Photo: the first continuous carbon fibre production line

Colour photo, captioned "The first continuous carbon fibre production line, Composite Materials Laboratory, 17th September 1973.". This photograph was taken at RAE Farnborough, and shows a machine making carbon fibre "bootlaces", or long, thin ropes, which were used to reinforce a variety of materials, including aircraft and racing cars.

Carbon Fibre has existed in some forms since the nineteenth century, but in 1968, a process for reliably producing high strength, felxible, and durable material was patented at RAE Farnborough by William Watt, William Jonson, and Leslie Phillips. This was a significant breakthrough in the use of the material.