Back during World War 2, pilots used Douglas A-20 Havoc planes as well as other aircraft equipped with M10 smoke tanks to disperse aerial curtains that concealed naval ships at sea from enemies. Officially called a ‘Smoke Curtain Installation’, device was mainly used for D-Day operations by RAF Boston aircraft to lay a smoke curtain which screened assaulting craft from the shore batteries at Le Havre, and the East coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula. Titanium tetrachloride (FM), a colorless, non-flammable, corrosive liquid, was used for the smoke. Read more for a video and additional information.
The aircrafts’ approach to the area was made at 300-feet, while the actual smoke laying took place at sea level. When FM comes in contact with damp air, it hydrolyzes, thus creating dense white smoke consisting of droplets of hydrochloric acid and particles of titanium oxychloride. Each aircraft laid up to 5,000 yards of smoke screen. Aerial created ‘smoke curtains’ were deployed by the United States Army Air Forces and other services, used extensively in the South Pacific against the Japanese. Many types of aircraft used this equipment, but the RAF Bostons (Douglas A-20 Havoc) were the most consistent users.
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