"Blue Nose" .50

[Ruy Horta]

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.

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.