Incendiary device

An incendiary device is a device or weapon designed to create a fire.

Incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus. Napalm proper is no longer used by the United States, although the kerosene-fuel Mark 77 bomb is currently in use. The United States has admitted to using MK-77 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Incendiary bombs, also known as fire bombs, were used as an effective bombing weapon in WWII. The large bomb casing was filled with small sticks of incendiaries (bomblets), and designed to open at altitude, scattering the bomblets in order to cover a wide area. An explosive charge would then ignite the incendiary material, often starting a raging fire. The fire would burn at extreme temperatures that could destroy most buildings made of wood or other combustible materials (buildings constructed of stone tend to resist incendiary destruction unless they are first blown open by high explosives). Originally, incendiaries were developed in order to destroy the many small, decentralized war industries located (often intentionally) throughout vast tracts of city acreage in an effort to escape destruction by conventionally-aimed high-explosive bombs. Nevertheless, the civilian destruction caused by such weapons quickly earned them a reputation as terror weapons (ex. German terrorflieger) with the targeted populations, and more than a few shot-down aircrews were summarily executed by angry civilians upon capture. The bombing of Dresden in World War II, and to a lesser degree the 1943 bombing of Hamburg, and the fire-bombing of Tokyo remains a source of controversy to this day (though in the case of the latter, the effect on Tokyo's intentionally decentralized subcontractor war industry manufacturers was devastating).

Modern incendiary bombs usually contain thermite, made from aluminium and Iron (III) oxide. The most effective formula is 25% aluminium and 75% iron oxide. It takes very high temperatures to ignite, but when alight, it can burn through solid steel. In WWII, such devices were employed in incendiary grenades to burn through heavy armor plate, or as a quick welding mechanism to destroy artillery and other complex machined weapons.

White Phosphorus (WP) bombs and shells are essentially incendiary devices, and can be used in an offensive anti-personnel role against enemy troop concentrations. WP is also used for both signaling, smokescreens, and target-marking purposes. The U.S. Army and Marines used WP extensively in WWII and Korea for both purposes, frequently using WP shells in large 4.2-inch chemical mortars. WP was widely credited by many Allied soldiers for breaking up numerous Nazi infantry attacks and creating havoc among enemy troop concentrations during the latter part of WWII. The psychological impact of WP on the enemy was noted by many troop commanders in WWII, and captured 4.2-inch mortarmen were sometimes summarily executed by German forces in reprisal. In both WWII and Korea, WP was found particularly useful in overcoming enemy 'human wave' attacks.

Since white phosphorus can be used as a multi-purpose device to mark targets, destroy enemy personnel, or provide a smoke screen or signal to friendly troops, it is not covered by UN protocols on incendiary weapons when used in this fashion. In recent years, employment of WP weapons has declined with the increased effectiveness of modern proximity-fused anti-personnel and anti-armor fragmentation shells, bomblets, and missiles.

Use of aerial incendiary weapons against civilian populations, including against military targets in civilian areas, was banned (by signatory countries) in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol III. The USA has signed Articles I and II, but was not a signatory to Protocols III, IV, And V. By not signing these protocols it allows the United States to use incendiary devices against targets at their own discretion (excluding targeting civialian populations).

Incendiary device

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Further Reading