Editing Molotov cocktail (section)

== Development and use in war ==
=== Spanish Civil War ===
{{See also|Battle of Seseña}}
[[File:Spanish civil war molotov cocktail.png|thumb|right|Monarchists during the Spanish Civil War with fire bottle]]

Improvised incendiary devices of this type were used in warfare for the first time in the [[Spanish Civil War]] between July 1936 and April 1939,<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |author-link=Hugh Thomas (writer) |year=1994 |orig-date=1986 |title=The Spanish Civil War |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=468 |isbn=0-671-75876-4 |oclc=29184912}}</ref> before they became known as "Molotov cocktails". In 1936, General [[Francisco Franco]] ordered [[Francoist Spain|Spanish Nationalist forces]] to use the weapon against Soviet [[T-26]] tanks supporting the [[Second Spanish Republic|Spanish Republicans]] in a failed assault on the Nationalist stronghold of [[Seseña]], near [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Madrid]].<ref name="Trotter">{{cite book |last=Trotter |first=William |author-link=William R. Trotter |title=Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–40 |publisher=[[Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill]], Marshall Kregel |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-945575-22-1 |chapter=History of the Molotov Cocktail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530031219/http://www.kevos4.com/Molotov_Cocktail.htm |archive-date=30 May 2006 |chapter-url=http://www.kevos4.com/Molotov_Cocktail.htm}}</ref> After that, both sides used simple petrol bombs set fire with toxic gas or petrol-soaked [[blanket]]s with some success. [[Tom Wintringham]], a veteran of the [[International Brigade]]s, later publicised his recommended method of using them:

{{Blockquote|We made use of "petrol bombs" roughly as follows: take a 2lb glass jam jar. Fill with petrol. Take a heavy curtain, half a blanket, or some other heavy material. Wrap this over the mouth of the jar, tie it round the neck with string, leave the ends of the material hanging free. When you want to use it have somebody standing by with a light [i.e., a source of ignition]. Put a corner of the material down in front of you, turn the bottle over so that petrol soaks out round the mouth of the bottle and drips on to this corner of the material. Turn the bottle right way up again, hold it in your right hand, most of the blanket bunched beneath the bottle, with your left hand take the blanket near the corner that is wetted with petrol. Wait for your tank. When near enough, your pal [or comrade-in-arms] lights the petrol soaked corner of the blanket. Throw the bottle and blanket as soon as this corner is flaring. (You cannot throw it far.) See that it drops in front of the tank. The blanket should catch in the tracks or in a cog-wheel, or wind itself round an axle. The bottle will smash, but the petrol should soak the blanket well enough to make a really healthy fire which will burn the rubber wheels on which the tank track runs, set fire to the carburettor or frizzle the crew. Do not play with these things. They are highly dangerous.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Against Invasion – the lessons of Spain |journal=Picture Post |date=15 June 1940 |pages=9–24}}</ref>}}

=== Khalkhin Gol ===
The [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol|Battle of Khalkhin Gol]], a border conflict of 1939 ostensibly between [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]] and [[Manchukuo]], saw heavy fighting between [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese]] and [[Red Army|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 this way, though Soviet loss records do not support this assessment.<ref>[[Alvin Coox|Coox, Alvin]]. ''Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939'', 1990</ref>

=== World War II ===

==== Finland ====
[[File:Kasapano.jpg|thumb|right|Finnish soldiers in the [[Winter War]]. Tanks were destroyed with satchel charges and Molotov cocktails. The bottle has [[Match#Varieties of matches today|storm matches]] instead of a rag for a [[fuse (explosives)|fuse]].]]
On 30 November 1939, the [[Soviet Union]] attacked Finland, starting what came to be known as the [[Winter War]]. The [[Finnish Army|Finnish]] perfected the design and tactical use of the petrol bomb. The fuel for the Molotov cocktail was refined to a slightly sticky mixture of alcohol, [[kerosene]], [[tar]], and [[potassium chlorate]]. Further refinements included the attachment of wind-proof matches or a phial of chemicals that would ignite on breakage, thereby removing the need to pre-ignite the bottle, and leaving the bottle about one-third empty was found to make breaking more likely.{{sfn|Trotter|2003|p=73}}

