Editing Incendiary device (section)

==Incendiary weapons after World War II==
Napalm  was widely used by the United States during the [[Korean War]],<ref name="GS Napalm">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/napalm.htm|title=Napalm|first=John|last=Pike}}</ref> most notably during the battle "[[Outpost Harry]]" in South Korea during the night of June 10–11, 1953.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} Eighth Army chemical officer Donald Bode reported that on an "average good day" UN pilots used {{convert|70,000|USgal|L}} of napalm, with approximately {{convert|60,000|USgal|L}} of this thrown by US forces.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neer|first1=Robert|title=Napalm: An American Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/napalmamericanbi00neer|url-access=limited|date=2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/napalmamericanbi00neer/page/n129 99]|isbn=9780674075450}}</ref> [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British prime minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] privately criticized the use of napalm in Korea, writing that it was "very cruel", as US and UN forces, he wrote, were "splashing it all over the civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". He conveyed these sentiments to US [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] [[Omar Bradley]], who "never published the statement". Publicly, Churchill allowed Bradley "to issue a statement that confirmed U.K. support for U.S. napalm attacks".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neer|first1=Robert M.|title=Napalm: An American Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/napalmamericanbi00neer|url-access=limited|date=2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/napalmamericanbi00neer/page/n132 102]–3|isbn=9780674075450}}</ref>

During the [[Vietnam War]], the [[U.S. Air Force]] developed the [[CBU-55]], a [[cluster bomb]] incendiary fuelled by [[propane]], a weapon that was used only once in warfare.<ref>Alan Dawson, ''55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam'' (Prentice-Hall 1977).</ref> Napalm however, became an intrinsic element of US military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects. Reportedly about 388,000 tons of US napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945.<ref name=neer1>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/496029a |title=Books in brief. Napalm: An American Biography Robert M. Neer Harvard University Press 352 pp. |journal=Nature |volume=496 |issue=7443 |pages=29 |year=2013 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Liquid Fire – How Napalm Was Used In The Vietnam War|url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/vietnam-war/history-napalm-vietnam-war.html/2|website=www.warhistoryonline.com|date=June 2016 |publisher=Nikola Budanovic|access-date=8 November 2017|ref=Napalm became a psychological weapon, as the enemy was terrified of the hell on earth caused by its use.}}</ref>

Incendiary bombs used in the late 20th century sometimes contained [[thermite]], made from aluminium and [[Iron(III) oxide|ferric oxide]]. It takes very high temperatures to ignite, but when alight, it can burn through solid steel. In World War II, such devices were employed in incendiary grenades to burn through heavy [[armour]] plate, or as a quick [[welding]] mechanism to destroy [[artillery]] and other complex machined weapons.

A variety of [[pyrophoric]] materials can also be used: selected [[organometallic]] compounds, most often [[triethylaluminium]], [[trimethylaluminium]], and some other [[alkyl]] and [[aryl]] derivatives of aluminium, [[magnesium]], [[boron]], [[zinc]], [[sodium]], and [[lithium]], can be used. Thickened triethylaluminium, a napalm-like substance that ignites in contact with air, is known as [[thickened pyrophoric agent]], or TPA.

Napalm proper is no longer used by the United States, although the [[kerosene]]-fuelled [[Mark 77 bomb|Mark 77 MOD 5 firebomb]] is currently in use. The United States has confirmed the use of Mark 77s in [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]] in 2003.