucks, and other vehicular weapons of the enemy.

In addition to the glass parts in the mine assembly, certain plastic parts also are manufactured by Owens-Illinois in its Plastics Division.