During World War II, the infantry of warring parties was widely used incendiary means - to combat tanks and armored vehicles in the near battle, during the storming of fortified firepoints and structures, to create fireproof curtains, etc. The main nomenclature of these funds was carried out by Chemicals. The infantry used incendiary grenades, checkers and bottles.
Bottles with an incendiary mixture, with all the cheapness and simplicity of manufacture, proved their effectiveness during the civil war in Spain. In 1939, they were used by the Japanese on Khalkhin-goal and Finns in Karelia, they were also the main anti-tank agent of the Polish infantry in September 1939. "Incendiary bottles" were widely used by Soviet troops - in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War, with the most acute shortage of others PT-funds. However, they were used almost until the end of the war.
Already on July 7, 1941, the State Committee of Defense adopted a special decree "On anti-tank incendiary grenades (bottles)", which was obliged to organize the drug industry's drug industry from July 10, 1941. Equipment of liter glass bottles of fireproof recipe-6 of the ammunition of the ammunition. And the head of the Department of Military Chemical Protection of the Red Army (later - the main military-chemical management) was prescribed from July 14 to begin "Supplying the military units with manual incendiary grenades."
To this end, used mainly beer and vodka bottles, equipped with combustible mixtures No. 1 and No. 3. The components of these compositions served as aviation gasoline, kerosene, ligroin, thickened by oils or special Powder of OP-2, developed in 1939 under the direction of A.P. Ionova. The combustion time of such mixtures (usually had dark brown color) - 40-60 seconds., Developed temperature - 700-800 ° C. The mixtures were well wetted by metal surfaces and adhered to them, which was akin to Napalmu, which appeared in the United States in 1942.
The effectiveness of "bottles" was determined not only by the properties of the mixture, but also by the way its ignition. In the simplest version, the bottle was stuck in the plug, and before the throw, the fighter had to be replaced with a rag plug, moistened with gasoline, which then set fire.
The operation took a lot of time, making a "bottle" ineffective, and dangerous for the fighter himself. In another embodiment, two matches fixed on the neck of a rubber band could serve. Their fighter fit the grater or box. In August 1941, a more reliable chemical was soldered A.T. Konina, MA Shcheglova and P.S. Solodovnik: A ampoule with sulfuric acid, beverage salt and sugar powder was mounted for a bottle of rubber band. Skal flammped as soon as the ampoule was crashed with a bottle.
In order to increase the reliability of ignition when entering the target - and this was the main problem - the three-four ampoules were attached to the bottle around the circumference. Tula designer G. Korobov has developed a simple igniting mechanism with a single rifle cartridge. The most effective was the bottles, equipped with self-ignorant fluids of the COP and BGS, which were yellow-green solution with phosphorus and sulfur content. Fluids ignited simply from contact with air after breaking the bottle. The time of their combustion reached 2-3 minutes, the resulting temperature is 800-1000 ° C. It is these liquids that received a widely known nickname "Cocktail Molotov". In order to protect the fluid on contact with air to the use of the bottle, in the latter when equipped, the water layer and kerosene was poured on top, and the plug was additionally fed with a tape or wire. In the "winter" recipe included an additive, flammable and at a temperature of -40 ° C. For each bottle, the instructions were placed on use.
The liquid of the COP, by the way, was equipped with aviation tin ampoules AJ-2, applied against tanks by Soviet assault and bombarding aviation. They were thrown out of special cassettes.
On August 12, 1941, the drug defense approved "Instructions for the use of incendiary bottles". According to her, in the shelves and divisions, the formation and training of groups of fighters of tanks with grenades and incended bottles began, and it was the latter then the larger share of PT funds. And soon the use of bottles began to train all the personnel.
In memos to combat tanks next to the arrows, indicating the vulnerable places of the enemy tanks, except for the inscriptions "Bay shell" or "Bay Grenada", not quite ordinary "Bay Bottle" appeared. The incendiary bottles should have been throwing a motor compartment on the roof, and this was possible only when the tank approach is almost close or after the passage over the trench. The throw range was installed up to 30 m, but really accounted for 15, maximum - 20 m. Throwing bottles was successful from the trenches and cracks. The defeat of the tank experienced "fighters" spent an average of 2-3 bottles. The action of them outside the shelters led to great losses among the fighters.
Bottles were well combined with grenades. Tank fighters practiced such a reception: throwing PT-grenades or bundles of the pomegranate into the running part of the tank, and after his stop - throw the bottle on the stern. In this way, for example, on June 4, 1944, the ordinary 2nd regiment of the 50th rifle division R.S. Smishuk in battle near the mountain Rogluju under Yassas destroyed 6 German tanks. The incendiary bottles were also intended to defeat the fools and sucks, living strength in shelters and aircraft in the parking lots.
Bottles quickly became a familiar tool of partisans. They are widely used in the system of anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers. In the defensive battles near Moscow, "fire shafts" and "fields" were used. Fire shafts were arranged from various combustible materials and set fire to the "COP" bottles. In the mineral fields, the incendiary bottles have been in a checkerboard in combination with Pt mines. In the middle of the war, the practice of creating "flameamous fugas" was spread - about 20 bottles were laid around PT on the radius, which gave firefire during an explosion.
"Battle Account" is impressive. According to official data, during the war years with their help, there were a total of 2429 tanks, sau and armored vehicles, 1189 dollars and sucks, 2547 other fortifications, 738 cars and 65 military warehouses.
At the beginning of the war, a special rifle mortwark appeared in RKKA for throwing incendiary bottles with the help of wooden dust and idling, with an emphasis of the groove into the ground. Bottles for this were selected with thicker and durable glass. The target range of firing with a bottle of such a limit was 80 m, the maximum - 180 m, rapidity at the calculation of 2 people - 6-8 SECURITY / min. During the battles near Moscow, the rifle branch was striving to give two such mortyrs, the suspension - 6-8.
However, the accuracy of the "morty shooting" was low, the bottles were often broken at the moment of a shot, so that this method was not widely used. The morrti themselves were further fitted for throwing thermal checkers of a slow-acting type TZSH or smoke checkers - during shelling of dollars or sucks. And during the battles in Stalingrad at the Barricade Plant, "Botings" of the design of the worker IP were manufactured Inochna.
The so-called thermal balls applied by Soviet fighters are less known. These were really small balls, molded from thermite (iron oxide with aluminum), weighing 300 g, with simple grinding cast. The time of their combustion reached 1 min, the temperature is 2000-3000 ° C. Having a shelling ball for wearing a pocket or bag was simply wrapped with paper; He flashed almost instantly. It is clear that such a means, in contrast to the bottles of the COP, has not been used.
And how was the case in other armies? In the United States there was an incered grenade of ANM-14 with a metal cylindrical corps and standard remote fan-igniter M200-A1. Nevertheless, the Americans also used the "glass grenade" M3 with remote fake (with a safety check with a ring), fastened to a bottle with a metal rim. True, the anti-tank application of these grenades was not provided - they were intended for arson of structures, wooden bridges, aircraft on earth, etc.
Anyway, the "fighting grenades" used most armies. Bottles with phosphorus-containing mixture used the British. And the Polish Army Craiova during the Warsaw "Rebellion" in 1944 applied "bottles" in the form of spring catapult and machine crossing.
And even in our time, the incendiary bottles remain widespread improvisation not only by the "partisans", but also unnecessarily "demonstrators".
Felix Leonidov. Magazine "Weapon" №4, 2000