Mark 77 bomb
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
750-lb (340 kg) air-dropped incendiary bomb carrying 110 U.S.gal of a fuel gel mix which is the direct successor to napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
.
The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military. Instead of the gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
, and benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
mixture used in napalm bombs, the MK-77 uses kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
-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
Oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction...
, making it more difficult to put out once ignited, as well as white phosphorus.
The effects of MK-77 bombs are so similar to those of napalm that even many members of the U.S. military continue to refer to them as "napalm" bombs in informal situations. The official designation of Vietnam-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
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , 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 considered excessively injurious or whose effects are indiscriminate.The...
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 CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Approximately 500 were dropped, reportedly mostly on Iraqi-constructed oil filled trenches. They were also used at Tora Bora
Tora Bora
Tora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...
, in Afghanistan.
At least thirty MK-77s were also used by Marine Corps aviators over a three-day period during the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, according to a June 2005 letter from the UK Ministry of Defense to former Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Alice Mahon
Alice Mahon
Alice Mahon is a British former Labour Party politician and trade unionist.She was Member of Parliament for Halifax from 1987 until 2005. She is a left-winger who was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and is a Eurosceptic...
. This letter stated:
"The U.S. destroyed its remaining Vietnam era napalm in 2001 but, according to the reports for I Marine Expeditionary Force (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:
Then the Marine howitzers, with a range of 30 kilometres, opened a sustained barrage over the next eight hours. They were supported by U.S. Navy aircraft which dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives and napalm, a US officer told the Herald.
"We napalmed both those [bridge] approaches," said Colonel James Alles, commander of Marine Aircraft Group 11Marine Aircraft Group 11Marine Aircraft Group 11 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that is currently composed of three F/A-18C squadrons, three F/A-18D squadrons, one fleet readiness squadron, one KC-130 tactical aerial refueling squadron and a maintenance and...
. "Unfortunately there were people there ... you could see them in the cockpit video. They were Iraqi soldiers."
According to the Italian public service broadcaster RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
's documentary, MK 77 had been used in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in 2003 in civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
-populated areas. However, there were never any confirmed reports of the use of incendiaries specifically against civilians.
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 UK Ministry of Defence officials that MK-77s had not been used by the U.S. in Iraq, leading to Defence Minister Adam Ingram
Adam Ingram (Labour politician)
Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
making inaccurate statements to the UK Parliament in January 2005. Later both Adam Ingram and Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
John Reid apologized for these inaccurate statements being made to Members of Parliament.
Variants
Later variants of the bomb were modified to carry a reduced load of 75 U.S.gal of fuel, which resulted in the total weight decreasing to around 552 pounds (230 kg).- Mk 77 Mod 0 - 750 lb (340.2 kg) total weight with 110 U.S.gal of petroleum oil.
- Mk 77 Mod 1 - 500 lb (226.8 kg) total weight with 75 U.S.gal of petroleum oil.
- Mk 77 Mod 2
- Mk 77 Mod 3
- Mk 77 Mod 4 - Approx 507 lb (230 kg) total weight with 75 U.S.gal of fuel (Used during the 1991 Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
) - Mk 77 Mod 5 - Approx 507 lb (230 kg) kg total weight with 75 U.S.gal of JP-4JP-4JP-4, or JP4 was a jet fuel, specified in 1951 by the U.S. government . It was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It has lower flash point than JP-1, but was preferred because of its greater availability. It was the primary U.S. Air Force jet fuel between 1951 and 1995. Its NATO code is F-40...
/JP-5JP-5JP-5 or JP5 is a yellow, kerosene-based jet fuel developed in 1952 for use in aircraft stationed aboard aircraft carriers, where the risk from fire is particularly great. JP-5 is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, naphthenes, and aromatic hydrocarbons that weighs and has a...
fuel and thickener (Used during the 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
) - Mk 78 - 750 lb (340.2 kg) total weight with 110 U.S.gal of petroleum oil. No longer in service.
- Mk 79 - 1000 lb (453.6 kg) total weight with 112 U.S.gal of napalm and petrol. No longer in service.
End notes
- MK-77 Dumb Bombs, Federation of American ScientistsFederation of American ScientistsThe Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
- Jane's Air-Launched Weapons Issue Thirty Six, Duncan Lennox, ISBN 0-7106-0866-7
See also
- Fallujah, The Hidden MassacreFallujah, The Hidden Massacre-War crimes:The primary theme of the film is its assertion of a case for war crimes committed by the United States in its military offensive against Fallujah in Iraq...
- Mark 7 nuclear bombMark 7 nuclear bombMark 7 "Thor" was the first tactical nuclear bomb adopted by US armed forces. It was also the first weapon to be delivered using the toss method with the help of the low-altitude bombing system . The weapon was tested in Operation Buster-Jangle. To facilitate external carry by fighter bomber...
- Mark 81 bombMark 81 bombThe Mark 81 250 lb general purpose bomb was the smallest of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs.-Development & deployment:...
- Mark 82 bombMark 82 bombThe Mark 82 is an unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the U.S. Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is tritonal.-Development and deployment:...
- Mark 83 bombMark 83 bombThe Mark 83 is part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag general-purpose bombs in United States service.-Development & deployment:The nominal weight of the bomb is 1,000 lb , although its actual weight varies between 985 lb and 1,030 lb , depending on fuze options, and fin configuration...
- Mark 84 bombMark 84 bombThe Mark 84 is an American general-purpose bomb, it is also the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb to be dropped, second only to the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" then in service and presently third only to...
- Mark 117 bomb
- Mark 118 bombMark 118 bombThe 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 , its actual weight, depending on fuse and retardation options, is somewhat higher...
- NapalmNapalmNapalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
- White phosphorus
Use in Iraq
- 'Dead bodies are everywhere', Sydney Morning Herald, 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, 9 August 2003
- US State Department Response to Illegal Weapon Allegations, 27 January 2005
- US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 17 June 2005 - Parliament misled over firebomb use, Daily Telegraph, 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, 8 November 2005
- US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 9 November 2005