Encyclopedia - The Pomeroy Bullet
The Pomeroy Bullet was an
explosive machine gun bullet deployed specifically for use against the
Zeppelin threat over Britain. The incendiary bullet,
developed by New Zealand engineer John Pomeroy (1873-1950) in 1902, was
quickly adopted by British defence services as a means of combating the
growing German Zeppelin threat in the skies above Britain.
Filled with nitro-glycerine the bullet ignited the hydrogen gas which escaped from the tear in the Zeppelin gas bag created by the bullet's passage. The bullet's effectiveness led to a marked decrease in the number of Zeppelin attacks.
In time Pomeroy was paid some £25,000 in royalties for his invention.
A respirator was a gas mask in which air was inhaled through a metal box of chemicals.
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