No restrictions on access.
This collection consists of one onion skin copy of Edward C. Worden's Report No. 10086. This report was initially given to the Director of Aircraft Production and the United States Aircraft Board, and covered the topics of Cellulose Acetate Manufacture and Acetate Dope Airplane Coating in England and France. This copy consisting of 1050 sheets was given to Henry Lockhart, Jr. on June 28, 1918. The report is split into sixteen sections, the first two of which include two Breguet French patents (numbers 10170 and 10552), and reports on various topics including the following: cellulose acetate recovery, recovery of volatile solvents, and manufacture of cordite. The third section features information on the British Doping Practice while the fourth focuses on various specifications. Sections 10 and 16 contain information on the standardization of dope, the 12th section discusses the permeability of airship fabric, and the 13th section centers on the contraction of fabric. Other sections contain various reports and correspondence.
Cellulose Acetate Manufacture and Acetate Dope Airplane Coating Report, NASM.XXXX.0765, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Unknown
Henri and Camille Dreyfus, brothers from Switzerland, set up several factories devoted to the manufacture of cellulose acetate in the early 1900s. One of the uses of cellulose acetate was as aircraft dope to waterproof and harden the fabric covering airplane wings. At the onset of World War I, aircraft dope was in great demand. The Dreyfus brothers soon focused their efforts solely on the manufacture of aircraft dope and in 1917 agreed to build a factory in Cumberland, Maryland. This factory, however, was not completed until after the end of World War I.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at
No arrangment as this is just one item.
Updated by Patti Williams, 2023.