U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare (7 page)

a. Description
. See paragraph 0303.1.

b. Material and Equipment.

c. Preparation.

1. Wax from natural sources.
   
   • (
     a
     ) Plants and berries are potential sources of natural waxes. Place the plants and/or berries in boiling water. The natural waxes will melt. Let the water cool, and the natural waxes will form a solid layer on the water surface. Skim off the wax and let it dry.
     
   • (
     b
     ) Natural waxes which have suspended matter should be melted and screened through a cloth.
     
2. Gel from gasoline and wax.
   
   • (
     a
     ) Put the gasoline in a clean container.
     

     Caution:
     Keep material away from open flames.
     

   • (
     b
     ) Melt the wax and pour it into the gasoline container.
     
   • (c)
     Tightly cap the container and place it in hot water (sufficiently hot so that a small piece of wax will melt on the surface).
     
   • (
     d
     ) When the wax has dissolved in the gasoline, place the capped container in a warm water bath and permit it to cool slowly to air temperature.
     
   • (
     e
     ) If a solid paste of gel does not form, add another 10 parts by volume of melted wax and repeat (
     b
     ), (
     c
     ), and (
     d
     ) above.
     
   • (
     f
     ) Continue adding wax (up to 40 parts by volume) as before until a paste or gel is formed. If no paste forms at 80 parts by volume of gasoline and 40 parts by volume of melted wax, the wax is not satisfactory for gelled gasolines and may be used only in combination with alkali.
     
3. Gel from gasoline
   ,
   wax and alkali
   .
   

   70 parts by volume of gasoline
   29.5 parts by volume of melted wax
   0.5 parts by volume of staurated lye solution
   

   • (
     a
     ) Prepare the saturated lye solution by
     carefully
     adding one volume of lye (or two volumes of Drano) to one volume of water and stir with a glass rod or wooden stick until the lye is dissolved.
     

     Caution:
     Lye causes severe burns to eyes. Add the lye to the water slowly. Let cool to room temperature and pour off the saturated liquid solution. Do not prepare this solution in an aluminum container.
     

   • (
     b
     ) Prepare the gasoline-wax solution according to the method described above.
     
   • (
     c
     ) After the solution has cooled for about 15 minutes, CAUTIOUSLY loosen the cap, remove it and add the saturated lye solution.
     
   • (
     d
     ) Stir about every five minutes until a gel forms. If the gel is not thick enough, remelt with another 5 parts by volume of wax and 0.1 part by volume of saturated lye solution. Stir contents as before. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
     

   Note.
   In addition to the listed waxes, the following may be used: candelilla wax, carnauba (Brazil) wax, Chinese (insect) wax, Japan (sumac) wax, montan (lignite) wax, and palm wax.
   

d. Application
. See paragraph 0303.1.

a
.
Description
. See paragraph 0303.1.

b. Material and Equipment.

c. Preparation.

1. Animal blood serum.
   
   • (
     a
     ) Slit animal's throat by jugular vein. Hang upside down to drain.
     
   • (
     b
     ) Place coagulated (lumpy) blood in a cloth or on a screen and catch the red fluid (serum) which drains through.
     
   • (
     c
     ) Store in a cool place if possible.
     

     Caution:
     Animal blood can cause infections. Do not get aged animal blood or the serum into an open cut.
     

2. Preparation of gelled gasoline.
   
   • (a)
     Pour the animal bolod serum into a clean container and add the gasoline.
     

     Caution:
     Keep material away from open flames.
     

   • (
     b
     ) Add the lime and stir the mixture for a few minutes until a firm gel forms. Store in an air-tight container until ready to use.
     

     Note.
     Egg white may be substituted for up to ½ of the animal blood serum.
     

d
.
Application
. See paragraph 0303.1.

a. Description.

1. This item consists of a mixture of paraffin wax and sawdust. It is easily prepared and safe to carry. It is used to ignite wooden structures including heavy beams and timbers. It will also ignite paper, rags and other tinder type materials to build larger fires.
   
2. This incendiary can be safely ignited by a match flame. However, any igniter listed in chapter 3 can be used in conjunction with specific delay mechanisms in chapter 5 for delayed ignition of this incendiary.
   
3. All or part of the paraffin wax may be replaced by beeswax but
   not
   by vegetable or animal fats or greases.
   

b. Material and Equipment.

c. Preparation.

1. Put enough wax in the pot so that it is about half full.
   
2. Heat the pot on a stove or hot plate until the wax melts.
   
3. Remove the heated pot from the stove or hot plate and shut off the source of heat. Add the sawdust to the melted wax until the pot is nearly full. Stir the mixture with a spoon or stick for a few minutes, being sure there is no layer of wax at the bottom of the pot which has not been mixed with the sawdust.
   
