90 industrial and technological milestones

A dedicated editorial archive within WWII CHRONOS. 72 events have an exact day and appear on the main timeline. For 18 entries the sources support only a year, month or period, so no fictional day has been assigned.

1. 1 January 1938 — Creation of SNCF — Unification of France's Main Railways
   France · Transport / infrastructure
2. 4 March 1938 — Dammam No. 7 Strikes Oil in Commercial Quantities
   Saudi Arabia · Oil / extraction
3. 18 March 1938 — Mexico Nationalises the Oil Industry
   Mexico · Oil / economy
4. 1 April 1938 — Nestlé Launches Nescafé
   Switzerland · Food industry
5. 6 April 1938 — Discovery of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
   United States · Materials science / chemistry
6. 23 May 1938 — Technical Design of the Uglich and Rybinsk Hydroelectric Complexes Approved
   USSR · Hydropower
7. 26 May 1938 — Foundation Stone Laid for Volkswagen's Main Plant
   Germany · Automotive industry
8. 3 July 1938 — Mallard Sets the World Steam Locomotive Speed Record
   United Kingdom · Railway engineering
9. 22 October 1938 — Chester Carlson Produces the First Xerographic Image
   United States · Printing / office technology
10. 1938 — Major Commercial Oil Reserves Discovered at Burgan Field
    Kuwait · Oil / extraction
11. 1939 — First Successful Industrial Gas-Turbine Power Station Starts in Neuchâtel
    Switzerland · Energy
12. 1 January 1939 — Hewlett-Packard Founded
    United States · Electronics / instrumentation
13. April 1939 — 'Synthetic No. 1' Fibre Developed in Japan — Precursor to Vinylon
    Japan · Chemical industry / textiles
14. 30 April 1939 — RCA Demonstrates Electronic Television to the Public at the New York World's Fair
    United States · Electronics / communications
15. 28 June 1939 — First Regular Transatlantic Passenger Flight by Pan American
    United States / Atlantic / Europe · Civil aviation
16. 1 September 1939 — First Full-Scale Polyethylene Plant Begins Operation
    United Kingdom · Chemical industry / plastics
17. September 1939 — Grand Coulee Sets a Monthly Concrete-Pouring Record
    United States · Construction / hydropower
18. 14 September 1939 — First Flight of the Sikorsky VS-300 Helicopter
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing
19. 12 December 1939 — World's First Industrial Nylon Plant Begins Operation
    United States · Chemical industry / textiles
20. 1939 — Fluorescent Lamps Publicly Demonstrated at Major World Fairs
    United States · Electrical engineering / lighting
21. 21 February 1940 — High-Power Cavity Magnetron Successfully Tested in Birmingham
    United Kingdom · Radar / electronics
22. 23 February 1940 — Russell Ohl Observes the p–n Junction in Silicon
    United States · Semiconductors
23. 15 May 1940 — Nylon Stockings Go on Mass Sale
    United States · Chemical industry / consumer goods
24. July 1940 — Boeing 307 Stratoliner Enters Regular Passenger Service
    United States · Civil aviation
25. August 1940 — Contract Awarded to Build the Detroit Tank Arsenal
    United States · Mass manufacturing
26. 27 August 1940 — First Flight of the Caproni Campini N.1 Experimental Jet Aircraft
    Italy · Aircraft manufacturing / jet technology
27. 29 August 1940 — Marl Plant Produces Its First Bales of Buna Synthetic Rubber
    Germany · Chemical industry
28. 11 September 1940 — Bell Labs Publicly Demonstrates Remote Computing over Telephone Lines
    United States · Computing / telecommunications
29. 23 September 1940 — American Bantam Delivers the First Prototype of the Future Jeep
    United States · Automotive industry
30. autumn 1940 — Mass Production of the T-34 Tank Begins
    USSR / Ukraine · Mechanical engineering
31. 14 January 1941 — Construction Begins on Kaiser's First Richmond Shipyard
    United States · Shipbuilding
32. 9 April 1941 — Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) Established
    Brazil · Metallurgy
33. 24 April 1941 — Detroit Tank Arsenal Produces Its First Production Tank
    United States · Mass manufacturing
34. 15 May 1941 — First Flight of Britain's Gloster E.28/39 Jet Aircraft
    United Kingdom · Aircraft manufacturing / jet engines
35. 11 July 1941 — State Defense Committee Launches Large-Scale Evacuation of Soviet Industry Eastward
    USSR · Industrial logistics / relocation
36. 15 July 1941 — Willys-Overland Receives Contract for Mass Production of the Military Jeep
    United States · Automotive industry
37. 1941 — Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Discovered — Future Terylene
    United Kingdom · Materials science / textiles
38. September 1941 — Brown Boveri Tests the First Gas-Turbine Locomotive
    Switzerland · Railway engineering / gas turbines
39. 27 September 1941 — First Liberty Ship — SS Patrick Henry — Launched
    United States · Shipbuilding
40. 4 October 1941 — First Grand Coulee Generator Begins Operation
    United States · Hydropower
41. 14 January 1942 — First Flight of the Sikorsky XR-4 — Prototype of the First Production Helicopter
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing
42. 25 May 1942 — First Commercial Fluid Catalytic Cracking Reactor Starts Up
    United States · Oil refining / chemical engineering equipment
43. 18 July 1942 — Messerschmitt Me 262 Makes Its First Flight on Jet Power Alone
    Germany · Aircraft manufacturing / jet engines
44. 13 August 1942 — Manhattan Engineer District Formally Established