A British [[War Office]] report dated June 1940 noted that:
{{blockquote|The Finns' policy was to allow the Russian tanks to penetrate their defences, even inducing them to do so by 'canalising' them through gaps and concentrating their small arms fire on the infantry following them. The tanks that penetrated were taken on by gun fire in the open and by small parties of men armed with explosive charges and petrol bombs in the forests and villages... The essence of the policy was the separation of the [[Armoured fighting vehicle|AFVs]] from the infantry, as once on their own the tank has many blind spots and once brought to a stop can be disposed of at leisure.<ref>Anti-tank measures; adoption and production of sticky bomb&nbsp;– [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/ExternalRequest.asp?RequestReference=WO185/1 WO 185/1], [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]</ref>}}

Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the [[Alko]] corporation at its [[Rajamäki (village)|Rajamäki distillery]], bundled with [[match]]es to light them.<ref name="ilkka">{{cite web |last=Sirén |first=Ilkka |title=Finland's National Booze Is Bottled in a Former Molotov Cocktail Factory |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/finlands-national-booze-is-bottled-in-a-former-molotov-cocktail-factory/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |website=vice.com |date=7 December 2017 |publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20230429070456/https://www.vice.com/en/article/9kdbyv/finlands-national-booze-is-bottled-in-a-former-molotov-cocktail-factory |archive-date=29 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> A {{convert|500|ml|abbr=on|USqt}} bottle was filled with a mixture of petrol and paraffin, plus a small amount of tar. The basic bottle had two long [[pyrotechnic]] [[Match#Varieties of matches today|storm matches]] attached to either side. Before use, one or both of the matches were 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. There was also an "A bottle". This replaced the matches with a small ampoule inside the bottle; it ignited when the bottle broke. By spring 1940 they had produced 542,104 bottles.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Heinonen |first=Keijo |date=2005 |title=Who Invented the Molotov Cocktail? |url=https://www.sshs.fi/pdf/Sotahistoriallinen%20aikakauskirja%2024%202005.pdf |journal=Sotahistoriallinen Aikakauskirja |issue=24 |page=151 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130033812/https://www.sshs.fi/pdf/Sotahistoriallinen%20aikakauskirja%2024%202005.pdf |archive-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>

==== Great Britain ====
[[File:A squad of Home Guard soldiers training to defend a street with 'Molotov cocktail' petrol bombs, March 1941. H8128.jpg|thumb|right|A squad of Home Guard soldiers training to defend a street with 'Molotov cocktail' petrol bombs]]

Early in 1940, with [[British anti-invasion preparations of World War II|the prospect of immediate invasion]], the possibilities of the petrol bomb gripped the imagination of the British public. For laypersons, the petrol bomb had the benefit of using entirely familiar and available materials,{{sfn|Wintringham|1940| p=60}} and they were quickly improvised in large numbers, with the intention of using them against enemy [[tank]]s.<ref>{{cite video |date=1 August 1940 |title=Cocktails A La Molotov&nbsp;– News item about British Home Guard training |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/47736/|medium=Newsreel |publisher=British Pathé |access-date=2010-09-09}}</ref>

The Finns had found that they were effective when used in the right way and in sufficient numbers. Although the experience of the Spanish Civil War received more publicity, the more sophisticated petroleum warfare tactics of the Finns were not lost on British commanders. In his 5 June address to [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|LDV]] leaders, [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|General Ironside]] said:

{{blockquote|I want to develop this thing they developed in Finland, called the "Molotov cocktail", a bottle filled with resin, petrol and tar which if thrown on top of a tank will ignite, and if you throw half a dozen or more on it you have them cooked. It is quite an effective thing. If you can use your ingenuity, I give you a picture of a [road] block with two houses close to the block, overlooking it. There are many villages like that. Out of the top windows is the place to drop these things on the tank as it passes the block. It may only stop it for two minutes there, but it will be quite effective.{{sfn|Graves|1943|p=71}}}}

Wintringham advised that a tank that was isolated from supporting infantry was potentially vulnerable to men who had the required determination and cunning to get close. Rifles or even a shotgun would be sufficient to persuade the crew to close all the hatches, and then the view from the tank is very limited; a turret-mounted machine gun has a very slow traverse and cannot hope to fend off attackers coming from all directions. Once sufficiently close, it is possible to hide where the tank's gunner cannot see: "The most dangerous distance away from a tank is 200 yards; the safest distance is six inches."<ref name="PP 15 June 1940 p14" >Wintringham, Tom. Against Invasion&nbsp;– the lessons of Spain. Picture Post 15 June 1940 p. 14.</ref> Petrol bombs will soon produce a pall of blinding smoke, and a well-placed explosive package or even a stout iron bar in the tracks can immobilise the vehicle, leaving it at the mercy of further petrol bombs&nbsp;– which will suffocate the engine and possibly the crew&nbsp;– or an explosive charge or anti-tank mine.

