Hi,
I'm afraid I can't help you with the information you request (such kinds of ordnance are not at all my expertise, and hence I know very little about them), but there's something I'd like to ask about this item.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm dumbfounded at how this molotov cocktail would ignite. Sure, if the impact fuze is struck, I can believe it going off, but.... How did the Japanese achieve having the molotov cocktail hit a target with the fuze first?!?
It would seem to me that in order to achieve this, the top part (i.e. with the fuze) would have to be heavier than the rest. When viewing your pictures, in fact the bottle looks very bottom heavy. But even when it's top heavy, I have a hard time seeing the molotov cocktail always go off. It would seem to me that it easily would start to tumble in the air, or otherwise stray from a path that would lead to a direct hit on the fuze.
Do you perhaps have an idea about this?
I'm very curious to find this out.
At present I can only think of two things:
1) Maybe the Japanese simply put up with a high amount of 'duds'?
2) Perhaps it was only thrown 'straight' (fuze first), as opposed to how a stick grenade is thrown, from a short range?
Option 1 seems unlikely (from a tactical point of view).
Another thing that I find fascinating is the complex design of the fuze for a low cost item such as a molotov cocktail. It seems the fuze cost would be excessive in comparison to the rest of the weapon. One would think that a wick would suffice too (or maybe I'm being naive here?). Were these molotov cocktails perhaps field improvisations, using fuzes they had at hand?
BTW: note that at times the TMs are really off; a very good example is the section where the operation of shrapnel projectiles is described. The TM states the bottom is blown out.
When reading that, I couldn't for the earth of it understand how that would set the shrapnel balls free in the proper way (i.e. they'd be moving in the opposite direction as intended or would simply stay put in the projectile); Cliff Carlisle then explained the way they really worked, with the shrapnel balls going out the front.
This, of course, is not to say that the TM is off regarding the molotov cocktail fuze, but it is at least the second time that something coming from the TMs has left me equally puzzled as when reading the section about the shrapnel projectiles...
Anyone?
Cheers,
Olafo
