• Image of a Prototype Chaff Cutter
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    This was the first American device for making chaff, strips of aluminum foil used to create a countermeasure. It cut 8,000 strips of aluminum per minute. Harold Elliott constructed this demonstration prototype as part of a plan to manufacture millions of thin strands of aluminum chaff at military installations in Great Britain to avoid the security risks of industrial manufacturers.

    Industrial manufacture did become necessary as demand for chaff exceeded 3,000 tons. Until that time, over 500 cutters of this type made chaff at American air bases in England to jam German Wurzburg radars.

     

  • Image of a Prototype Chaff Cutter

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A20050467000

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Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

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