A NEW WEAPON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24401, 12 September 1940, Page 7

A NEW WEAPON

SELF-IGNITING “LEAF” EFFECTIVE USE BY BRITAIN GERMAN CROPS DESTROYED (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, Sept. 10. It was learned from an authoritative source to-night that the R.AiF. is using a form of incendiary weapon which could be described as a selfigniting “leaf.” It is designed to set fire for example to military stores standing in the open, an arsenal dr ammunition dump, or engineers’ stores in the field, military supplies in the open, trucks in a marshalling yard, or parks of military lorries and other similar objectives. It could also set alight, under suitable conditions, to a wood in which military units or a depot or ammunition plant were concealed. It is known that the enemy has concealed such targets in woods. Accusations made by the Germans that the “ leaves ” cause poisoning is false. The leaf is not poisonous, but if handled would, of course, cause burns, just as every other incendiary bomb would.

A message from Berlin states that authorised circles announce that the R.A.F. has dropped 1,000,000 selfig aiting celluloid cards on Germany in the past four weeks, which set fire to crops, bams, and schools in Westphalia, Hanover, and the Harz Mountains, and in southern and central Germany. One plane could carry 250,000 cards, which are 2in square.