Vintage work crew photos

[baja]

As I understood it the propellant bags were made of silk, (originally), but now cotton or rayon, or other flammable material so as to be fully consumed during firing. Why would they employ a fibre that is designed to resist burning?

I went to work for a Naval Ammunition Depot after high school and during the ordnance worker training the propellant for the 16" naval guns was discussed since the components were stored there. I don`t remember what the the main bag was made of but each one had a red silk section sewed on the bottom that contained black powder which was what ignited the grains of smokeless powder in the main charge. The smokeless powder was extruded like rifle powders are although on a much larger scale, each grain being more than 2" long with longitudinal holes which controlled the burning rate.