Molotov cocktail

Molotov cocktail (petrol bomb) is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. Commonly associated with irregular military forces and rioters, they are more frequently used for basic arson.

Composition

A Molotov cocktail (or petrol bomb) consists of a glass bottle partly filled with flammable liquid, usually petrol (gasoline) or alcohol (generally methanol or ethanol). The mouth of the bottle is stoppered with a cork or other type of airtight bung (rubber, glass, or plastic), and a cloth rag is fixed securely around the mouth. The weapon is used by first soaking the rag in a flammable liquid immediately prior to using it, lighting the rag, and throwing the bottle at the target. The bottle shatters on impact, spilling the flammable liquid over the target, which is then ignited by the burning rag.

Related Topics:
Cocktail - Bottle - Petrol - Alcohol - Methanol - Ethanol - Bung - Rag

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Common practice is to throw several unlit, full bottles to saturate an area, then finish with a lit one. This avoids some of the risk of throwing several lit devices (the enemy sees the flaming bottles approaching and knows which direction to start shooting, possibility of missing, dropping the device after lit, etc)

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Many substances may be added to the basic Molotov cocktail to enhance its use as a weapon:

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• Self-inflammatory materials (such as white phosphorus) may be used to guarantee the bottle's explosion as it hits the target surface.
• Tar, palm oil, laundry detergent, liquid dish soap, dissolved polystyrene, sugar or other thickening agents are often added to make the burning fluid stick to the target. Tar also helps to make a thick black smoke. In their wars with the Soviet Union, Finnish soldiers often used hand soap suds and tar for this purpose.
• Acid may be added to increase both the damage from the explosive device and its ability to penetrate fire-resistant surfaces.
• According to some sources, the addition of a few tablespoons of simple unbleached flour increases heat output.

Molotov cocktails are similar to napalm bombs in principle. Napalm (short for naphthenic palmitic acids) was originally made by combining flammable naphthalene and petrol with thickening agent palmitic acid, the latter two being the main ingredients of Molotov cocktails.

Related Topics:
Napalm - Naphthalene - Palmitic acid

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