PRE-WWII SMOKE CURTAIN

A US Army Air Service military plane drops a giant smoke screen in front of a navy warship in the 1920s. The naval smoke curtain deployed in this vintage military footage is being used to hide a bombing plane from the warship. The military smoke screen was created by releasing the volatile liquid titanium tetrachloride, which immediately reacts with the damp ocean air, forming magnificent white clouds of highly refractive titanium dioxide and a light-scattering aerosol of hydrochloric acid. Navy ships likely didn't pass through the toxic smoke curtain, which was highly corrosive and could cause lung and eye damage, in addition to skin burns. To safely pass through the curtain, sailors would need to wear gas masks. Nonetheless, this vintage military tech is impressive, to say the least.