4. While the mixture is in a fluid state, pour it into a waxed paper carton or other container. Upon cooling, the wax mixture will harden and take the shape of the container. The mixture can be stored for months without losing its effectiveness. If it becomes wet, it will be effective again when it is dried.
   
5. A less effective incendiary may be made by melting some paraffin or beeswax, dipping sheets of paper in the molten wax for a few seconds, and removing the paper to let the wax harden. This waxed paper lights readily from a match. Although not as hot or persistent or the paraffin-sawdust mixture, the waxed paper is an excellent incendiary and may be substituted in many instances for initiating readily ignitable materials. The paper may be wadded up, folded, or torn into strips.
   

d. Application.

1. Place about a quart of the mixture in a paper bag and put the bag down on the object to be burned. A match may be used to ignite the bag which will then ignite the paraffin-sawdust mixture. The fire starts very slowly so there is no hazard involved, and it usually takes two or three minutes before the paraffin-sawdust mixture is burning strongly. This, of course, is a disadvantage where a hot fire is required quickly. Once started, however, this mixture burns vigorously because the paraffin itself gives a fairly hot flame and the sawdust acts like charcoal to increase the destructive effect.
   
2. Where very large wooden beams or structures are to be burned use more of the mixture. A bag containing two or three quarts will be enough to set fire to almost any object on which paraffin-sawdust mixture can be used effectively.
   
3. To be most effective on wood structures, this mixture should be in a pile,
   never
   spread out in a thin layer. If possible, place it under the object. When placing the incendiary in a packing box or in a room, place it in a corner.
   

a. Description.

This item consists of a glass bottle containing gasoline and concentrated sulfuric acid. The exterior of the bottle is wrapped with a rag or absorbent paper. Just before use, the rag is soaked with a saturated solution of granulated sugar and potassium chlorate. Thrown against hard-surfaced targets such as tanks, automotive vehicles or railroad boxcars, this fire bottle is a very effective incendiary.

b.
Material and Equipment.

c. Preparation.

1. Using the funnel, pour the gasoline into the quart bottle until approximately two-thirds full.
   

   Caution:
   Keep this material away from open flames.
   

2. Slowly add concentrated sulfuric acid through the funnel to the gasoline in the bottle and fill the bottle to within one inch of the top. The funnel must be used to direct the concentrated acid into the gasoline in the center of the bottle. Stopper or cap the bottle securely.
   
   

   Note
   . If only battery-grade sulfuric acid is available, it must be concentrated. See instructions under paragraph 0103.
   

3. Flush the tightly capped bottle with water to remove any gasoline or acid adhering to the outside surface and dry the bottle. This
   must
   be done to avoid accidental combustion during the following steps.
   
4. Wrap a clean cloth or several sheets of absorbent paper around the bottle. Fasten with strings or rubber bands.
   
   
5. Prepare a saturated solution of granulated sugar and potassium chlorate in water as directed below.
   
6. Add six measures of water to the porcelain pot and dry the measuring container with a clean rag or paper towel.
   
7. Bring the water to a boil.
   
8. Using a clean, dry spoon, place granulated sugar in the measuring container and add one and one-half measures of sugar to the boiling water.
   
9. Wipe the spoon with a clean rag or paper towel and place one measure of potassium chlorate into the boiling sugar water.
   
10. Remove the pot of boiling mixture immediately from the heat source and shut off heat source.
    
11. When the solution is cool, pour it into the small ½ pint bottle using the glass funnel and cap tightly.
    
12. Flush this bottle with water to remove any solution or crystals adhering to the outside surface and dry the bottle. When the crystals settle, there should be about ⅓ liquid above the crystals.
    

    Caution:
    Store this bottle separately from the other bottle containing gasoline and concentrated sulfuric acid.
    

d. Application.

1. Just prior to actual use, shake the bottle containing the sugar-potassium chlorate crystals and pour onto the cloth or paper wrapped around the gasoline-acid bottle. The fire bottle can be used while the cloth is still wet or after it has dried. However when dry, the sugar-potassium chlorate mixture is very sensitive to sparks, open flame, bumping and scraping. In the dry condition the bottle should be handled carefully.
   
   
2. The fire bottle should be gripped in one hand and thrown like a hand grenade. Upon impact with a metallic or other hard surface, the bottle will break and the sugar-potassium chlorate will react with the sulfuric acid. This reaction ignites the gasoline which will engulf the target area in flames.