Molotov cocktail

An ignited Molotov cocktail

The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb,or Molotov bomb, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons. Simple to make, they are frequently used by rioters.

The bombs were derisively named after Soviet Union Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov by the Finns during the Winter War.

Mechanism

In its simplest form, a Molotov cocktail is a glass bottle containing petrol fuel usually with a source of ignition such as a burning, fuel soaked, rag wick held in place by the bottle's stopper.

In action the fuse is lit and the bottle hurled at a target such as a vehicle or fortification. When the bottle smashes on impact, the ensuing cloud of petrol droplets and vapor are ignited, causing an immediate fireball followed by a raging fire as the remainder of the fuel is consumed.

Other flammable liquids such as wood alcohol and turpentine have been used in place of petrol. Thickening agents such as tar, sugar, animal blood, XPS foam, egg whites, motor oil, rubber cement, and dish soap have been added to the fuel, analogously to the use of napalm, to help the burning liquid adhere to the target and create clouds of thick choking smoke.

Development and use in war

The original design of Molotov cocktail produced by the Finnish alcohol monopoly ALKO during the Winter War of 1939-1940. The bottle has storm matches instead of a rag for a fuse.

During World War II, when Finland refused to surrender some strategic ports to the Soviet Union, the Soviets invaded in November 1939, after the Shelling of Mainila. The Finnish Army, facing Red Army tanks in what came to be known as the Winter War, borrowed an improvised incendiary device design from the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War. In that conflict, General Francisco Franco ordered Spanish Nationalists to use the weapon against Soviet T-26 tanks supporting the Spanish Republicans in a failed 1936 Soviet assault near Toledo, 30 km from Madrid.^[1]

When Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov claimed in radio broadcasts that the Soviet Union were not dropping bombs but rather delivering food to the starving Finns, the Finns started to call the air bombs Molotov bread baskets.^[2] Soon they responded by attacking advancing tanks with "Molotov cocktails". At first, the term was used to describe only the burning mixture itself, but in practical use the term was soon applied to the combination of both the bottle and its contents. This Finnish use of the hand- or sling-thrown explosive against Soviet tanks was repeated in the subsequent Continuation War. Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the Alko corporation at its Rajamäki distillery, bundled with matches to light them. Production totalled 450,000 during the Winter War. The original design of Molotov cocktail was a mixture of ethanol, tar and gasoline in a 750 ml bottle. The bottle had two long pyrotechnic storm matches attached to either side. Before use one or both of the matches was lit; when the bottle broke on impact, the mixture ignited. The storm matches were found to be safer to use than a burning rag on the mouth of the bottle.

A display of improvised munitions, including a Molotov cocktail, from the Warsaw Uprising, 1944.

They also saw use during the Nomonhan Incident, a border conflict ostensibly between Mongolia and Manchukuo that saw heavy fighting between Japanese and Soviet forces. Short of anti-tank equipment, Japanese infantry attacked Soviet tanks with gasoline-filled bottles. Japanese infantrymen claimed that several hundred Soviet tanks had been destroyed through the use of Molotov cocktails, though Soviet loss records do not support this assessment.^[3]

The Polish home army developed a version^[4] which ignited on impact thus avoiding the need to light the fuse before throwing. Ignition was caused by a reaction between concentrated sulfuric acid mixed with the fuel and a mixture of potassium chlorate and sugar which was crystalized from solution onto a rag attached to the bottle.

It should be noted while Molotov cocktails may be a psychologically effective method of disabling tanks and armoured vehicles by forcing the crew out or damaging external components, most modern tanks cannot be physically destroyed or rendered completely inoperable by Molotov cocktails; only "disabled". Most tanks and IFVs of the 21st century have specially designed Nuclear, Biological and Chemical protective systems that make them internally air-tight and sealed; well protected from vapors, gases, and liquids. Modern tanks possess very thick Composite Armour consisting of layers of steel, ceramics, plastics and Kevlar, which makes them extremely difficult to destroy by Molotov cocktails alone, as these materials have melting points well above the burning temperature of gasoline. Damaging external components such as optical systems, antennas, externally-mounted weapons systems or ventilation ports and openings is however possible and can make a tank virtually "blind" or allow burning gasoline to seep into the vehicle, forcing the crew to at least open the hatches or perhaps abandon the vehicle.

Use by civilians

A mural in Londonderry, Northern Ireland of a young boy in a gas mask holding a petrol bomb during the Battle of the Bogside, August 1969.

• Taiwanese rebels employed an early version of the Molotov cocktail, fuelled by kerosene, against Japanese police forces during the anti-colonial Ta-pa-ni Incident in 1915.^[5]
• Molotov cocktails played a role in the Hungarian revolution. It was the only anti-tank weapon widely available that could disable the Soviet T-34 tanks.
• Molotov cocktails were used in Prague to express disapproval of the invading Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia in 1968 (see Prague Spring for details).
• Petrol bombs were widely used throughout the Troubles in Northern Ireland in riots, directed towards the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) or the British Army. As of 2007 petrol bombs are still used against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI, formerly the RUC) and army.^[6] They are frequently used in sectarian attacks on homes and businesses by both communities. Fireworks and homemade grenades, known as blast bombs now commonly accompany petrol bomb attacks on the security forces.
• In 1980s, South Korean protesters used Molotov cocktails as a tool to fight against the notorious combat police and the government of Chun Doo-hwan.
• During the Oldham Riots on 26 May 2001 in Oldham, England, petrol bombs were the primary projectile used by youths against riot police.
• During the Columbine High School massacre, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold built and threw several Molotov cocktails; none of them ignited successfully.
• Molotov cocktails were also employed against the police during the recent Copenhagen March-riots and during the Cigar Box riot (May 14th 2007) in Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Molotov cocktails have been used by the Palestinians against the Israel Defence Forces and Israeli civilians. In 1988-1989 6 Israeli civilians and a soldier on leave were killed by these weapons.
• Molotov cocktails are being used by the different Lebanese political parties' in the current street conflicts in Beirut.
• During the Apartheid Era in the Republic of South Africa, Molotov cocktails were used against the South African Police Force and South African Defence Force.
• In France, there were also rumors during the closing days of the Paris Commune in 1871 of lower-class women known as pétroleuses, who reportedly committed arson against private property and public buildings by throwing bottles full of petroleum or paraffin into cellars. Though the story was later disproved and is believed to have been anti-Commune propaganda, it was still widely believed until the 20th century.
• The Los Angeles riots of 1992 involved extensive use of Molotov cocktails by rioters, leading to entire city blocks in the South Central area being burnt down.

In counter-cultural and other publications

Molotov cocktail recipe from the CIA's The Freedom Fighter's Manual, 1980s.

In Steal This Book, Abbie Hoffman recommended the reader to make a Molotov cocktail "just to wipe the fear out of your mind and know that it works".

In The Freedom Fighter's Manual, the CIA taught Nicaraguan civilians how to make Molotov cocktails.^[7]

Legality

As incendiary devices, Molotov cocktails are illegal to manufacture or possess in many regions. Their use against people is typically covered under a variety of charges, including battery, actual or grievous bodily harm, manslaughter, attempted murder, and murder, depending upon their effect and upon local laws. Their use against property is usually covered under arson charges. In the United States, Molotov cocktails are considered "destructive devices" and regulated by the ATF.

See also

• No. 76 Special Incendiary Grenade
• Molotov bread basket
• Pétroleuses
• The Freedom Fighter's Manual

References

Further reading

• A detailed technology of the Molotov cocktail
• History of the Molotov cocktail
• Myths and Molotovs