In early September 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement that US Air Force planes bombed the village of Hajin in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor on September 8. It was reported that the raid involved two F-15 fighter-bombers, which used ammunition with white phosphorus. It is worth noting that white phosphorus ammunition, also known as Willie Pete (acronym for white phosphorus), is prohibited by the 1977 Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Convention - it is prohibited to use them in cases where civilians could be put in danger. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the use of such ammunition led to severe fires.
The US Department of Defense has denied this statement by its Russian colleagues. Pentagon spokesman Sean Robertson noted that military units in the area do not have such ammunition. However, as the experience of the last few decades shows, the armed forces of the United States and its allies use phosphorus munitions with enviable regularity in military conflicts. Earlier in June, the coalition circulated a statement calling its US-led military action "justified," and that phosphorus munitions were used only for camouflage, smoke screens and tagging.
It is worth noting that the United States and Israel did not sign the Additional Protocols to the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of War Victims in 1977. So in the 21st century, the strongest army in the world is in no hurry to part with such weapons. The Pentagon insists that white phosphorus belongs to the class of conventional weapons, and not to chemical weapons. And this is really so, this substance does not fall under the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United States is not going to abandon a proven remedy, with more than a century of history of applications in recent wars. By refusing to sign the Supplementary Agreements to the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of War Victims, the United States probably foresaw the specifics of future armed conflicts, in which it will often be difficult to distinguish military from peaceful ones. During the same conflict in Syria, terrorists very often hide behind the population as a human shield, placing observation and command posts, firing positions directly in residential buildings, in residential high-rise buildings.
Phosphorus ammunition is a type of incendiary ammunition filled with white phosphorus or incendiary substances based on it, mixed with other substances belonging to the group of self-igniting incendiary substances that burn using oxygen in the air. There are different types of phosphorus ammunition, among which the most common are artillery shells, mortar mines, aerial bombs, as well as rockets and rockets and even hand grenades. Also, quite often, white phosphorus was used to create improvised mine explosive devices.
The use of white phosphorus for military purposes has more than a century of history. It was first used back in the 19th century by fighters for Irish independence against British troops. But the truly massive use of such ammunition became only during the First World War, when the parties to the conflict used hand grenades, shells and aerial bombs filled with phosphorus. Incendiary bullets filled with white phosphorus were also actively used. They were mainly used for firing at air targets. And in 1916, the British military received incendiary grenades equipped with white phosphorus at their disposal.
The new weapons, which appeared on the battlefield in sufficient quantities, effectively hit the infantry, located not only in open areas, but also hiding in trenches, concrete fortifications, dugouts, literally burning to the ground not only enemy fortifications, but also entire settlements. Against the background of already existing incendiary substances of that time, white phosphorus stood out favorably not only for its special destructive power, but also for the fact that its use produced a strong demoralizing effect on the enemy - many soldiers did not know what it was and how it could be countered.
The combustion temperature of incendiary ammunition with a charge of white phosphorus and a combustible substance is 800-900 degrees Celsius. The combustion process is accompanied by an abundant release of acrid and thick white smoke, continuing until the access of oxygen is blocked or all the phosphorus is burned out. Such ammunition is good at hitting openly located manpower and equipment, and also lead to the emergence of numerous fires and separate fires that divert forces and means to extinguish and cause additional material damage to the enemy, limit visibility on the battlefield and make it difficult to move. An additional damaging factor is the poisonous and asphyxiant gases formed in the foci of white phosphorus fire. It is incredibly difficult to extinguish white phosphorus - the flame resists water very well, being able to burn even under water.
Test explosion of a phosphorus bombs over the USS Alabama in 1921
When in contact with the skin, phosphorus causes severe burns, up to burning tissue to the bone, such wounds are very painful for a person and can often be fatal. If the burning mixture is inhaled, the lungs can burn out. For the treatment of such wounds, well-trained medical personnel are needed, who, when working with victims, can themselves receive phosphorus wounds. The use of phosphorus ammunition has a demoralizing and psychological effect on the enemy.
During World War II, the use of white phosphorus continued. So the ammunition of the American medium tanks "Sherman" included smoke shells containing this substance. The versatility of the use of these ammunition is clearly demonstrated in the feature film "Rage". Also, white phosphorus was actively used as one of the options for filling incendiary bombs. So the Luftwaffe was armed with a 185-kg Brand C 250A aerial bomb, equipped with 65 kg of white phosphorus.
Subsequently, ammunition with white phosphorus was used by the Americans during the war in Korea, in Vietnam, during the war in Iraq. For example, in 2004, the US Air Force actively used white phosphorus bombs to break the resistance of the rebellious Iraqi city of Fallujah. Then video footage of characteristic milky-white explosions in residential urban areas and photographs of terrible burns received by local residents hit the media. Ultimately, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Vinable had to admit the use of such ammunition. According to him, white phosphorus is used as an incendiary weapon, but only against militants.
At the same time, in some cases, ammunition with white phosphorus is used by the American military both as a means of intimidation and psychological influence in order to smoke opponents out of shelters. Barry Vinable explained that the combined effect of explosions of fire and smoke has a terrifying effect on enemy soldiers, forcing them to leave their shelters in panic, finding themselves in the zone of destruction of various weapons. The Americans acted in a similar way in Syria, for example, during the massive bombing of the city of Raqqa in 2017, which was almost completely destroyed during air strikes. Then the fact of the use of phosphorus ammunition was confirmed by the specialists of the organization Human Rights Watch, noting the illegal actions of the American military. But the United States, however, is clearly not going to give up such weapons.
A-1E attack aircraft drops a phosphorus bomb during the Vietnam War, 1966
“Firstly, it is necessary to understand that incendiary weapons are extremely effective, versatile and can fight almost all types of ground targets,” Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences told RIA Novosti reporters. - And the Americans are extremely reluctant to give up effective weapons. Secondly, it is very expensive and difficult to dispose of old ammunition with white phosphorus with an expired shelf life - it is easier to “dispose of” them in some city in the desert. Third, the United States continues to work on developing incendiary weapons for the wars of the future. Their use of phosphorus bombs is, in fact, only field tests. The US military is looking at how to use such ammunition, how to modify and enhance them, how effective they are. They demonstrate a purely practical approach: you can invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new and promising military technologies, or you can invest a million in those weapons that have already been well tested and worked out in practice, significantly increasing their destructive power."
Sergei Sudakov recalled that the United States is in no hurry to dispose of its arsenals of chemical warfare agents. The United States plans to complete the disposal of chemical weapons only by 2023, while Russia completed the disposal of chemical weapons arsenals inherited from the USSR back in September 2017. Meanwhile, about 10 percent of the available chemical weapons remain unused in the United States. According to Sudakov, the Americans can form a base of prohibited ammunition - a kind of reserve that can be used in a "big war" to gain an advantage over an adversary who has given up such weapons. At the same time, the Americans are setting a bad example for their allies, who also use prohibited weapons. Over the years, ammunition with white phosphorus in the Middle East was used by Israel and the UK.
