Historical information

The Forests Commission developed the use of helicopters for aerial ignition from the mid 1960s. Bryant and May at Richmond worked with the Commission to develop a Delayed Action Incendiary Device. DAIDs as the were known, had an overall length of 180 mm, striker end length - 10 mm. Ignition end length - 80 mm, then a layer of high melting point wax (to prevent accidental ignition when rubbing together in transit). Both ends coated with a modified match head compound with safety fuse exposed length between coated match ends. There was a 17-second delay from when the small end was struck to an intense flaming of the large end, which lasted for 40 seconds.
DAIDs were dangerous so were stored in a metal box outside the helicopter along with a disposable striker patch attached with a quick release pin to a special half-door.
The first test was with a Bell 47G on 4 October 1967 and the first use, anywhere in the world, of DAIDs to backburn a large bushfire was undertaken in north eastern Victoria in February 1968.
There was a crash of an FCV helicopter conducting aerial ignition near Wandiligong on 19 April 1978 with the tragic death of two forest officers and their pilot.
The crash led to the immediate end of the use of DAIDs and the adoption of the safer Premo ping-pong ball incendiary machine which originally came from Canada but was modified at the Altona workshops.
Overall, the development of aerial ignition techniques by the Forests Commission from the mid-1960s resulted in a steady climb in the area burnt each year…. peaking at 477,000 ha in 1980-81 and with an impressive 10-year rolling average of 220,000 ha around the time of 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires.

Significance

Developed in Victoria for aerial ignition

Physical description

Large double ended match used for aerial ignition and back burning by dropping from a helicopter