How hot is Greek fire?

The experiment used crude oil mixed with wood resins, and achieved a flame temperature of over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) and an effective range of up to 15 meters (49 ft).

Can Greek fire be put out?

Greek fire was a flaming mixture fired from the ships of the Byzantine empire from the 7th century. The fire would cling to flesh and was impossible to extinguish with water. This deadly concoction was created by a family of chemists and engineers from Constantinople, and the secret recipe died with them.

Is Greek fire powerful?

Greek Fire would become the most potent weapon of Christendom for over 700 years. This would, in no small part, enable the Byzantines and Constantinople to resist its many enemies for as long as it did.

Has anyone made Greek fire?

Greek fire was introduced in 672 AD in the reign of Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, the inventor being an architect called Callinicus of Heliopolis. Greek Fire was used in the great Siege of Constantinople and with success in their campaigns up to the 13th century.

What is the modern equivalent of Greek fire?

Greek Fire (also known as Byzantine Fire) was the ancient precursor to the modern Napalm and was first used in battles in the late seventh century.

How Greek Fire was Used to Target Enemy Ships

Could Greek fire have been napalm?

Greek Fire was an incendiary weapon first used in Byzantine warfare in 678 CE. The napalm of ancient warfare, the highly flammable liquid was made of secret ingredients and used both in catapulted incendiary bombs and sprayed under pressure so as to launch flames at enemy ships and fortifications.

Is napalm like Greek fire?

Most modern scholars agree that Greek fire was based on either crude or refined petroleum, comparable to modern napalm.

Is Greek fire still used?

An ancient incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire, Greek fire involved a heavily guarded formula that we still can't figure out today.

How was Greek fire stored?

Greek fire was created for naval warfare, so the Byzantines could set their enemies' ships on fire. The mixture was stored in jars and pots that could be launched at enemy ships, but the Byzantines found yet another means to weaponize it.

Why is Greek fire lost?

After being created, supposedly by a Jewish refugee called Callinicus of Heliopolis, its ingredients became a state secret. The recipe was eventually lost. While petroleum, naphtha, quicklime and sulphur are educated guesses, the exact composition of Greek fire remains unknown. That's probably for the best.

How did Greek fires start?

Greek fire launched from tubes mounted on the prows of Greek ships wrought havoc on the Arab fleet attacking Constantinople in 673. Greek fire was later employed effectively by Leo III the Isaurian against an Arab attack in 717 and by Romanus I Lecapenus against a Russian fleet in the 10th century.

Is napalm a war crime?

Legal status

Napalm is legal to use on the battlefield under international law. Its use against "concentrations of civilians" is a war crime.

What is Greek fire water?

It is a strong distilled spirit, similar to Italy's grappa or arak in the Middle East, which is produced in various Greek regions (Macedonia, Epirus, Thessalia, as well as Crete, where it is known as tsikoudia), usually between October and December.

How was Greek fire delivered?

The chief method of deploying Greek fire was by projection through a tube called a siphōn, which was placed aboard ships or on siege engines called cheirosiphōnes. A handheld portable siphōn was also invented that is the earliest analogue to a modern flamethrower.

Is wildfire based on Greek fire?

In the books

Wildfire is similar to real-life napalm or Greek fire, both highly combustible liquids used in combat. Greek fire was famously believed to be used by the Byzantine Empire throughout its history (roughly the 4th to the 15th Centuries CE), and so may have been a technology known to medieval peoples.

How did Romans make fire?

Two methods were used to make fire. One was by striking a special piece of iron (strike-a-light) on a piece of flint. The other method is by friction of wood on wood. The strike-a-light was most common.

Does napalm burn underwater?

Versions of napalm B containing white phosphorus will even burn underwater (if there is trapped oxygen in folds of cloth, for example) so even jumping into rivers and lakes won't help those unfortunate souls attacked with this vile weapon.

How long does napalm burn for?

Conventional napalm burns for 15-30 seconds, whereas napalm B burns for up to 10 minutes. Napalm B provided the United States with an incendiary substance with enhanced stability and controllability and, as such, became the weapon of choice during the Vietnam War.

Did Archimedes death ray work?

Probably. Sadly, the heat ray (if it existed) did not save Archimedes. Roman soldiers eventually breached Syracuse's walls and – despite orders from Marcus Claudius Marcellus that Archimedes not be harmed – one of the invaders slew him during the sacking of the city.

Are flamethrowers still allowed in war?

The military use of flamethrowers is restricted through the Protocol on Incendiary Weapons. Apart from the military applications, flamethrowers have peacetime applications where there is a need for controlled burning, such as in sugarcane harvesting and other land-management tasks.

What are the 5 laws of war?

Principles of the laws of war

Military necessity, along with distinction, proportionality, humanity (sometimes called unnecessary suffering), and honor (sometimes called chivalry) are the five most commonly cited principles of international humanitarian law governing the legal use of force in an armed conflict.

Can you extinguish napalm?

In fact, it's hot. And sticky. So hot and sticky that it acts like napalm — most often associated with wars — in that it sticks to clothing and skin, and cannot be extinguished by the usual "stop, drop and roll" command used for years by firefighting experts.

Does the US military still use napalm?

The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States military. Instead of the gasoline, polystyrene, and benzene mixture used in napalm bombs, the MK-77 uses kerosene-based fuel with a lower concentration of benzene.

What does napalm smell like?

It smells like what it is. Maybe fuel oil more than gasoline.” He explained that the detergent served as an emulsifier that made the fire from the gasoline gel stick to whatever or whomever it was burning.