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A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – see ) is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with sealed with a cloth Capillary action). In use, the fuse attached to the container is lit and the weapon is thrown, shattering on impact. This ignites the flammable substances contained in the bottle and spreads flames as the fuel burns.
Due to their relative ease of production, Molotov cocktails are typically improvised weapons. Their improvised usage spans , gangsters, , football hooligans, , , irregular soldiers, , and even Regular army; usage in the latter case is often due to a shortage of equivalent military-issued munitions. Despite the weapon's improvised nature and uncertain quality, many modern militaries exercise the use of Molotov cocktails.
However, Molotov cocktails are not always improvised in the field. It is not uncommon for them to be mass-produced to a certain standard as part of preparation for combat. Some examples of this being done are the anti-invasion preparations of the British Home Guard during World War II and the Ukrainian volunteer units during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. During World War II, Molotov cocktails were even factory produced in several countries, such as Finland, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and the United States; some featuring specially designed frangible containers and fuses (such as the US Frangible Grenade M1 for example).
The name's origin came from the propaganda Molotov produced during the Winter War, mainly his declaration on Soviet state radio that missions over Finland were actually "airborne humanitarian food deliveries" for their "starving" neighbours. As a result, the Finns sarcastically dubbed the Soviet incendiary "Molotov bread baskets" () in reference to Molotov's propaganda broadcasts. When the hand-held bottle firebomb was developed to attack and destroy Soviet tanks, the Finns called it the "Molotov cocktail", as "a drink to go with his food parcels". The Second Book of General Ignorance, Faber and Faber, 2011, p. 76,
Despite the now infamous name, the formal Finnish military term for the weapon type was, and continues to be, "burn-bottle" (, Fenno-Swedish: brännflaska).
In action, the wick/match is lit and the bottle hurled at a target such as a vehicle or fortification. When the bottle smashes on impact, the ensuing cloud of fuel droplets and vapour is ignited by the attached wick, causing an immediate fireball followed by spreading flames as the remainder of the fuel is consumed.
Other flammable liquids, such as diesel fuel, methanol, turpentine, jet fuel, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), have been used in place of, or combined with, petrol. Thickening agents, such as , extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam (known colloquially as styrofoam), baking soda, petroleum jelly, tar, strips of Inner tube, nitrocellulose, motor oil, rubber cement, detergent and dish soap, have been added to promote adhesion of the burning liquid and to create clouds of thick, choking smoke. There also exist variations on the Molotov cocktail-concept where the bottle is filled with a Smoke screen mixture such as sulfur trioxide dissolved in chlorosulfonic acid. These so-called "smoke bottles" do not need a source for ignition, as the mixture reacts with the air once the bottle is smashed.
A British War Office report dated June 1940 noted that:
Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the Alko corporation at its Rajamäki distillery, bundled with matches to light them. A bottle was filled with a mixture of petrol and paraffin, plus a small amount of tar. The basic bottle had two long pyrotechnic storm matches attached to either side. Before use, one or both of the matches were lit; when the bottle broke on impact, the mixture ignited. The storm matches were found to be safer to use than a burning rag on the mouth of the bottle. There was also an "A bottle". This replaced the matches with a small ampoule inside the bottle; it ignited when the bottle broke. By spring 1940 they had produced 542,104 bottles.
The Finns had found that they were effective when used in the right way and in sufficient numbers. Although the experience of the Spanish Civil War received more publicity, the more sophisticated petroleum warfare tactics of the Finns were not lost on British commanders. In his 5 June address to LDV leaders, General Ironside said:
Wintringham advised that a tank that was isolated from supporting infantry was potentially vulnerable to men who had the required determination and cunning to get close. Rifles or even a shotgun would be sufficient to persuade the crew to close all the hatches, and then the view from the tank is very limited; a turret-mounted machine gun has a very slow traverse and cannot hope to fend off attackers coming from all directions. Once sufficiently close, it is possible to hide where the tank's gunner cannot see: "The most dangerous distance away from a tank is 200 yards; the safest distance is six inches."Wintringham, Tom. Against Invasion – the lessons of Spain. Picture Post 15 June 1940 p. 14. Petrol bombs will soon produce a pall of blinding smoke, and a well-placed explosive package or even a stout iron bar in the tracks can immobilise the vehicle, leaving it at the mercy of further petrol bombs – which will suffocate the engine and possibly the crew – or an explosive charge or anti-tank mine.
By August 1940, the War Office produced training instructions for the creation and use of Molotov cocktails. The instructions suggested scoring the bottles vertically with a diamond to ensure breakage and providing fuel-soaked rag, windproof matches or a length of cinema film (then composed of highly flammable nitrocellulose) as a source of ignition.War Office. Military Training Manual No 42, Appendix A: The Anti-Tank Petrol Bomb "Molotov Cocktail." 29 August 1940.
