Incendiary device

An incendiary device used to be a mass compressed or melted from easily inflammable and fire-promoting substances such as saltpeter , sulfur , flour powder , rosin and pitch (in earlier times also cut tow ). After it was ignited, a relatively large flame developed with such a high temperature that all combustible materials that could be reached through it were set on fire. Incendiary devices were earlier for filling fire balls , fire balls and incendiary bombs used.

Nowadays, the term also stands for the phosphorus-containing filling of tracer ammunition or part of the filling of explosive ammunition . The term is also used as a synonym for an unconventional explosive and incendiary device or a Molotov cocktail to carry out an arson attack .

Web links

• Experiments on chemical igniters of medieval war fires based on calcium oxide (accessed April 6, 2020)
• Artillery and explosives. (accessed on April 6, 2020)