White Phosphorus is also used routinely as an illumination flare to light up a large dark area to expose the enemy...It is shot up in the air like an ordinary flare, but the burning effect burns so bright in the sky it lights up a huge area on the ground...We used them in the Navy when the little Iranian Boghammer boats would come near our ship in the middle of the night to light them up so they had no cover...Infantry units use them in the field where they can't pinpoint the enemy as well

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