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Originally Posted by Tony Williams
The US .30 and .50 incendiary ammo was based on the British 'De Wilde'. They were purely filled with incendiary compound - no HE - but the fact that they burst violently into flame on impact gave them the appearance of explosive rounds.
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Isn't the difference not a bit "fuzzy"?
When a bursting round is explosive or incendiary, it may have some differences, but also many similarities.
Please note that I am not aiming for the final word (
You are the expert!!! - although I have a couple of titles on the shelf and a number of documents I am far from knowledgable on the subject), but I've read about De Wilde being "incendiary" (sorry, no source), and this annecdote by a dutch commanding officer surprised me. Wouldn't he know the difference as well, especially considering his long and active service, still he wisely used "explosive" instead of HE. Again pointing towards a "fuzzy" distinction.
Perhaps we now look upon Incendiary ammuntion as being of the "De Wilde" type, yet those of pre-war training saw it for what is actually (?) was, a round
bursting violently upon contact, sort of
explosive in effect, but without true (legal) explosive content?
Am I mistaken, or is "De Wilde" not sometimes discussed when it comes to its true function/effect?
Just questions.