Nylon rope has a wide range of uses, including in the military field, and can even be called “war victory fiber”. Let’s talk about why.
In the 1930s, the United States imported two-thirds of the world’s silk fabrics—90% of which came from Japan. They use 75-80% for knitwear, especially women’s stockings. The reason is that as skirts get shorter and shorter, the need for something to cover women’s shame becomes greater. Unfortunately, these stockings don’t stretch very well, are very delicate, and can tear easily.
Wallace Carruthers, a scientist at Harvard University, was employed by DuPont to conduct research on synthetic materials and polymers. In 1939, Carothers invented fiber 6-6, which is what we call “nylon.” DuPont was keenly aware that nylon could be used as an alternative to silk fabrics. They experimentally produced some nylon products, and within 3 hours, 4,000 pairs of nylon stockings were sold out. At the end of the year, these stockings were displayed at the New York World’s Fair. The next year, 4 million pairs of brown nylon stockings were sold within two days, with sales totaling $9 million.
In 1941, DuPont sold $25 million in nylon yarn. Today, that’s probably worth $440 million. In just two years, DuPont captured 30% of the market for women’s hosiery.
The role of nylon is of course not limited to stockings. Most of the parachutes and ropes used by the US military were originally made of silk materials imported from Japan. After the Pearl Harbor incident, the United States and Japan went to war. Of course, the U.S. military could no longer use Japanese silk fabrics, and nylon began to be widely used for military purposes.
Nylon is used to make glider traction ropes, body armor, shoelaces, mosquito nets, hammocks, and parachutes. Even the flag that American astronaut Armstrong later planted on the moon was made of nylon!
Why is nylon suddenly used so widely? Because this is a thermoplastic polymer, it’s strong, hard, and durable. It’s more resistant to sunlight and air drying than organic fabrics, and because it’s synthetic, it’s resistant to mold, insects, and fungi, while also being waterproof and drying quickly.
American women did not stop wearing socks because of the war between the United States and Japan. After they experienced nylon stockings, they no longer wanted to use silk stockings. However, nylon cannot satisfy all women. So they came up with a great invention: shaving legs. Then, a “liquid stocking” (similar to paint) is carefully applied to the legs to create the illusion that they are wearing socks. After 1942, everything was for the war, so nylon products were in short supply, and only silk stockings were left on the black market.
As mentioned earlier, Americans use nylon to make parachutes. In fact, the first person to use a nylon parachute to skydive was a woman, her name was Adeline Gray. The Manchester Pioneer Parachute Company, in collaboration with DuPont, invented a parachute that was “tight, light, strong and elastic.” On June 6, 1942, 24-year-old Gray, the only qualified female skydiver in Connecticut, was the first to use this parachute to skydive.
During the Normandy landings, the airborne troops used a large number of nylon parachutes, and the World Airlift Organization’s glider traction ropes also used nylon ropes. The strength, elasticity, weight and mildew resistance of nylon have withstood the test.
After the war, nylon stockings ushered in a revival, and 40,000 people even lined up for a mile to buy 13,000 pairs of stockings. To this day, nylon is still widely used in various fields.