On 29 July 1940, manufacturers Albright & Wilson of Oldbury demonstrated to the RAF how their white phosphorus could be used to ignite incendiary bombs. The demonstration involved throwing glass bottles containing a mixture of petrol and phosphorus at pieces of wood and into a hut. On breaking, the phosphorus was exposed to the air and spontaneously ignited; the petrol also burned, resulting in a fierce fire. Because of safety concerns, the RAF was not interested in white phosphorus as a source of ignition, but the idea of a self-igniting petrol bomb took hold. Initially known as an A.W. bomb, it was officially named the No. 76 Grenade, but more commonly known as the SIP (Self-Igniting Phosphorus) grenade. The perfected list of ingredients was white phosphorus, benzene, water and a two-inch strip of raw rubber; all in a half-pint bottle sealed with a Crown cork.War Office. Military Training Manual No 42, Appendix B: The Self-Igniting Phosphorus Grenade, The AW Grenade. 29 August 1940, p. 25. Over time, the rubber would slowly dissolve, making the contents slightly sticky, and the mixture would separate into two layers – this was intentional, and the grenade should not be shaken to mix the layers, as this would only delay ignition.Handbook for the Projectors, 2½ inch, Marks I & II September 1941. p. 26. When thrown against a hard surface, the glass would shatter and the contents would instantly ignite, liberating choking fumes of phosphorus pentoxide and sulfur dioxide as well as producing a great deal of heat. Strict instructions were issued to store the grenades safely, preferably underwater and certainly never in a house. Mainly issued to the Home Guard as an anti-tank weapon, it was produced in vast numbers; by August 1941 well over 6,000,000 had been manufactured.Northover Projectors – WO 185/23, The National Archives
There were many who were sceptical about the efficacy of Molotov cocktails and SIP grenades against the more modern German tanks. Weapon designer Stuart Macrae witnessed a trial of the SIP grenades at Farnborough: "There was some concern that, if the tank drivers could not pull up quickly enough and hop out, they were likely to be frizzled to death, but after looking at the bottles they said they would be happy to take a chance." The drivers were proved right; trials on modern British tanks confirmed that Molotov and SIP grenades caused the occupants of the tanks "no inconvenience whatsoever."
Wintringham, though enthusiastic about improvised weapons, cautioned against a reliance on petrol bombs and repeatedly emphasised the importance of using explosive charges.Wintringham, Tom. Against Invasion – the lessons of Spain. Picture Post 15 June 1940 pp. 9–24.
The M1 frangible grenade was the standard US device, but each division of the army could come up with its own. Two non-industrial models of these grenades were developed and manufactured in a certain quantity. In all, about five thousand were manufactured.Report of the New Weapons Board. pp. 135–136. 27 April 1944. The frangible grenades featured standardized chemical igniters, some were specific to each flammable filler.
Most of the frangible devices were made in an improvised way, with no standardization regarding the bottle and filling.OP 1664. Vol 2. pp. 308–310 The frangible grenades were eventually declared obsolete, due to the very limited destructive effect.TOP 2-2-617. 30 January 1975. p. 21.
1107 frangible, M1, NP type were supplied to the navy and its units for field use at Iwo Jima.Assistance Rendered to the Navy and Marines. Part 8 The United States Marine Corps developed a version during World War II that used a tube of nitric acid and a lump of metallic sodium to ignite a mixture of petrol and diesel fuel.
During the Norwegian campaign in 1940 the Norwegian Army lacking suitable anti-tank weaponry had to rely on petrol bombs and other improvised weapons to fight German armored vehicles. Instructions from Norwegian High Command sent to army units in April 1940 encouraged soldiers to start ad-hoc production of "Hitler cocktails" (a different take on the Finnish nickname for the weapon) to combat tanks and armored cars.Aspheim, Odd and Hjeltnes, Guri. Tokt ved neste nymåne. p. 58. During the campaign there were instances of petrol bombs being relatively effective against the lighter tanks employed in Norway by Germany, such as the Panzer I and Panzer II.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told civilians to make Molotov cocktails, locally called "Stepan Bandera smoothies", to fight Russian troops. The defense ministry distributed a recipe for producing Molotov cocktails to civilians through Ukrainian television, which included the use of styrofoam as a thickening agent to aid in helping the burning liquid stick to vehicles or other targets. The Pravda Brewery of Lviv, which converted from making beer to Molotov cocktails, said that its recipe was "3 cups polystyrene, 2 cups grated soap, 500 millilitres gasoline, 100 millilitres oil, 1 jumbo tampon fuse." The Russian media control organisation Roskomnadzor sued Twitter for not removing instructions for how to prepare and use molotov cocktails, so that Twitter had to pay a fine of 3 million roubles (US$41,000). "Twitter the Latest Social Media Platform Russia Fines Over Illegal Content" , Newsweek, 28 April 2022
Molotov cocktails were used by protesters and civilian militia in Ukraine during Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity. Protesters during the Ferguson riots also used Molotov cocktails.
In Bangladesh, during anti-government protests in 2013 and 2014, many buses and cars were targeted with petrol bombs. A number of people burned to death and many more were injured due to these attacks.
During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, broke out and Molotov cocktails were used to attack the police and create roadblocks. They were also used to attack an MTR station, causing severe damage. A journalist was also struck by a Molotov cocktail during the protests.
Molotov cocktails were used by some during the riots following the 2020 George Floyd protests in the United States.
In 2025, a man in Boulder, Colorado, United States used a Molotov cocktail and an improvised flamethrower to attack a group of peaceful demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages.
On 8 May, the hashtag #puputov became the top trending hashtag on Twitter in Venezuela, as reports of authorities vomiting after being drenched in excrement began to circulate. A month later, on 4 June 2017, during protests against Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon, police claimed protesters began throwing balloons filled with "unknown, foul-smelling liquid" at officers.
In Simpson County, Kentucky, 20-year-old Trey Alexander Gwathney-Law attempted to burn Franklin-Simpson County Middle School with five Molotov cocktails; he was found guilty of making and possessing illegal firearms and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2018.
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