Fire, Greek

Great Salt Lake Greek fire Green acids Green beer... 

Interest in naphtha (nafta) began with the discovery that petroleum could be used as an illuminant and as a supplement to bituminous incendiaries, which were becoming increasingly common in warfare. Greek fire was a naphtha—bitumen (or naphtha—asphalt) mix the naphtha provided the flame and the bitumen (or asphalt) provided the adhesive properties that prolonged the incendiary effect. 

Historically, military pyrotechnics had rheir origin as incendiaries. The Bible refers to the use of firebrands (Judges 15 4, 5) and to the action of water on naphtha and burnt lime (II Maccabees 20—36) (I Kings 18 31—38). Such self-igniting systems were known as automatic fire (Ref 130, p 5) and culminated in Greek Fire (Vo 7j HI 17). Crucial to the further develop-... 

General Refs 129) G.H. Custard, G. Francis W. Schnackenberg, Small Arms Incendiary Ammunition , Frankford Arsenal Report No R-1407, Vol 1-4 (Dec 1956), AD 159 322 130) J.R. Partington, A History of Greek Fire and Gun Powder , W. Heffer and Sons, Cambridge (1960) 131) Anon, EngrgDesHndbk,... 

Karpenko, Vladimir. Greek Fire in a Czech alchemical manuscript. Centaurus 30 (1987) 240-244. 

Partington, J. R., A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Heffer, Cambridge, 1960. Watts, H. E., The Law Relating to Explosives. Griffin, London, 1954. 

Much of the early use of chemical energy involved military applications. "Greek fire," first reported in the 7th century A.D., was probably a blend of sulfur, organic fuels, and saltpeter that generated flames and dense fumes when ignited. It was used in a variety of incendiary ways in both sea and land battles and added a new dimension to military science [2]. 

Greek fire and rocket-type devices were also discussed in these writings. 

The introduction of explosives into Europe followed the Mohammedan invasion. Greek fire, into the composition of which nitre and sulfur entered, was used prior to the fall of the Western Roman Empire (prior to AD 284)... 

AD. On the basis of advice given by Kallinikos of Heliopolis in Syria, an incendiary of secret formula known now as Greek Fire or Sea Fire. Fire was used by the Byzantine fleet to annihilate the Caliphate Navy (Ref 11, p 12)... 

Note Accdg to Marshall 1 (Ref 11, p 12), Col Hime in his book listed here as Ref 4, came to the conclusion that, besides naphtha, sulfur and pitch, there must have been quicklime in mixture, which on coming in contact with sea water turned into slaked lime whilst raising the temperature to the point of ignition of sulfur. Greek Fire mixture was discharged from tubes or siphons located in the bows of the ships, against the... 

Later the name Greek Fire was given also to combustible materials which were ignited and then thrown by ballista or other machines. 

Moslem Arabs (of Caliphate) were defeated at the walls of Constantinople by defenders using Greek Fire (Ref 58, p 14)... 

The Arabs of Caliphate again appeared before Constantinople with 1800 ships, but again were defeated by Greek Fire (Ref 11, p 12) 904. Accdg to Greener (Ref 7, p 14), it was recorded that Gunpowder was used by the Saracens at Thessalonica... 

Russian fleet was defeated at the siege of Constantinople by means of Greek Fire (Ref 11, p 12)... 

Prior to 1300. The Arabs introduced saltpeter in their Greek Fire and other incendiaries. In Europe saltpeter was more scarce than in Africa and Asia (Ref 11, p 17)... 

Ho-pao. A kind of incendiary charge resembling Greek fire, employed by the Mongols in the 13th century Ref Daniel (1902) 377... 

Ignis Volatilis. (Flying Fire) (Feu volant in French). A kind of Greek fire used militarily,... 

A much more effective mixture was the one invented in 668 AD by Kallinikos and called Greek Fire (see below) or Sea Fire. The exact formula of the original composition is not known because the Greeks kept it a secret. However, it seems that it contained, besides the combustible materials such as naphtha, pitch and sulfur, some oxidizer, which could have been saltpeter. This mixture was liquid that was discharged against the enemy either from pots, tubes or siphons, installed in the bows of ships. The moment the liquid came in contact with the water it was ignited. This device was so effective that it caused several defeats of the Arabic fleets in the 7th and 8th centuries, of the Russian fleet in 941 and 1043 and saved Constantinople several times from invaders. Greek... 

Ref J.R. Partington, "A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder", W. Heffer, Cambridge, Engl (I960)... 

There can be no doubt that the nitrum of ancient writings must have been in some cases an alkaline carbonate, which in their nomenclature was confused with saltpetre. It is not known when saltpetre was definitely recognized as something different from the ordinary nitrum. It is commonly supposed that saltpetre was a component of Greek fire invented near the end of the seventh century. The first definite reference to saltpetre appears in literature in connection with the preparation of gunpowder. Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon, of the thirteenth century, both refer to this salt, and probably both derived their information from... 

A very detailed study of the history of Greek fire and blackpowder was published more recently by Partington [2]. The book, which is amply provided with full quotations from the original source is the most authoritative and extensive work on the subject. 

J. R. Partington, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, Hoffer Sons, Cambridge, 1960. 

Various projectiles and mixtures for use in wTarfare— Greek fires, grenades, mines and countermines,—are de-... 

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