Evening star., 1935-06-13

The fire bomb-presumably already
| perfected-will be one of the terrors
of the next war
Airplanes will shower them by the
thousands over city roofs. according
to an article in this months Military
| Surgeon, organ of the United States
Army Medical Corps. by Lieut.. Col.
| Jules Voncken. Belgian medical officer
and secretary general Of the Interna-
tional Congress of Military Medicine
/ and Pharmacy.
! This fire bomb, Col Voncken init
/ mates, promises to be the most strik-
ing and effective new weapon of future
warfare. 1t has, at least. actually
been developed, while more deadly
gases and methods of dispensing and
ulous stage.
ut Is deplorable," writes Col.
Voncken. that such Scanty attention
| has been given to the roll of fire in
war OF the future. Aero chemical
warfare will be surpassed in devsstat-
| ing effects by areo-incendiary warfare.
Bombs now in use develop a combus-
ton temperature of 1000 degrees
centigrade. They induce combustion
/ of comparatively uninfiammable sub
stances. Fire will break out regard
less of atmospheric conditions. Easily
/ combustible substances may be ignited
from long distances by rays.
1T is probable such weapons will
become deadlier in the future. The
| danger is increased by the difficulty
of extinguishing such fires. Use of
water will be prohibited on account
of its producing violent explosions.
These incendiary bombs, it must be
added. are of very small size, their
weight being from five-tenths to one
kilogram. The reason is to insure an
easy penetration into attics and upper
stories OF buildings. An ordinary
plane can carry about 1000 such
bombs. The passage of a single plane
of ordinary type over city would
cause about 200 fires in very short
time. Let US think of squadron of
such planes, carrying five tons. 1t
could drop $4,000 such bombs on a
city and cause $4,000 fires"
There will be a branch of aviation,
Col. Voncken says, charged with at
| tacking q country as q whole with
millions Of tons Of explosives. 1t is
almost certain that in new war there
will be evolved new gas, q new toxic
composition, which will far surpass in
power the vessicants, Iechrymators
and sternultators that we know. Bat
tlefields, cities, everything of military
Importance. troops concentrations of
personnel, every place with signs of
human existence will surely be ex-
posed to devastation by firearms and
be engulfed in a chemical atmosphere
and in fog as asphyxiants and
corrosives."
Speaking as q medical officer, Col,
Voncken continues: "Too much has
been said of the use of bacteria to
disregard the possibility. Man holds
in his hands billions of the most
deadly organisms of epidemic and In
fectious disease, and thus has this
power of destruction. The idea Of how
| to use it has terminated in his mind
| for SC long that it is too late to check
| the thought
X X 4 4
The green flash--a green fire ball
| In the heavens on the rim of the ris-
ing or setting suns phenomenon
which meteorologists are lucky to see
| once in lifetime.
One such observation has just been
reported by F. II Davies of the Ter
restrial Magnetism Laboratory of the
Carnegie Institution Of washington.
It was seen in September from the
| deck of a steamer in Hudsons Bay,
| Just at sunrise. AS described by
Davies:
There was vivid green point,
quickly changing to fairly sizable
ball Of green are, preceding the hrss