bottles with flammable substances used as weapons during the war in Cuba, in which the Latin American island republic in 1895 gained independence from Spain.However, the massive anti-tank weapons this simple device was during the Winter War of 1939-1940.
overwhelming technical superiority of the Red Army forced the defenders of the Mannerheim Line to reflect the application of all, sometimes the most unexpected objects as weapons.It is not known whether there was considered the Cuban experience, or someone invented again this round, but the fact remains that such problems advancing Soviet troops as cold, not freezing in the snow swamp snaypery- "cuckoo", minefields and powerful fortifications,added one more - a cocktail "hammer".It got its name in honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was the personification of the Finns to the aggressive policy of the Soviet Union, the end of the 30s.In fact, it originally sounded like a "Molotov cocktail".
main advantages of ammunition became its low cost and availability of materials production - quality, important for a country with low economic resources and are subject to constant bombed.There was also a lack of very significant.Cocktails "Molotov" was a source of danger to the person who tried to use it.In other words, it was necessary to try not to light myself.Challenge was, and shipping it to the goal, namely the engine compartment of the tank.After contact with combustible material on the frontal armor cocktail "Molotov" I was ineffective.
These inconveniences do not become an obstacle to Soviet soldiers and two years later, when the Soviet Union had to expand its own production of Molotov cocktails.Anti-tank weapons of the Red Army did not have enough, so the cocktail "The Hammer" began to enter her arms in early July 1941.Bottles of vodka, wine, soda pop and beer steel container for liquids "BGS" and "KS".Unlike conventional aviation gasoline, they were sticky and burned, releasing a large amount of smoke, creating a temperature of up to 1000 degrees.So, what constitutes a Molotov cocktail, became the prototype of napalm invented a little later in the United States.
undergone some modernization and adaptation to ignite this projectile.The bottle was lowered wick, which should ignite before throwing, but to do it right, the glass surface was adhered instructions.In addition, all infantry soldiers were trained, during which he explained in detail the tactics, security measures and the weaknesses of the German armored vehicles.So cocktail "Molotov" forced to become a formidable weapon of the Red Army in the early months of the war.
One would assume that in the age of nanotechnology, laser sights, antitank guided missiles and other sophisticated high-precision weapons attack Molotov cocktails have become an anachronism, but it did not happen.All the same their advantages - namely, ease of manufacture, availability and cheapness, preserved to this day.That's why a Molotov cocktail is still used by those who lack modern weapons to fight against a strong opponent.It remains unchanged and most important rule of application of this simple shell: it can effectively use only one who has the guts to meet the formidable tank with a glass bottle in his hand.
