Incendiary ammunition contains a compound that burns rapidly and causes fires.[1]
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One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of this bullet was only 350 yards (320 m), as most of the phosphorus would burn out by then.[2] Incendiary rounds (called 'Buckingham' ammunition) were supplied to early British night fighters, for use against zeppelins trying to bomb the British Isles. Filled with flammable hydrogen gas, the Zeppelins were susceptible to fire (non-incendiary rounds would pass through without igniting the gas). Similarly, incendiary ammunition was used against non-rigid observation balloons.[3] In the British Royal Flying Corps it was forbidden to use incendiary rounds for air-to-air combat with another airplane; only if balloons were being attacked was incendiary ammunition allowed, the pilot was restricted to shooting the balloon itself (rather than the crew), and the pilot was required to carry on his person written orders to carry out a balloon attack using such ammunition,[4] as the use of such ammunition against personnel was at first considered to be a violation of the St. Petersburg Declaration.
During World War II, incendiary rounds found a new use: they became one of the preferred types of ammunition for use in interceptor fighters. They were not nearly as effective at puncturing enemy bomber aircraft as armor piercing rounds, but were far more effective than standard rounds because they could also ignite fuel when they came into contact with a fuel tank or pipeline.[5] Incendiary rounds were developed in Britain following the failure of a Swiss-developed incendiary (De Wilde ammunition) when it was tested for use in the new 8 machine gun fighters being brought into service (the Hurricane and Spitfire). A round with similar incendiary capabilities was developed by Major Dixon at the Woolwich Arsenal, and was adopted by the UK forces as the 0.303 Incendiary B Mark VI. It was initially called 'De Wilde' ammunition, even though the design was almost entirely changed. The B Mark VI incendiary bullet was packed with nitrocellulose and a small steel ball was placed inside the tip of the bullet to ensure that impact would cause the nitrocellulose to explode on impact; the M Mark VI was a true incendiary round rather than a tracer round.[6]
One fighter pilot, who was shot down by incendiary rounds while flying in the Battle of Britain, describes his experience:[7]
"I could smell powder smoke, hot and strong, but it didn't make me feel tough this time. It was from the cannon shells and incendiary bullets that had hit my machine...Bullets were going between my legs, and I remember seeing a bright flash of an incendiary bullet going past my leg into the gas tank...Then a little red tongue licked out inquiringly from under the gas tank in front of my feet and became a hot little bonfire in one corner of the cockpit."
According to Joseph Folino of the 691st Tank Destroyer Battalion, he and his men were equipped with both high-velocity armor piercing and incendiary shells. When they mistakenly fired an incendiary shell at a tank, he described it as "the best thing that could have happened." The phosphorus exploded inside the tank, and raised the temperature so much that its crew surrendered immediately. He also said that their phosphorus rounds could burn through anything, even steel.[8] Phosphorus rounds also became a favorite of tankers, who used them both in the Normandy hedgerows and to deal with larger German tanks. Phosphorus rounds could easily clear out machine gun nests, or other light emplacements. American tankers also discovered that a phosphorus round that struck near the air intakes of a German tank engine would fill the interior with smoke, fooling the crew into believing their vehicle was aflame and abandoning it.
Incendiary projectiles, in particular those intended for armor penetration, are more effective if they explode after penetrating a surface layer, so as to explode inside the target. Additionally, targets with onboard electronics or computers can be damaged by metal fragments when they explode on the surface. Ignition is often delayed by varying means until after impact.[1]
Some explosive projectiles, such as high-explosive incendiary rounds, contain an incendiary charge, intended to ignite explosives within the shell.[1]