Editing Plastic explosive (section)

==History==
[[File:This image shows the pile of UXO and a box of the PE4 explosive, which was used to detonate the deadly munitions. MOD 45146241.jpg|thumb|right|PE4 sticks, used alongside the L3A1 slab version by the British armed forces prior to the adoption of the later L20A1 block/L21A1 slab PE7 and L22A1 slab PE8 explosives]]
The first plastic explosive was [[gelignite]], invented by [[Alfred Nobel]] in 1875.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/03/how-to/how-to-handle-gelignite|title=How to handle gelignite|last=Braddock|first=Kevin|date=3 February 2011|magazine=Wired Magazine|access-date=25 February 2012}}</ref> Prior to [[World War I]], the British explosives chemist [[Oswald Silberrad]] obtained British and U.S. patents for a series of plastic explosives called "Nitrols", composed of nitrated [[aromaticity|aromatics]], [[collodion]], and oxidising inorganic salts. The language of the patents indicate that at this time, Silberrad saw no need to explain to "those versed in the art" either what he meant by plasticity or why it may be advantageous, as he only explains why his plastic explosive is superior to others of that type.<ref>Silberrad, Oswald. (1914). ''Explosive'' (United States patent #1092758). United States Patent and Trademark Office. https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/1092758</ref>

One of the simplest plastic explosives was Nobel's Explosive No. 808, of the gelignite type, also known as ''Nobel 808'' (often just called ''Explosive 808'' in the [[British Armed Forces]] during the [[Second World War]]), developed by the British company [[Nobel Chemicals Ltd]] well before World War II. It had the appearance of green [[plasticine]] with a distinctive smell of almonds. During World War II it was extensively used by the British [[Special Operations Executive]] (SOE) at [[Aston House]] for sabotage missions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Station 12: Aston House - SOE's Secret Centre|last=Turner|first=Des|publisher=The History Press Ltd|year=2006|isbn=0750942770}}</ref> It is also the explosive used in [[High explosive squash head|HESH]] [[anti-tank]] shells and was an essential factor in the devising of the [[Gammon bomb|Gammon grenade]]. Captured SOE-supplied Nobel 808 was the explosive used in the failed [[20 July plot]] assassination attempt on [[Adolf Hitler]] in 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sep 1, 1939 - Nobel Chemicals LTD produces the plastic explosive, Nobel 808, for use in World War 2 (Timeline) |url=https://time.graphics/event/5234174 |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=time.graphics}}</ref>

During and after World War II a number of new [[RDX]]-based explosives were developed, including [[Composition C|Compositions C, C2, and eventually C3]]. Together with RDX, these incorporate various plasticizers to decrease sensitivity and make the composition plastic. The origin of the obsolete term "'''plastique'''" dates back to the Nobel 808 explosive introduced to the U.S. by the British in 1940. The samples of explosive brought to the U.S. by the [[Tizard Mission]] had already been packaged by the SOE ready for dropping via parachute container to the [[French Resistance]] and were therefore labeled in French, as ''Explosif Plastique''. It is still referred to by this name in France and also by some Americans.