Magnesium can be used as casing for the incendiary bomb because this metal can also be ignited by more inflammable chemicals inside. These chemicals usually have thermite as the main constituent, Thermite cannot be extinguished by ordinary means as the oxygen necessary for the burning of the aluminium is present in the iron oxide, The magnesium casing is ignited by the thermite, To prevent the spread of fire due to this it is essential to exclude the surrounding air from it.
Water sprayed on burning magnesium tends to make it scatter and to spread the fire.—Burning magnesium will penetrate through wooden floors. Thermalloy contains sulphur which volatilises and burns with more freedom than thermite. A bomb containing it would be difficult to approach because of the sulphur dioxide fumes that are given off. Asbestos wool has been found to prove a very good fire extinguishing agent on the electron types of fires
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.