By August 1940, the [[War Office]] produced training instructions for the creation and use of Molotov cocktails. The instructions suggested scoring the bottles vertically with a diamond to ensure breakage and providing fuel-soaked rag, windproof matches or a length of cinema film (then composed of highly flammable [[nitrocellulose]]) as a source of ignition.<ref>War Office. Military Training Manual No 42, Appendix A: The Anti-Tank Petrol Bomb "Molotov Cocktail." 29 August 1940.</ref>

On 29 July 1940, manufacturers Albright & Wilson of Oldbury demonstrated to the RAF how their white phosphorus could be used to ignite incendiary bombs. The demonstration involved throwing glass bottles containing a mixture of petrol and [[phosphorus]] at pieces of wood and into a hut. On breaking, the phosphorus was exposed to the air and spontaneously ignited; the petrol also burned, resulting in a fierce fire. Because of safety concerns, the RAF was not interested in [[White phosphorus munitions|white phosphorus]] as a source of ignition, but the idea of a self-igniting petrol bomb took hold. Initially known as an A.W. bomb, it was officially named the [[No. 76 special incendiary grenade|No. 76 Grenade]], but more commonly known as the SIP (Self-Igniting Phosphorus) grenade. The perfected list of ingredients was white phosphorus, [[benzene]], water and a two-inch strip of raw rubber; all in a half-pint bottle sealed with a [[Crown cork|crown stopper]].<ref name="WO MTM42 B p. 25" >War Office. Military Training Manual No 42, Appendix B: The Self-Igniting Phosphorus Grenade, The AW Grenade. 29 August 1940, p. 25.</ref> Over time, the rubber would slowly dissolve, making the contents slightly sticky, and the mixture would separate into two layers&nbsp;– this was intentional, and the grenade should not be shaken to mix the layers, as this would only delay ignition.<ref>Handbook for the Projectors, 2½ inch, Marks I & II September 1941. p. 26.</ref> When thrown against a hard surface, the glass would shatter and the contents would instantly ignite, liberating choking fumes of [[phosphorus pentoxide]] and [[sulfur dioxide]] as well as producing a great deal of heat.<ref name="WO MTM42 B p. 25" /> Strict instructions were issued to store the grenades safely, preferably underwater and certainly never in a house.<ref name="WO MTM42 B p. 25" /> Mainly issued to the [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]] as an anti-tank weapon, it was produced in vast numbers; by August 1941 well over 6,000,000 had been manufactured.<ref>Northover Projectors&nbsp;– [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/ExternalRequest.asp?RequestReference=WO185/23 WO 185/23], [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]</ref>

There were many who were sceptical about the efficacy of Molotov cocktails and SIPs grenades against the more modern German tanks. Weapon designer [[Stuart Macrae (inventor)|Stuart Macrae]] witnessed a trial of the SIPs grenade at [[Farnborough Airfield|Farnborough]]: "There was some concern that, if the tank drivers could not pull up quickly enough and hop out, they were likely to be frizzled to death, but after looking at the bottles they said they would be happy to take a chance."{{sfn|Macrae|1971|p=120}} The drivers were proved right, trials on modern British tanks confirmed that Molotov and SIP grenades caused the occupants of the tanks "no inconvenience whatsoever."{{sfn|Macrae|1971|pp=84–85}}

Wintringham, though enthusiastic about improvised weapons, cautioned against a reliance on petrol bombs and repeatedly emphasised the importance of using explosive charges.<ref>Wintringham, Tom. Against Invasion&nbsp;– the lessons of Spain. Picture Post 15 June 1940 pp. 9–24.</ref>{{sfn|Wintringham|1940|p=59}}

==== United States ====
The U.S. army designated Molotov cocktails as frangible grenades. They presented a notable amount of variations, from those that used thin fuel with varied ignition systems, to those that used obscurants and [[chemical weapon]]s. Various frangible grenade designs were developed, with those investiged by the NDRC showing the highest technological level. These incendiary devices employed the most technologically advanced fillers in the conflict.

