Here is a news article from 1947 that mentions NARMCO and someone using Conolon rods:
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/70031952/

Technical progress is usually a fuzzy thing. Probably the best argument is in Victor Johnson's book Fiberglass Fly Rods that the WW II fiberglass community was small and both sides were working on similar things in the same time frame. Some people moved between companies, so people must have been generally aware of what was going on the the field. His observation was that most people he interviewed in the West gave the nod to Dr Havens and most in the East to Dr Howald. The Johnson book claims NARMCO started rod production in 1945 and that Dr Howald sold his process to Shakespeare in 1945, so both prongs in the development seemed to be roughly parallel. In an evolutionary sense, rod makers now use the concept of rolling impregnated woven cloth (even though the resin, sizing, and fibers change - the concept is the same) around a mandrel used by NARMCO rather than pulling parallel fibers along a mandrel of the Howald process. So while Shakespeare used the Howald process as a market differentiator for a long time, the industry went the route of Dr Havens methods even after the Howald patents expired.

Both sides of the WW II era fiberglass community seemed to contribute. Owens-Illinois in Toledo was the pioneer in spinning glass and later in developing fiberglass applications. The aircraft industry in the San Diego area also was a pioneer in fiberglass applications. Fishing rods were an offshoot of the FRP industry and not a driver, like aircraft and the military, and the industries in both areas were contributing. Therefore, IMHO it is important to study the FRP industry, not just the fishing rod niche. The licensing was also complex. Dr Howald sold the Howald process to Shakespeare, but Owens-Illinois cross licensed other pre-preg cloth innovations for the fishing industry.

I had a Narmco Conolon rod, made in San Diego, that I believe was from The mid-1940s. I thought all of the pre-Costa Mesa Conolons were this early.
Anyway, I sold the rod to Carlz so I can't examine it further.

The patent for the Shakespeare hollow fiberglass rod was 2,749,643 by Arthur L. Scott filed 12/31/1952 and granted 6/12/1956. This became the "Double-bilt" Wonderod. It still used the Howald Process but without the balsa core, modified for a removable steel mandrel.

I'm just trying to clear up a historical record that only recently became murky. (I had to edit a recent post, the reduction to practice was August 1944 not 1945). Both Howald and Havens were patent savvy individuals with each having dozens in their names by 1944. I just can't find Havens doing that kind of work at that time to patent, regardless of what recent books say. Again, it was never ever disputed at that time by any sports magazine writer or newspaper writer that anyone other than Shakespeare made the first fiberglass rod. It was a big enough of a deal that someone would have disputed it if they could have. Just my opinion also, but I enjoy hearing what others say.

Carl - yes, I'm thinking of the 409 w/the blue reel seat. Don't ask me where I got the idea that the San Diego Conolons were from the '40s because I don't remember.
Another time I wish Richard (flyfishing4goldentrout) was still with us.

Thanks, carlz. Nice research! That's the stuff I was thinking of.

I don 't have a dog in the fight, and I don't even think it is worth disputing, but wartime was the impetus for a lot of early composite development; then commercial and recreational applications emerged in the mid-to-late 1940s, and more so in the 1950s. Building a better aircraft, not patent claims to establish a barely envisioned industry of the post-war boom,came first with the fervent development teams.

The record has not become murky recently; there were different claims at the time as various groups and research teams split off from one another--not necessarily out of any ill will, but just because defense needs were receding and recreational needs were emerging and commercial opportunities with them, companies reforming or newly created as a result. People take ideas and methods with them. By 1950, NARMCO advertised a "first" of tubular 'glass fishing rods.

To me, actually, the record is pretty clear; these are multiperson development outcomes with slightly variant methods and timing of actual patent applications.

As for what newspapers or sports writers said . . . . For goodness sakes, few are more gullible than newspaper journalists and outdoor writers (in that order), who often believe the last person they talked to, especially if some freebies went with the conversation. They are easily manipulated by good marketing personnel who make it less work for them to produce a story. The most they might do is reflect the competing claims of various companies, but if one company wins the advertising battle, the writers help rewrite the history, which they may know little about. I can guarantee they didn't go to DC to do a patent search or log on to the website as we can do today to read 1940s and early '50s "fiberglass" patents and see the burst of development and intertwined researchers, companies, and methods.

If credit is really important, it goes to teams led by top people impelled by wartime demands that drove and led to the plastics revolution, and the commercial recreation boom. It could also be said that there were conflicting claims at the time, and many with no interest in naming a winner. The specific date of any one patent application or award wouldn't necessairly i.d. a winner, either.

If that wasn't sorted out in its time, it won't be today. "Among the first successful hollow fiberglass . . ." is probably a sufficently accurate characterization.

http://www.whitefishpress.com/bookdetail.asp?book=182

In late 1944 Dr. Havens is applying for patents that he assigns to US Rubber, in 1947 he is applying for patents for artificial limbs that he assigns to Convair Vultee. As I said earlier, Dr. Havens did patent a method for hollow fiberglass fishing rods in the '50's. So yes the full honor of being the first to develope the first hollow glass rod goes to him, but not the first fiberglass fly rod. Not a big deal to some, but a big deal to others. Even Havens recognized the inferiority of the woven glass fiber rod later. Hence his patent for a method of manufacturing parallel glass fiber rods and 3M's unidirectional glass fiber rods. If someone wants to say that both were developing the first fiberglass fly rods at the same time, the historical record does not support their claim.

Shakespeare had no rod production facilities at that time. All rod production ended at Shakespeare in the early 1930's. So Shakespeare had no rod factory or machinery in 1944, but I'm to believe that Narmco did have these facilities, techniques, knowledge, expertise in place but didn't beat Shakespeare to production? It was probably more like Narmco saw what Howald and Shakespeare were doing, and in a forehead slapping moment said "Hey, we could do that too!"

I'm being a devil's advocate, but if the Costa Mesa plant was in full fishing rod production by February 1947 like the NARMCO employees claim they copied Shakespeare very quickly.

The Wonderod trademark does not predate fiberglass rods. Shakespeare was in the development phase with Dr Howald in October 1945 and the trademark application is dated 1946. The word they didn't get a trademark for was Glastik, and had to stop using it. The word Wondereel had been trademarked in the 1930's and so Wonderod was a natural choice. I think Wonderline was also in use by then.