Development and Use in War: (3) Finland: Soviet cluster bomb ironically called a "Molotov bread basket". The "Molotov cocktail" was the Finns' response "a drink to go with the food". On 30 November 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, starting what came to be known as the Winter War. The Finnish Army faced large numbers of Red Armytanks. Being short on anti-tank guns, they improvised incendiary devices to use against them. During the Winter War, the Soviet air force made extensive use of incendiaries and cluster bombs against Finnish troops and fortifications. When Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov claimed in domestic propaganda broadcasts that the USSR was not bombing Finland, but merely delivering foodto the starving citizens, the Finns, who were not starving, started sarcastically to call the air bombs Molotov bread baskets. Soon the Finns responded by attacking advancing tanks with "Molotov cocktails", which were "a drink to go with the food". At first, the term was used to describe only the burning mixture itself, but in practical use the term was soon applied to the combination of both the bottle and its contents. This Finnish use of the hand- or sling-thrown explosive against Soviet tanks was repeated in the subsequent Continuation War between the two countries. The original design of the Molotov cocktail produced by the Finnish alcohol monopolyAlko during the Winter War of 1939—40. The bottle has storm matches instead of a rag for a fuse. The Finns perfected the design and tactical use of the petrol bomb. The fuel for the Molotov cocktail was refined to a slightly sticky mixture of gasoline, kerosene,tar, and potassium chlorate. Further refinements included the attachment of wind-proof matches or a phial of chemicals that would ignite on breakage, thereby removing the need to pre-ignite the bottle, and leaving the bottle about one-third empty was found to make breaking more likely. As the cooling system was almost invariably placed where direct fire wouldn't hit it, the target of choice was the rear deck of a tank; the burning contents of the bottle would pour through the large cooling grills and ignite fuel, hydraulic fluids and ammunition. A British War Office report dated June 1940 noted that: The Finns' policy was to allow the Russian tanks to penetrate their defences, even inducing them to do so by 'canalising' them through gaps and concentrating their small arms fire on the infantry following them. The tanks that penetrated were taken on by gun fire in the open and by small parties of men armed with explosive charges and petrol bombs in the forests and villages. . . The essence of the policy was the separation of the AFVs from the infantry, as once on their own the tank has many blind spots and once brought to a stop can be disposed of at leisure. Molotov cocktails were eventually mass-produced by the Alko corporation at its Rajamäki distillery, bundled with matches to light them. Production totalled 450,000 during the Winter War. The original design of the Molotov cocktail was a mixture of ethanol, tar and gasoline in a 750 millilitres (0. 79 US qt) bottle. The bottle had two long pyrotechnic storm matches attached to either side. Before use, one or both of the matches was 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