Lewes bomb

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The Lewes bomb was a blast-incendiary device, manufactured by mixing motor oil and Nobel 808 plastic explosive. It was created by Lieutenant Jock Lewes, one of the original members of L Detachment SAS in 1941. The SAS needed a combined incendiary and explosive device light enough to be carried by a small group of commandos yet powerful enough to destroy and set fire to planes on an enemy airfield.

The only available bomb at the time was too cumbersome to be carried by a paratrooper. Lewes experimented with various types of incendiary and explosive materials, using trial and error. His formula was a pound of plastic explosive, a quarter pound of thermite mixed with a bit of engine oil. Inside the mass was inserted a 2-ounce dry guncotton primer and detonator and a thirty-second fuse. The most common ignition method used was time pencils or pencil detonators. Others included release switches and pressure switches.