The [[M1 Frangible Grenade|M1 frangible grenade]] was the standard US device, but each division of the army could come up with its own. Two non-industrial models of these grenades were developed and manufactured in a certain quantity. In all, about five thousand were manufactured.<ref>Report of the New Weapons Board. pp. 135–136. 27 April 1944.</ref> The frangible grenades featured standardized chemical igniters, some were specific to each flammable filler.

Most of the frangible devices were made in an improvised way, with no standardization regarding the bottle and filling.<ref name=":0">OP 1664. Vol 2. pp. 308–310</ref> The frangible grenades were eventually declared obsolete,<ref name=":0" /> due to the very limited destructive effect.<ref>TOP 2-2-617. 30 January 1975. p. 21.</ref>

1107 frangible, M1, NP type were supplied to the navy and its units for field use at [[Iwo Jima]].<ref>Assistance Rendered to the Navy and Marines. Part 8</ref> The [[United States Marine Corps]] developed a version during [[World War II]] that used a tube of [[nitric acid]] and a lump of metallic [[sodium]] to ignite a mixture of petrol and diesel fuel.<ref name="O'Kane">{{cite book |author=O'Kane, Richard |title=Wahoo: The Patrols of America's Most Famous WWII Submarine |publisher=Presidio Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-89141-572-6 |page=184}}</ref>

==== Other fronts of World War II ====
The [[Home Army|Polish Home Army]] developed a version<ref>{{cite web |last=Stolarski |first=Rafal E. |title=The Production of Arms and Explosive Materials by the Polish Home Army in the Years 1939–1945 |url=http://www.polishresistance-ak.org/25%20Article.htm |access-date=30 June 2007 |website=polishresistance-ak.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319005130/http://www.polishresistance-ak.org/25%20Article.htm |archive-date=19 March 2023}}</ref> which ignited on impact without the need of a wick. Ignition was caused by a reaction between concentrated [[sulfuric acid]] mixed with the fuel and a mixture of [[potassium chlorate]] and sugar which was [[Crystallization|crystallized]] from solution onto a rag attached to the bottle.

During the [[Norwegian campaign]] in 1940 the Norwegian Army lacking suitable anti-tank weaponry had to rely on petrol bombs and other improvised weapons to fight German armored vehicles. Instructions from Norwegian High Command sent to army units in April 1940 encouraged soldiers to start ad-hoc production of "Hitler cocktails" (a different take on the Finnish nickname for the weapon) to combat tanks and armored cars.<ref>Aspheim, Odd and Hjeltnes, Guri. ''Tokt ved neste nymåne''. p. 58. {{ISBN|82-02-12701-7}}</ref> During the campaign there were instances of petrol bombs being relatively effective against the lighter tanks employed in Norway by Germany, such as the [[Panzer I]] and [[Panzer II]].

==== The first Indochina War and Vietnam War ====
During before National resistance, the Vietminh made molotov cocktail<ref>{{Cite web |last=ONLINE |first=TUOI TRE |date=2010-12-22 |title=Nhớ những ngày xuân kháng chiến đầu tiên |url=https://cuoituan.tuoitre.vn/nho-nhung-ngay-xuan-khang-chien-dau-tien-416545.htm |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=TUOI TRE ONLINE |language=vi}}</ref> for fight against the French tank and an armored vehicle. And in the Vietnam War, during the struggle movement of Saigon students during the resistance war against America to save the country, a prominent event was the students occupying the Cambodian Embassy to protest against the Lon Nol government's murder of overseas Vietnamese.The defense  was well-arranged with all the weapons available and those taken from the field police. They also made hundreds of petrol bombs from easily available materials such as foam and rubber crepe stuffed into coke bottles, sardine bottles filled with petrol..., a terrifying weapon for the field police.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sự kiện chấn động Sài Gòn năm 1970 |url=https://thinhvuongvietnam.com/Content/su-kien-chan-dong-sai-gon-nam-1970-484921 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=thinhvuongvietnam.com |language=vi}}</ref>

=== The Troubles ===
During [[the Troubles]], both the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (PIRA) and civilians used petrol bombs, although with different uses. Civilians tended to use petrol bombs and rocks against [[Royal Ulster Constabulary|police officers]] in riots;<ref>{{cite web |author= |title=Extracts from a British government report about the political situation in Northern Ireland in July 1969 (CJ 3/52) |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cj3-51.jpg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426180024/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cj3-51.jpg |archive-date=26 April 2017 |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> however, the PIRA tended to use them in attacks rather than in self-defence. Over time, as the PIRA became more co-ordinated, it shifted to using [[Improvised explosive device|IED]]s rather than petrol bombs.<ref>
{{Cite journal |last=Gill |first=Paul |year=2016 |title=Tactical Innovation and the Provisional Irish Republican Army |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1521069/3/Gill_Resub_Tactical%20Innovation%20and%20the%20Provisional%20Irish%20Republican%20Army(1).pdf |journal=[[Studies in Conflict & Terrorism]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=573–585 |doi=10.1080/1057610X.2016.1237221 |via=[[UCL Discovery]]}}</ref>