    United States · Nuclear industry / megaprojects
45. October 1942 — Land Acquisition Begins for the Oak Ridge Industrial Complex
    United States · Nuclear industry / infrastructure
46. 3 October 1942 — First Successful Full-Scale Test of the V-2 Rocket
    Germany · Rocket engineering
47. 12 November 1942 — Liberty Ship SS Robert E. Peary Sets a Construction-Speed Record
    United States · Shipbuilding / mass production
48. 20 November 1942 — Alaska Highway Officially Opened
    Canada / United States · Road infrastructure
49. 1942 — Atanasoff–Berry Computer Completed
    United States · Computing
50. September 1942 — Willow Run Begins Producing Its First B-24s on an Automotive-Style Assembly Line
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
51. 9 January 1943 — First Flight of the Lockheed Constellation
    United States · Civil aviation / aircraft manufacturing
52. 18 February 1943 — Construction Begins on the First Y-12 Production Building at Oak Ridge
    United States · Nuclear industry
53. 5 March 1943 — First Flight of the Gloster Meteor
    United Kingdom · Aircraft manufacturing / jet technology
54. 22 March 1943 — Major Construction Begins at the Hanford Industrial Complex
    United States · Nuclear industry / infrastructure
55. June 1943 — Construction Begins on the K-25 Gaseous-Diffusion Plant
    United States · Nuclear industry
56. 29 June 1943 — First Flight of the First Production B-29 Built at Wichita
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
57. 14 August 1943 — Big Inch Oil Pipeline Completed
    United States · Oil infrastructure
58. 29 September 1943 — Polymer Corporation Begins Industrial Production of Synthetic Rubber
    Canada · Chemical industry
59. 3 November 1943 — Willow Run Completes Its 1,000th B-24 Bomber
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
60. 4 November 1943 — X-10 Graphite Reactor Begins Operation at Oak Ridge
    United States · Nuclear industry
61. 5 February 1944 — Colossus Mk I Begins Operation at Bletchley Park
    United Kingdom · Electronics / computing
62. 2 March 1944 — Little Big Inch Products Pipeline Completed
    United States · Oil infrastructure
63. 14 April 1944 — Hydro-Québec Created
    Canada · Energy / national infrastructure
64. 25–29 June 1944 — Mulberry B Artificial Harbour Becomes Fully Operational off Arromanches
    United Kingdom / France · Military infrastructure / port construction
65. 25 July 1944 — First Confirmed Air Combat by the Jet-Powered Me 262
    Germany / Western Europe · Aircraft manufacturing / jet technology
66. 1944 — US Synthetic Rubber Production Reaches Wartime Industrial Scale
    United States · Chemical industry
67. 1 September 1944 — Volvo Unveils the PV444
    Sweden · Automotive industry
68. 9 September 1944 — Willow Run Produces Its 6,000th B-24
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
69. 22 September 1944 — First PLUTO Pipeline to Cherbourg Begins Delivering Fuel
    United Kingdom / France · Fuel infrastructure
70. 26 September 1944 — Hanford B Reactor Reaches Criticality
    United States · Nuclear industry
71. 16 January 1945 — Renault Nationalised
    France · Automotive industry / post-war economy
72. 20 January 1945 — First K-25 Production Cell Becomes Operational
    United States · Nuclear industry
73. 5 February 1945 — Hanford Sends Its First Shipment of Plutonium to Los Alamos
    United States · Nuclear industry / logistics
74. 22 June 1945 — First Flight of the Vickers Viking Passenger Aircraft
    United Kingdom · Civil aviation
75. 28 June 1945 — Willow Run Produces Its Final B-24
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
76. July 1945 — Boeing's Wichita Plant Reaches Peak B-29 Production Rate
    United States · Aircraft manufacturing / mass production
77. 5 September 1945 — ZEEP Reactor Reaches Criticality for the First Time
    Canada · Nuclear energy / science
78. 20 September 1945 — Rolls-Royce Trent Makes Its First Flight as an Early Turboprop Engine
    United Kingdom · Aircraft engine manufacturing
79. 25 September 1945 — First Flight of the de Havilland Dove
    United Kingdom · Civil aviation
80. 27 December 1945 — Series Production of Volkswagen Resumes at Wolfsburg
    Germany · Automotive industry / post-war reconstruction
81. 8 March 1946 — Bell 47 Receives the First Civil Helicopter Certification
    United States · Civil aviation / engineering
82. 8 April 1946 — Électricité de France (EDF) Created
    France · Energy / national infrastructure
83. 23 April 1946 — Piaggio Registers the Vespa Industrial Model
    Italy · Mechanical engineering / mass mobility
84. 7 May 1946 — Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo — the Future Sony — Founded
    Japan · Electronics
85. 17 June 1946 — First Commercial Mobile Telephone Service Launched
    United States · Telecommunications
86. 1946 — Steel Production Begins at CSN's Volta Redonda Works
    Brazil · Metallurgy
87. 1 August 1946 — Atomic Energy Act of 1946 Signed
    United States · Nuclear industry / public administration
88. 2 August 1946 — First Official Shipment of Reactor-Produced Radioisotopes Sent for Civilian Use
    United States · Nuclear industry / medicine
89. 1 September 1946 — Vickers Viking Enters Regular Service with British European Airways
    United Kingdom · Civil aviation
90. 3 October 1946 — Renault 4CV Publicly Unveiled at the Reopened Paris Motor Show
    France · Automotive industry / mass market