Molotov Bread Basket

Technical Background

The RRAB-3 (ротативно-рассеивающая авиационная бомба, 'rotationally dispersing aviation bomb') was an early Soviet cluster munition: a cylindrical container 2.25 m long and 0.9 m in diameter. When dropped, tail vanes caused the bomb to spin, dispersing 60–100 small incendiary submunitions by centrifugal force. Three weight classes were produced: RRAB-1 (1,000 kg), RRAB-2 (500 kg), and RRAB-3 (250 kg). The dispenser could carry high-explosive, incendiary, or chemical submunitions.

Propaganda and Mockery

Shortly after the Winter War began on 30 November 1939, the Soviet air force bombed Helsinki and other Finnish cities. Facing international condemnation, Vyacheslav Molotov declared on Soviet state radio that Soviet aircraft were in fact dropping 'humanitarian food deliveries' to Finland's 'starving' workers. The Finns responded to this absurd claim by dubbing the RRAB-3 cluster bombs 'Molotov's bread baskets' (Molotovin leipäkori) and the smaller bomblets 'bread loaves.'

Connection to the Molotov Cocktail

The name immediately extended to the improvised incendiary bottles Finnish troops used against Soviet tanks. Finns called these weapons, glass bottles filled with gasoline and pine tar, 'Molotov cocktails,' a drink to accompany Molotov's food parcels. The term 'Molotov cocktail' subsequently entered global usage as the generic name for any improvised bottle-based incendiary weapon.

International Spread

The nickname traveled widely during the Second World War. During the Bristol Blitz, locals called a similar German device 'Goering's bread basket.' In Japan, survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima used the term 'Molotov flower basket' (Molotoffano hanakago). Within the Soviet Union, the weapon itself was known only by its technical designation RRAB and carried no popular nickname.