Firebombing

Firebombing is an aerial bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary device is used to initiate a fire is often described as a "firebombing".

Although simple incendiary bombs have been used to destroy buildings since the start of gunpowder warfare, World War I saw the first use of strategic bombing from the air to damage the morale and economy of the enemy, such as the German Zeppelin air raids conducted on London. The Chinese wartime capital of Chongqing was firebombed by the Imperial Japanese starting in early 1939 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. London, Coventry, and many other British cities were firebombed during the Blitz by Nazi Germany. Most large German cities were extensively firebombed starting in 1942, and almost all large Japanese cities were firebombed during the last six months of World War II.

This technique makes use of small incendiary bombs possibly delivered by a cluster bomb, such as the Molotov bread basket. If a fire catches, it can spread, taking in adjacent buildings that would have been largely unaffected by a high explosive bomb. Thus, a planeload of firebombs may do more damage than a planeload of high explosive bombs could, making them more effective by weight.

The use of incendiaries alone does not generally start uncontrollable fires where the targets are roofed with nonflammable materials such as tiles or slates. The use of a combination of bombers carrying high explosive bombs, such as the British blockbuster bombs, which blew out windows and roofs and exposed the interiors of buildings, and others following carrying incendiary bombs is much more effective. Alternatively, a preliminary bombing with conventional bombs can be followed by subsequent attacks by incendiary carrying bombers. In Japan, where the buildings were traditionally made of wood, firebombing created vast infernos that burned entire cities to the ground.