Jan 20th 2015: Dawn of the Air Raid

[gtown]

From the NOVA special their tests (which are just that, not the true recipe of course) result in this:

NARRATOR: As Peter predicted, the raging thermite immediately causes the benzene to explode in a fireball, but what's surprising is that the bomb is still burning 15 minutes later, thanks to the tarred rope.

PETER NORTON: We thought the rope would add a burning effect, but it's quite surprising how much time it'll just continue to burn away and use up the fuel that's provided by the tar.

JOHN STARLING: That rope is actually a critical component to the bomb. You want to actually sustain the temperature to set fire to wood, the buildings, et cetera. If you drop enough of them, you'll overload the emergency services, and things like that, so incendiary is actually far worse, in some ways, than high explosives. You see things burning. It's more of a terror weapon.