![Mark 77 bomb loaded on FA-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Mark_77_bomb_loaded_on_FA-18.jpg)
The Mark 77 bomb (MK-77) is a United States air-dropped
incendiary bomb
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
carrying of a fuel gel mix which is the direct successor to
napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...
.
The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States military. Instead of the
gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
,
polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
, and
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...
mixture used in napalm bombs, the MK-77 uses
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
-based fuel with a lower concentration of benzene. The Pentagon has claimed that the MK-77 has less impact on the environment than napalm. The mixture reportedly also contains an
oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In ot ...
, making it more difficult to put out once ignited, as well as
white phosphorus
Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes, the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known. Gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus.
White phosphorus
White ...
.
[MK-77](_blank)
GlobalSecurity.org
The effects of MK-77 bombs are similar to those of napalm. The official designation of
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
-era napalm bombs was the
Mark 47.
Use of aerial incendiary bombs against civilian populations, including against military targets in civilian areas, was banned in the 1980
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW or CCWC), concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980, and entered into force in December 1983, seeks to prohibit or restrict the use of certain conventional weapons which are consid ...
Protocol III. However the United States reserved the right to use incendiary weapons against military objectives located in concentrations of civilians where it is judged that such use would cause fewer casualties and/or less collateral damage than alternative weapons.
Use in Iraq and Afghanistan
MK-77s were used by the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
during
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
and
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. Approximately 500 were dropped, reportedly mostly on Iraqi-constructed oil filled trenches. They were also used at the
Battle of Tora Bora
The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan, from December 6–17, 2001, during the opening stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the ...
during the
Afghan War
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
.
At least thirty MK-77s were also used by Marine Corps aviators over a three-day period during the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, according to a June 2005 letter from the UK Ministry of Defence to former
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
MP
Alice Mahon
Alice Mahon (born 28 September 1937) is a former British Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. She was also an active trade unionist during her working life. Mahon represented Halifax in the House of Commons from 1987 until 2005.
She is ...
. This letter stated:
The U.S. destroyed its remaining Vietnam era napalm in 2001 but, according to the reports for I Marine Expeditionary Force
The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...
(I MEF) serving in Iraq in 2003, they used a total of 30 MK 77 weapons in Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003, against military targets away from civilian areas. The MK 77 firebomb does not have the same composition as napalm, although it has similar destructive characteristics. The Pentagon has told us that owing to the limited accuracy of the MK 77, it is not generally used in urban terrain or in areas where civilians are congregated.
This confirmed previous reports by U.S. Marine pilots and their commanders saying they had used Mark 77 firebombs on military targets:
According to the Italian public service broadcaster
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
's documentary ''
Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
''Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre'' is a documentary film by Sigfrido Ranucci and Maurizio Torrealta which first aired on Italy's RAI state television network on November 8, 2005. The film documents the use of chemical weapons, particularly the us ...
'', the MK 77 had been used in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in 2003 in
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
-populated areas. However, Marine pilots stated to the
San Diego Union-Tribune
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868.
Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
that the targets of the bombings were Iraqi soldiers defending civilian infrastructure such as bridges, as opposed to targeting civilians directly.
In some cases where journalists reported that the U.S. military has used napalm, military spokesmen denied the use of "napalm" without making it clear that MK-77 bombs had actually been deployed instead.
U.S. officials incorrectly informed
U.K. Ministry of Defence officials that MK-77s had not been used by the U.S. in Iraq, leading to Defence Minister
Adam Ingram making inaccurate statements to the
U.K. Parliament in January 2005.
UK Parliament 10 Jan 2005
Later both Adam Ingram and Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
John Reid apologized for these inaccurate statements being made to Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
.
Variants
Later variants of the bomb were modified to carry a reduced load of of fuel, which resulted in the total weight decreasing to around .
* Mk 77 Mod 0 - total weight with of petroleum oil.
* Mk 77 Mod 1 - total weight with of petroleum oil.
* Mk 77 Mod 2
* Mk 77 Mod 3
* Mk 77 Mod 4 - Approx total weight with of fuel (Used during the 1991 Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
)
* Mk 77 Mod 5 - Approx total weight with of JP-4
JP-4, or JP4 (for "Jet Propellant") was a jet fuel, specified in 1951 by the U.S. government (MIL-DTL-5624). Its NATO code is F-40. It is also known as avtag.
Usage
JP-4 was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It had a lower flash point than JP-1, b ...
/JP-5
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial av ...
or JP-8
JP-8, or JP8 (for "Jet Propellant 8") is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the US military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87, and similar to commercial aviation's Jet A-1, but with the addition of corrosio ...
fuel and thickener (Used during the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
)
* Mk 78 - total weight with of petroleum oil. No longer in service.
* Mk 79 - total weight with of napalm and petrol. No longer in service.
See also
* Mark 81 bomb
The Mark 81 (Mk 81) general-purpose bomb (nicknamed "Firecracker") is the smallest of the Mark 80 series of low- drag general-purpose bombs.
Development and deployment
Developed for United States military forces in the 1950s, it was first used ...
* Mark 82 bomb
The Mark 82 (Mk 82) is an unguided, low- drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.
Development and deployment
W ...
* Mark 83 bomb
The Mark 83 is part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs in United States service.
Development and deployment
The nominal weight of the bomb is 1,000 lb (454 kg), although its actual weight varies between 985  ...
* Mark 84 bomb
The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is an American general-purpose bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb (due to the amount of high-explosive conten ...
* Mark 117 bomb
* Mark 118 bomb
The M118 is an air-dropped general-purpose or demolition bomb used by United States military forces. It dates back to the time of the Korean War of the early 1950s. Although it has a nominal weight of 3,000 lb (1,350 kg), its actual wei ...
References
Endnotes
MK-77 Dumb Bombs
Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...
*
* Army Regulations 600-8-27 dated 2006
External links
'Dead bodies are everywhere'
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
, 22 March 2003 - probably the first published report on Mk 77 use in Iraq
Napalm by another name: Pentagon denial goes up in flames
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
, 9 August 2003
US State Department Response to Illegal Weapon Allegations
27 January 2005
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, 17 June 2005
Parliament misled over firebomb use
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
, 20 June 2005
''The Hidden Massacre'' by Sigfrido Ranucci, Video documentary shows actual chemical bombing on civilians in Fallujah with testimony of interviewed U.S. soldiers - English, Italian and Arabic
Rai News 24
Rai News 24 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's all-news television channel, and is known for its 24-hour rolling news servic ...
, 8 November 2005
US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, 9 November 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 77 Bomb
Cold War aerial bombs of the United States
Aerial bombs of the United States
Incendiary weapons
Iraq War