=== Modern warfare ===
[[File:Reporter’s Notebook - Thriving Kyiv Becomes Battle Zone, Almost Overnight 03 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Civilians in [[Kyiv]] preparing Molotov cocktails for use during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]]]
During the [[Second Battle of Fallujah]] in 2004, [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] employed Molotov cocktails made with "one part liquid laundry detergent, two parts gas [gasoline]" while clearing houses "when contact is made in a house and the enemy must be burned out". The tactic "was developed in response to the enemy's tactics" of [[guerrilla warfare]] and particularly [[martyrdom]] tactics which often resulted in U.S. Marine casualties. The cocktail was a less expedient alternative to [[White phosphorus munitions|white phosphorus]] mortar rounds or propane tanks detonated with [[C-4 (explosive)|C4]] (nicknamed the "House Guest"), all of which proved effective at burning out engaged enemy combatants.<ref>{{cite web|date=2005-03-08|title=Showdown – The Battle of Fallujah – Part 15 – After Action Report |url=https://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/03/showdown_the_ba.html|website=BlackFive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923214059/https://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/03/showdown_the_ba.html |archive-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>

During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the [[Ministry of Defence (Ukraine)|Ukrainian Defense Ministry]] told civilians to make Molotov cocktails, locally called "[[Stepan Bandera|Bandera]] smoothies",<ref>{{cite web |last=Harding |first=Luke |title='I haven't told my granny': Ukraine's student molotov cocktail-makers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/i-havent-told-my-granny-ukraines-student-molotov-cocktail-makers |website=The Guardian |date=28 February 2022 |access-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324041847/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/i-havent-told-my-granny-ukraines-student-molotov-cocktail-makers |archive-date=24 March 2023}}</ref> to fight Russian troops.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tsvetkova |first=Maria |date=25 February 2022 |title=Kyiv residents told to make Molotov cocktails as they await Russian assault |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kyiv-residents-clear-away-rubble-await-russian-assault-2022-02-25/ |access-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129201636/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kyiv-residents-clear-away-rubble-await-russian-assault-2022-02-25/ |archive-date=29 January 2023}}</ref> The defense ministry distributed a recipe for producing Molotov cocktails to civilians through Ukrainian television, which included the use of styrofoam as a thickening agent to aid in helping the burning liquid stick to vehicles or other targets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ukraine invasion: Civilians help make Molotov cocktails to take on Russian forces |url=https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-invasion-civilians-help-make-molotov-cocktails-to-take-on-russian-forces-12552181 |access-date=27 February 2022 |publisher=Sky News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324091456/https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-invasion-civilians-help-make-molotov-cocktails-to-take-on-russian-forces-12552181|archive-date=24 March 2023}}</ref> The Pravda Brewery of [[Lviv]], which converted from making beer to Molotov cocktails, said that its recipe was "3 cups polystyrene, 2 cups grated soap, 500 millilitres gasoline, 100 millilitres oil, 1 jumbo [[tampon]] fuse."<ref name="Pravda">{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Freddy |author-link=Freddy Gray |date=5 March 2022 |title=In Lviv, the mood is inspiring – and fanatical |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-lviv-the-mood-is-inspiring--and-fanatical |access-date=5 March 2022 |website=[[The Spectator]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030101921/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-lviv-the-mood-is-inspiring--and-fanatical |archive-date=30 October 2022}}</ref> The Russian media control organisation [[Roskomnadzor]] sued [[Twitter]] for not removing instructions for how to prepare and use molotov cocktails, so that Twitter had to pay a fine of 3 million roubles (US$41,000).<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-latest-social-media-platform-russia-fines-over-illegal-content-1701812 "Twitter the Latest Social Media Platform Russia Fines Over Illegal Content"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402020536/https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-latest-social-media-platform-russia-fines-over-illegal-content-1701812 |date=2023-04-02}}, ''Newsweek'', 28 April 2022</ref>