Smoke and incendiary munitions

In the case of a combined incendiary shell hke white phosphorus, this booster could spew burning material over a considerable distance. Typical Level A or B suits would provide little protection to workers. A 4.2-in. white phosphorous mortar shell will ignite easily combustible materials and cause casualties within a 40-yard diameter. In addition, a booster detonation from a smoke round or heat from a phosphorus shell could detonate nearby UXO. 

The thought of a truckload of defused UXO being transported to Fort Letterkenny, Pennsylvania, for detonation and having a rusty phosphorous round with the Explosive D filled projectiles is not comforting. White phosphorus UXO should be transported in a sealed container of water. 

Since World War I, the known smoke and incendiary fillers are hsted in Table 5.4. 

---

In some cases, these devices are able to positively identify the chemical constituents inside a steel shell. They can locate plastic land mines by the same technique, for that matter. They save valuable time in eliminating the careful handhng of expended ordnance. Neutron beams can identify chemical, explosive, smoke, and incendiary munitions, each of which may require special handling. 

Military pyrotechnics are closely connected with the field of military explosives they are used in many special types of ammunition and munition and also in such devices as flares, rockets, and smoke pots. With the tremendous development of the military air forces the importance of obscuring smokes and incendiary activities has been greatly... 

Chemical Warfare is a term meant to include the employment of artificial smoke, flame, and incendiary munitions as well as gas offensive and defensive munitions. While the practice at the time of this writing is to refer to the "employment of chemical weapons rather than to "chemical warfare, the latter term is appropriate to a World War II setting, and the term "chemicals retains its inclusive World War II meaning. 

Most Western assessments appear to accept that the role of the VKhV is defensive and technical. Professor John Erickson - no sceptic on the subject of the Soviet CBW capability - states, The chemical warfare troops do not themselves wage chemical warfare that is, they are not responsible for the delivery of chemical munitions .Charles Dick, of the Soviet Studies section at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, describes their role as reconnaissance, monitoring radioactive contamination of personnel, decontamination of troops, equipment and terrain, and other special measures . (This covers smoke and incendiaries.) He stresses that their task runs wider than the basics of defence against chemical weapons Soviet chemical troops have the task of increasing the Soviet Army s ability to survive the effects of weapons of mass destruction of all kinds, nuclear, chemical or biological (bacteriological). " This is borne out by the remarks of General Manets referred to above. 

Compared to the amount of organization and effort involved in defensive training, that devoted to offensive chemical warfare was relatively limited. Policy in this field was frequently reviewed by the War Department General Staff. Standard procedure was that chemical weapons developed for the U.S. Army should be produced "with a view to employment by one or more of the combatant branches (that is, by Infantry, Field Artillery, Air Corps, etc.). For such materiel, the CWS was in theory a producer and supplier only. But the Chemical Warfare Service was never content merely to purvey. It took the view that the stocks of smoke, incendiary, and gas munitions were specialties, the merits of which might be overlooked if not adequately utilized. Hence an important function of CWS officers detailed to the faculties of special service schools and the Command and General Staff School was to further the introduction of chemical warfare situations into instructional problems and at the same time assist in the development of doctrine covering the employment of chemical munitions by the several combat arms. The Chief, CWS, selected instructors for assignment to those schools with the utmost care. 

Colored smoke munitions were of small importance when compared to the CWS s 4,2-inch chemical mortars, mechanical smoke generators, incendiary bombs, toxic agents, gas masks, and other items, but they proved their usefulness in special situations and contributed to the success of American troops throughout the war. 

Among the offensive munitions which the CWS procured in World War II were incendiaries of various types, 4.2 inch mortars and shells, flame throwers, smoke, and smoke munitions. 

The primary source of perchlorate is the ammonium salt. Ammonium perchlorate is the oxidizer ingredient in solid propellant mixtures for rockets, missiles, and munitions. Other uses of perchlorate salts include medicine, matches, metal cation chemistry, and pyrotechnics (illuminating and signaling flares, colored and white smoke generators, tracers, incendiary delays, fuses, photo-flash compounds, and... 

A pulsed neutron beam can penetrate the casing of munitions and identify the filler contents, be it explosive, chemical agent, incendiary, or smoke. This is a one-sided device, unlike an x-ray, and requires a minimum of disturbance to the item. In fact, the item does not need to be dug to the point of being visible. It is absolutely necessary for any ordnance remediation work, and it should be part of any health and safety plan. 

At the end of May, Shadle expressed his satisfaction with the chemical offensive potential and ammunition status in the North African theater. His view seems to have been overly optimistic since smoke pots, tear gas, and HC smoke grenades were the only ammunition items available in sufficient supply. All the chemical supply officers reported urgent requests for unavailable white phosphorus grenades. The Twelfth Air Force reported limited quantities of ANM50A1 4-pound incendiary bombs, a few Mja yoo-pound incendiary bomb clusters, and a considerable number of My4 loo-pound incendiary bomb clusters. There was no other chemical ammunition in the theater although the New York port had promised that 120 days supply of high explosive and smoke shell was en route for the three chemical mortar battalions which had recently arrived in the theater. Aside from a small amount of artillery shell stored by Ordnance, no toxics were available in the theater and none was scheduled to arrive until the fall of 1943. The March theater plan for gas warfare, the first such plan, was based on meeting possible enemy gas attack with this plainly inadequate supply of artillery shell. The new War Department policy for retaliation in event of enemy initiation of gas warfare called for the use of aerial munitions as the principal gas weapons. Shadle s satisfaction with the toxic supply status can be explained by the fact that he did not con-... 

Another development that facilitated preparations for chemical warfare under the Munitions Program was the receipt of pertinent information from the British. The assistant military attache in London in the emergency period, a CWS officer, obtained access to data on development and production methods for chemical warfare items, on British smoke operations for screening critical installations, on the effects of incendiary bombing, and on the types of German incendiaries dropped on London. 

---