Just a military technical question—what exact model (or models) of incendiary bomb were used in the firebombing of Dresden in February, 1945?
Hmm…don’t have any references here at work, but a quick-and-dirty educated guess is that the Lancasters of the RAF and RCAF were dropping units of “Cookies,” the 4,000 lb high explosive device (which could be bolted together in pairs for a bigger bang; these would be accompanied by SBC (Small Bomb Containers), basically a big tube full of small incendiaries (each holding either 200+ 4 lb incendiaries, or a lesser amount [about 20] of a 30 lb incendiary).
Loads varied for aircraft; those in the first wave over the target carried a higher proportion of HE bombs, in order to blow open buildings, and give the incendiaries a better chance to catch.
There were also napalm and phosphorous bombs, but I don’t know if these were in use on the night of 13/14 February 1945 (or on the USAAF follow-up raids after).
There were also the PFF (Pathfinder Force) aircraft, mostly Lancs and Mosquitoes, that were mostly carrying pyrotechnics, and would mark and re-mark the aiming point throughout the raid, under the direction of a Master Bomber.
I’ll try and get ordnance nomenclature when I get home.
I’ll try to remember to ask a guy at work tomorrow. He was a navigator on the bombers that dropped the bombers on Dresden.